Mission Statement
Founded by parents of children with type 1 juvenile diabetes, JDRF has always focused on a single goal accelerating research progress to cure diabetes and its complications. To that end, our research management process is unique we're organized as a diabetes cure enterprise. We take informed risks, continuously monitor the global diabetes research landscape, and make research investments strategically, to ensure that resources are effectively directed to research with the greatest impact leading to a cure as soon as possible.
This unwavering dedication has led us to award more money for diabetes research than any other charitable organization more than $900 million since our founding in 1970, including over $98 million in FY 2005 alone. More than 80 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and research-related education. In FY2005, JDRF funded 500 centers, grants, and fellowships in 19 countries. In addition, our advocacy has spurred government, especially the National Institutes of Health, to increase its investment in type 1 diabetes research to unprecedented levels. Through our unique peer review and lay review program, JDRF funds the most innovative, cutting-edge research worldwide. Our funding and leadership are associated with most of the scientific breakthroughs in type 1 research, including islet cell transplantation and stem cell research. We pioneered in the creation of multidisciplinary programs that bring together researchers from many institutions and such disciplines as molecular biology and genetics, immunology, transplantation, vascular biology, and stem cells. In a typical year, we allocate more than 80 cents of every dollar of our expenditures directly to research and research-related education.
Embedded in JDRF's mission are its three cure goals:
Contained within these broad goals are specific research pathways to a cure treatments with the potential for having the greatest impact on all people with type 1 diabetes. The pathways are defined by specific scientific milestones to ensure our progress toward a cure.
