What Solve ME does

Solve ME/CFS Initiative (DBA: Solve M.E.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1987 and headquartered in Glendale, California. Its mission is to educate policymakers and accelerate research aimed at transforming the understanding of post-viral neuroimmune diseases, principally Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and, since 2020, Long Covid. The organization operates a portfolio of research-funding programs, including the Ramsay Research Grants and the Solve ME/CFS Catalyst Awards, which competitively allocate seed capital to academic investigators. Its technology footprint centers on the You + ME Registry and Biobank, a patient registry and biobank platform that collects longitudinal health data and biological samples from the ME/CFS community to support external research, alongside the ME/CFS Impact Tool for patient symptom tracking. Content products include the bi-annual Research 1st publication and The Chronicle journal, supported by an educational webinar series and a multi-channel media operation (social, blog, earned media). Distribution of services occurs directly through the organization's website, annual Advocacy Week events on Capitol Hill, the EmPOWER M.E. advocacy program, and co-founded coalitions — notably the Long COVID Alliance (450+ organizations) and the World ME Alliance (27 organizations).

Solve M.E. is funded entirely through charitable contributions rather than commercial revenue. Donation channels include one-time gifts, monthly giving, planned giving and bequests, workplace giving and matching-gift programs (CFC designation 10598), gifts of appreciated securities, charitable remainder and lead trusts, and DAF/IRA distributions. The organization does not charge for its educational, registry, or advocacy services. Its customer base comprises three principal stakeholder segments: patients and caregivers (primary recipients of resources, community, and registry participation), medical providers (recipients of clinical guidance and education), and researchers and scientists (recipients of grant funding, biospecimens, and registry data). The organization has no subsidiaries, no parent company, and operates with a remote staff structure adopted in March 2020, with formal leadership provided by CEO Emily Taylor and Chief Scientific Officer Sadie Whittaker.

Name

Solve ME

Legal name

Solve ME/CFS Initiative

Website

https://solvecfs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Solve M.E. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 that funds peer-reviewed ME/CFS and Long Covid research, operates the You + ME patient registry and biobank, and advocates for federal policy and funding on behalf of patients, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Glendale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Solve M.E. relies on charitable donations from patients, family members, and supporters to fund its operations, research grants, and advocacy programs. The organization offers multiple giving options including one-time donations, monthly giving, and DIY fundraising.
2. Planned Giving: Bequests and beneficiary designations under wills, trusts, life insurance policies, commercial annuities, and retirement plans allow donors to include Solve M.E. in their estate planning.
3. Workplace Giving Programs: Corporate workplace giving programs including matching gifts, Combined Federal Campaign (CFC designation 10598), state and municipal campaigns, and United Way Donor Option programs enable employees to contribute through payroll deduction.
4. Gifts of Appreciated Securities: Donors can make gifts of marketable securities, which are sold promptly upon receipt unless otherwise directed, allowing tax-advantaged charitable contributions.
5. Charitable Remainder and Lead Trusts: Donors can designate Solve M.E. as remainder or income beneficiary of charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts for planned giving purposes.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Solve ME is a nonprofit organization that funds peer-reviewed scientific research into ME/CFS and Long Covid through competitive grant programs (Ramsay Research Grants and Catalyst Awards), operates the You + ME Registry and Biobank to collect patient health data and biospecimens, drives federal advocacy and policy change to expand research funding, and delivers educational resources and advocacy programs for patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and researchers.

Product overview

Solve ME/CFS Initiative is a nonprofit research organization rather than a technology product company. Its offerings consist of research funding programs (Ramsay Research Grants, Catalyst Awards), patient registry platforms (You + ME Registry), assessment tools (ME/CFS Impact Tool), educational publications (Research 1st, The Chronicle), and advocacy programs (EmPOWER M.E., Advocacy Week). The organization focuses on advancing ME/CFS and Long Covid research through grant funding, patient data collection, and community engagement rather than developing commercial software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ramsay Research Grants: Research grant program named after Dr. Donald Ramsay, providing competitive funding for ME/CFS researchers to advance scientific understanding of the disease.
• Solve ME/CFS Catalyst Awards
• You + ME Registry
• EmPOWER M.E.
• Long COVID Alliance

Products and services

• You + ME Registry and Biobank A patient registry and biobank for the ME/CFS community that enables patients to contribute their health data and biological samples to advance research into ME/CFS and related conditions. It collects self-reported health data and biospecimens from ME/CFS patients and serves as a research resource for scientists studying the disease.
• Ramsay Research Grants Competitive peer-reviewed research grants funding scientific studies into the causes, treatments, and potential cures for ME/CFS. The program supports academic and clinical research teams investigating the disease.
• Solve ME/CFS Catalyst Awards Funding awards to advance promising ME/CFS and Long Covid research toward clinical trials, including support for novel treatment approaches and diagnostic tools. The first Catalyst Award was issued to Dr. Akiko Iwasaki at Yale School of Medicine for research into biological drivers of Long Covid.
• ME/CFS Impact Tool An assessment tool that helps patients track and measure the impact of ME/CFS symptoms on their daily lives. It is offered as part of the You + ME Registry platform for patient self-monitoring.
• Research 1st Publication A bi-annual research publication providing updates on ME/CFS scientific findings, advocacy efforts, and community news.
• The Chronicle Solve ME's flagship research and advocacy journal published to keep stakeholders informed about developments in ME/CFS research.
• EmPOWER M.E. An advocacy initiative that empowers patients and advocates to take action for ME/CFS awareness and research funding, including EmPOWER M.E. roundtables and related advocacy events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Helped secure $105M in Long COVID research funding
• +5 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• Marked By COVIDminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2021Solve M.E. partnered with Marked By COVID for COVID Lobby Days in Washington, D.C. (July 26-28, 2021) to advocate for federal action on COVID-19 research and support.
• Long COVID AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Solve M.E. co-founded the Long COVID Alliance (LCA), a network of patient-advocates, scientists, disease experts, and drug developers who have joined together to leverage collective knowledge and resources to educate policy makers and accelerate research on post-viral illness. The alliance includes over 450 organizations and individuals.
• UCLA Iris Cantor Women's Health CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020Solve M.E. partnered with UCLA's Iris Cantor Women's Health Center to issue an ME/CFS-specific funding announcement through their Annual Health Pilot Program. This partnership opens up access to a major research network within the University of California system with a track record of obtaining approximately $27 million in follow-on NIH grants from $1 million invested.
• American Lung AssociationminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2020Solve M.E. partnered with the American Lung Association to host an expert webinar on Coronavirus Preparedness for People with Chronic Diseases, featuring Dr. Albert Rizzo, Chief Medical Officer at the American Lung Association.
• Australian Biobank and RegistryflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2019Solve M.E. partnered with an international collaborative on the Australian Biobank and Registry project, which received a $1 million grant award to establish a comprehensive biobank and registry for ME/CFS research.
• World ME AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Solve M.E., the World ME Alliance is a global collaboration of 27 organizations working together to advance research and awareness for ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis).
• COVID Survivors for ChangeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSolve M.E. is a proud partner of March to Remember events nationwide hosted by COVID Survivors for Change, a nationwide network of COVID-19 survivors and families advocating for lifesaving policies.
• Chronic Disease CoalitionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSolve M.E. joined the Chronic Disease Coalition in marking July as 'Chronic Disease Month' to amplify patient voices and advocate for patient rights.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• amfAR: amfAR is a large, established disease-focused research funder (HIV/AIDS) that uses peer-reviewed grantmaking, advocacy, and partnerships in a model structurally similar to Solve ME's approach for ME/CFS and Long Covid.
• ALS Association: ALS Association is a well-established disease-focused nonprofit combining research funding, federal advocacy, and patient services, providing a comparable integrated operating model at greater scale than Solve ME.
• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a mature disease-focused nonprofit that funds research, drives advocacy, and helped deliver FDA-approved therapies, making it a benchmark peer for Solve ME's long-term path from seed grants to approved treatments.

Emerging players

• Body Politic: Body Politic is a Long Covid patient-advocacy organization also active in the Long COVID Alliance, representing a peer in patient-led organizing that complements Solve ME's more institutionally focused work.
• Patient-Led Research Collaborative: Patient-Led Research Collaborative conducts Long Covid research and is a Long COVID Alliance co-member with Solve ME, representing an emerging grassroots research counterpart to Solve ME's larger institutional footprint.

Direct peers

• Bateman Horne Center: Bateman Horne Center is a clinical care and research center for ME/CFS and Long Covid that combines patient care, provider education, and research in a model directly comparable to Solve ME's integrated research-and-advocacy approach.
• Open Medicine Foundation: Open Medicine Foundation is the other leading private funder of ME/CFS and post-viral disease research, directly competing with Solve ME for donor dollars and researcher relationships in the same ME/CFS niche.
• ME Association: The ME Association is a UK-based charity funding ME research and supporting patients, providing a comparable disease-focused nonprofit model even though it operates primarily in the UK.
• #MEAction: #MEAction is a primary ME/CFS patient-advocacy organization running grassroots campaigns and policy work directly comparable to Solve ME's EmPOWER M.E. and Advocacy Week programs.

Regional players

• Emerge Australia: Emerge Australia is the leading ME/CFS advocacy and research support organization in Australia, a regional peer whose disease focus and grantmaking-plus-advocacy model directly mirror Solve ME's approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PlzSolveCFS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SolveCFS
• Facebookfacebook.com/SolveMECFSInitiative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/solve-me-cfs-initiative
• Instagraminstagram.com/solve_cfs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Solve ME