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Non-profit funding sight-saving research for children

Check our Past Winners page for all past winners! ✨🌟

17,300+ reviews · rated 4.9 Excellent on Trustpilot and Google

We’re Funding Sight-Saving Clinical Trials to Treat Childhood Blindness.

Our goal is to advance therapies for pediatric inherited retinal diseases. Our current target: we are fundraising for rare disease research and gene-agnostic therapies for childhood blindness.

ENTER A FUNDRAISERSee our impact

Current Fundraisers

You can make an impact on saving childhood eyesight by entering our giveaway fundraisers.

How our fundraisers work

Built on trust and transparency

Learn how you can make an impact on sight-saving research and have a chance to win a life-changing prize.

  1. Donate to support sight-saving researchEntries are automatically captured and can be seen in your Donor Portal.
  2. Winner selection by third-party adminWe aren't involved in the winner selection process, to ensure fairness and compliance.
  3. Winner livestream announcementWe announce all winners live on social media. See our past winner calls!
  4. It's time for winner day!For vehicle prizes, we fly the winner to Arizona to get the keys, a free-and-clear title, and the prize cash.

What you can check for yourself

  • Registered 501(c)(3), EIN 92-2174042Exempt under Section 501(c)(3); look us up on the IRS and Candid.
  • 17,300+ verified reviews on Trustpilot and GoogleRated 4.9 Excellent. Read what past entrants and winners say.
  • Registered and bonded sweepstakesEligibility, all methods of entry, and start and end dates are published before every fundraiser.
  • Donor PortalCheck your entries for any fundraiser you've joined.
Fundraiser FAQs

Our impact

Sight-saving research funded

$6.1M

granted to sight-saving research as of October 2026, from giveaway fundraisers and direct donations. Every mile below was paid for by entries like yours.

  1. $1MFirst grant: AXV-101 gene therapy for BBS1

    To Axovia Therapeutics, to move a gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa caused by BBS1 toward a clinical trial.

    Oct 2024
  2. $2MManufacturing and safety studies

    Second Axovia grant: GLP toxicology, manufacturing, and the regulatory work needed before a trial could open.

    Dec 2024
  3. $1MClinical trial authorization

    Third Axovia grant, bringing AXV-101 funding to $4M; the UK trial application was cleared in Q3 2025.

    Sep 2025
  4. $1.1MTrial fully funded

    Closed the remaining funding gap; RAB's total funding for AXV-101 reaches $5.1M, from lab to first patient.

    Jan 2026
  5. $1MGene-agnostic research

    With Foundation Fighting Blindness: $775,000 to the RD Fund for gene-agnostic research, matched dollar-for-dollar by the Gund Foundation Challenge, and $225,000 to Dr. Thomas Mendel at Ohio State.

    Jun 2026
  6. OpenResearch Grants Program

    Researchers worldwide can now apply for RAB funding through the Grants Portal.

    Aug 2026
  7. Next grantThe next grant

    Decided by the fundraisers running now.

    Enter a fundraiser
Where the totals come from

Amounts and dates come from our grant records and update when a new grant is announced. Each grant links to its announcement where available.

Visit the Grants Portal

About us

We were told there was nothing we could do.

It isn't a race we run. It's a race against time. Kristina and Stephen Johnston founded A Race Against Blindness after their son Luke was diagnosed with Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a rare genetic condition that is slowly taking his sight. What began as a race to fund one gene therapy for one gene has grown into funding research across inherited retinal diseases, a grants program for scientists, and an education hub for families.

  1. 2020Luke's diagnosis, and a decision

    No treatment existed for RP caused by BBS1. We decided to fund one.

  2. 2023A Race Against Blindness is founded

    Our family became the first donor, donating our first prize: the 2023 Adventure Van giveaway fundraiser that started it all.

  3. 2024First $1 million grant

    To Axovia Therapeutics for AXV-101, a gene therapy for RP caused by BBS1.

  4. 2026Initiation of the AXV-101 gene therapy clinical trial

    A total of $5.1M in grant support from RAB made this trial initiation possible.

  5. 2026Expanding our impact

    New $1M grant to gene-agnostic clinical research in partnership with Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Read our storyMeet the team

See our Feature on Good Morning America!

Luke’s story of seeing the world before losing more vision was featured on GMA, helping propel our mission to the national level.

Winner's circle

Recent winners

View all past winners

Don't take our word for it. Take theirs.

Every review you see here is collected and verified by Trustpilot, not by us. We can't edit them, hide them, or pick the order.

We show every star rating, one through five, because that's what transparency means.

ExcellentTrustScore 4.9 out of 5Rated 4.9 / 5 · 17,307 reviewsTrustpilot
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Ease of donating and going to a good…

    Ease of donating and going to a good cause. Having diabetes it is important to see if we can make advances in the area of blindness.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Christopher)

    ChristopherOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Hello

    Hello, it was a wonderful experience; it is a privilege for me to be part of such a beautiful cause, and I encourage everyone to have this great experience and contribute to this beautiful cause.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Andy Alfonso Perez)

    Andy Alfonso PerezOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I think this is a great way to help…

    I think this is a great way to help children of all races. Although we want to win the prizes it’s great that even if we don’t win the prizes, we win the joy of knowing that we are helping a child in need. Thank you for what you’re doing and never stop there will always be a child that needs this help

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Emmanuel Meredith Jr)

    Emmanuel Meredith JrOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Combining a fundraiser that can help…

    Combining a fundraiser that can help people with transportation needs and helping to fund meaningful research for eye disease is the perfect combination. It feels good to contribute to such an important cause and I really could use a car so it is a win-win.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Susan Sparling)

    Susan SparlingOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    This was super easy to do

    This was super easy to do. The ability to choose a wonderful prize for a donation that is for such a great cause is terrific. My parents are dealing with macular degeneration and I can’t imagine a child dealing with all they do. Thank you for being a driving force to help as you do.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Steven Shelton)

    Steven SheltonOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great experience to donate!

    My overall experience with this organization was truly exceptional; every part of the donation process was remarkably straightforward, allowing me to contribute effortlessly to a cause that matters deeply to so many. I hope Race Against Blindness achieves and even surpasses its fundraising goals; I believe in the cause. I feel genuinely fortunate to have discovered such a impactful organization, and I wish them continued growth, success, and the ability to make a difference in the community.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Yen)

    YenOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    It is easy to enter the sweepstakes

    It is easy to enter the sweepstakes. I get to help the blind. The web page and history are trustworthy.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Sunday)

    SundayOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    It’s for a good cause!!

    It was an easy transaction and it is for a good cause. It doesn’t matter wether you win or lose the raffle drawing, the money you spend helps people in need.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Larry Pate)

    Larry PateOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Children's charities

    I love to support charities that support children, especially those battling health issues. This is a great organization that I have supported before. Keep up the great work!

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Shelli Stephenson)

    Shelli StephensonOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I love the idea.

    I love the idea that I could be lucky and fortunate enough to win one of your fundraising prizes. All by giving to such a good cause. Please continue with your important fundraising for the research that is needed to get a cure or at least a better understanding of the disease.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by William Collins)

    William CollinsOctober 2026Verified

Reviews come from real donors and supporters who entered a fundraiser or had a direct interaction with our team, each one verified by Trustpilot.

Read all reviews on Trustpilot

Grant funding updates

The impact you made possible

Blindness Education Resources

Are you looking for education or resources for blindness?

As a family-run nonprofit and parents of a child facing blindness, we know how it felt when we got the diagnosis and didn't know where to begin. The resources were limited, and we felt alone. This education hub is here to help change that.

Open the Education Hub

Where would you like to start?

A mother and son in matching caps and RAB shirts smile side by side.

RAB educational series

Learn with Dr. Steve Johnston

Blindness Education Podcasts with Co-Founder Dr. Steve Johnston

Explore the full series on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

For information only. Discuss clinical trial information with your retina specialist.

Meet the Team

We founded the nonprofit when we found out our son has a rare genetic condition and is slowly going blind. But that really only scratches the surface in terms of our motivation. Since learning of Luke's diagnosis, we have become strongly connected to the rare-diseases community. While rare diseases are actually not unusual, with more than 7,000 diseases classified as rare, each one individually often affects only a small number of people. Thus many rare diseases don't receive enough attention and resources to help fund research for adequate treatments or even possible cures.

Stay in the race

New fundraisers, winners, and grant news, about twice a month. Questions? The Help Center is our front door.

Visit the Help Center

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