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Non-profit funding sight-saving research for children

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

17,400+ 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.
  • 17,400+ 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 · 17,416 reviewsTrustpilot
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I love this charity for research

    I love this charity for research. It’s honest, a great way to get funding for the treatment of the eye disease that your son has. Keep doing what you do, you’re sure to find the cure needed to save people with this rare disease. God bless you and your family!

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Bethany)

    BethanyOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Dreaming

    I like that there is information on blindness and causes, eyes are more complicated than I knew. I like getting to see the people that win. I know all of it is real and everyone gets to dream. A solution for blindness in children or winning a vehicle.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Michelle Kenney)

    Michelle KenneyOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Thanks for the opportunity to donate to…

    Thanks for the opportunity to donate to such an amazing organization. What caught my eye in the beginning was the beautiful pickup and the chance to win it for my husband. I likely have a 1 in a million chance of winning. To me, the real win is knowing my hard earned money went to benefit others. I am very Impressed with the excellent communication and management of this organization. Best wishes.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Carla)

    CarlaOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Such a great cause to support

    Such a great cause to support. The giveaways are just a bonus. The stories are compelling and even my small donations I know go to help real people

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Charles thompson)

    Charles thompsonOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Every kid has a chance

    Being an adopted parent my self I know the needs that every child has or being through with no difference on the need or medical issues I feel great been able to help a little

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Maria Alejandre)

    Maria AlejandreOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    You are very transparent in everything…

    You are very transparent in everything which is appreciated. You also support the winner with enough funds to cover the costs of their winnings. I pray that the Lord will bless you with a miracle cure as soon as you receive this for blindness! I love you all! Casey

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Casey W Miller)

    Casey W MillerOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Efficiency and communication

    Efficiency and communication. Then there is their outstanding cause! “And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them”…Mark 10:16

    Read on Trustpilot (review by angelo d. Roberson)

    angelo d. RobersonOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    It's NOT what I did

    It's NOT what I did, it IS what Race Against Blindness administration team is doing. The task they have undertaken here is truly admirable and I pray they are successful.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Billy Myrick)

    Billy MyrickOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I enjoy the ease of making a donation…

    I enjoy the ease of making a donation to a worthy cause and the added bonus of the chance to win a prize that reminds me of my youth

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Chuck)

    ChuckOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Very happy to be helping in the way…

    Very happy to be helping in the way that I can. Website set up to be an easy donation

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Tim)

    TimOctober 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Easy and entertaining for a good cause.

    It was very easy to donate to a great cause. I do this normally. But it adds excitement and pleasant thoughts to know someone will win a prize. With better odds than Lotto!

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Michael Perez)

    Michael PerezOctober 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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