About
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is a national nonprofit dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. Based in Short Hills, New Jersey, the foundation carries forward the activist legacy of actor Christopher Reeve and his wife Dana, pairing aggressive investment in spinal cord research with practical, free support services for people living with paralysis today.
Mission
The foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. Its vision is a world where spinal cord injury does not cause paralysis, and paralysis does not diminish quality of life. The foundation cites the statistic that 1 in 50 people in the United States lives with paralysis.
What they do
- Funds spinal cord injury research and research partnerships
- Operates the National Paralysis Resource Center, which opened in 2002 and provides free, comprehensive information and support, including information specialists, peer mentoring, and virtual support groups
- Awards Quality of Life Grants to nonprofits serving the paralysis community; the program has awarded over 4,100 grants totaling more than 52 million dollars
- Runs a Military & Veterans Program and provides employment support and emergency preparedness resources for people with disabilities
- Mobilizes supporters through Team Reeve fundraising initiatives
History
The foundation traces its origins to 1982, when New Jersey teenager Henry Stifel was paralyzed in a car accident and his father mobilized community leaders and scientists to form what became the Stifel Paralysis Research Foundation. In the mid-1980s it merged with the American Paralysis Association. After Christopher Reeve's 1995 spinal cord injury, he and Dana Reeve joined the cause as hands-on leaders; in 1999 the American Paralysis Association and Christopher Reeve's foundation unified, later becoming the Christopher Reeve Foundation. Following Dana Reeve's death in March 2006, the organization was renamed the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. Dana Reeve's vision led to the creation of the National Paralysis Resource Center.
Scale and impact
Since 1982 the foundation has invested more than 145 million dollars in spinal cord injury research, and its Quality of Life Grants Program has awarded over 4,100 grants totaling more than 52 million dollars to nonprofits that support people living with paralysis.
Financials
According to its IRS Form 990 available via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 22-2939536), for the fiscal year ending December 2023 the foundation reported total revenue of 17,824,481 dollars, including 18,339,761 dollars in contributions and grants, and total functional expenses of 14,892,374 dollars.