Why A Race Against Blindness Runs Several Fundraisers at Once (and Why Each Has Its Own Rules)

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A Race Against Blindness usually has two or three fundraisers open at the same time, and people notice. The reason is simple: the research we fund is racing a disease that takes a child's sight a little more every month, and one fundraiser a year would mean one grant a year. Each fundraiser is a separate sweepstakes with its own Official Rules, its own closing date, its own drawing by an independent administrator and its own winner. Entering one creates no obligation toward any other, and nothing rolls over or recurs.

Why not one big fundraiser a year?

Because the clock does not reset annually. Inherited retinal diseases like Bardet-Biedl syndrome destroy the light-sensing cells of the retina continuously, and a gene therapy can only protect the cells that are still alive. Research that waits twelve months for the next funding round is research that reaches children with less sight to save. Since our first grant in October 2024 we have paid out $6.1 million, and the pace of that funding was set by the pace of the fundraisers: a $1 million grant in October 2024, $2 million that December, $1 million in September 2025, $1.1 million in January 2026, and $1 million more in June 2026. Each of those was possible because fundraisers were closing every few weeks rather than once a year.

There is a second reason. A gala or a run raises money from the people in the room, and those people already know about the disease. Sweepstakes reach people who have never heard of it. A van, a truck, a motorhome and a cash prize each draw a different audience, and running them side by side puts the mission in front of more people than any single prize could.

Why does each fundraiser have its own rules?

Because the law treats each one as a separate promotion, and so do we. A sweepstakes has a defined entry period, a defined prize, defined entry methods and one drawing. Bundling several prizes into one rolling program with one set of rules would blur every one of those lines. So each fundraiser gets its own Official Rules, published before it opens and linked from its page, with its own dates, its own prize and cash alternative, its own free mail-in address, and its own drawing conducted by American Sweepstakes & Promotion Co., Inc.

What that means in practice:

• Entries belong to the fundraiser you entered. They do not transfer or roll over.
• There is no membership, subscription or recurring charge. Each donation is a one-time transaction tied to one fundraiser.
• You can enter one, several or none. Entering one creates no obligation toward another.
• Each fundraiser produces its own winner, announced live and listed on the Past Winners page. As of October 2026 that page lists about 60 of them.

Does running several at once mean cutting corners?

No, and the structure is what prevents it. The things that make a fundraiser trustworthy do not get thinner when a second one opens: every fundraiser still has a free entry, an independent drawing, a public winner and a published set of rules. What running several at once changes is the pace of grants, not the standard of any single fundraiser. The administrator conducts each drawing separately, and the Official Rules for one fundraiser never govern another.

If you would rather support the research without entering anything, you can do that too, through a direct donation.

Frequently asked questions

Why does A Race Against Blindness have so many giveaways?

Because progressive vision loss does not pause between fundraisers. Running two or three at a time has let the organization pay out $6.1 million in research grants since October 2024 instead of one grant a year.

Are the fundraisers connected to each other?

No. Each is a separate sweepstakes with its own Official Rules, dates, prize, free entry address, drawing and winner.

If I enter one fundraiser, am I entered in the others?

No. Entries belong only to the fundraiser you entered. There is no subscription and nothing rolls over.

Who draws the winner of each fundraiser?

American Sweepstakes & Promotion Co., Inc., the independent administrator named in each fundraiser's Official Rules, conducts a separate random drawing for each one.

Can I support the research without entering a fundraiser?

Yes, through a direct donation on the How You Can Help page.

No purchase or donation necessary. Void where prohibited. See Official Rules for details.