Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation

What Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation does

The Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation (DRWF) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1993, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, with operations in Washington, DC and a UK-registered charity in Hampshire, England. Its stated mission is to help find a cure for diabetes and, until that goal is achieved, to provide care for people living with the disease. Since inception, DRWF has awarded more than $25 million in research and educational grants to clinics, hospitals, and institutions across more than 20 US states, and the International Diabetes Wellness Network umbrella has committed over $90 million globally as of January 2025. The organization funds peer-reviewed research with grants of up to $50,000 per year for up to two years, with priority given to islet cell transplantation, macrovascular disease, and neuropathy.

DRWF's core offerings for beneficiaries are free: a Diabetes Wellness Network membership with a monthly newsletter, free Diabetes ID necklaces for emergency identification, a free Drug Discount Card accepted at over 54,000 pharmacies with up to 75% prescription savings, a portfolio of free diabetes self-management brochures (PDF and hard copy), an annual Diabetes Wellness Educational Programme, and Diabetes Transplant Summits. Research outputs supported by DRWF include long-term islet cell transplant survival studies published in Nature Communications in 2019 with the University of Minnesota, and Phase I/II clinical trials at the University of Miami Diabetes Research Institute using the omentum as a transplant site via the BioHub platform.

The foundation is funded entirely by voluntary contributions. Revenue streams include individual donations (one-time and recurring), the Partners for the Cure monthly giving program starting at $5/month, Amazon Smile (0.5% of purchase price), Combined Federal Campaign and United Way workplace giving, car donations, and legacy/bequest gifts. Governance is provided by a Board of Directors including Chairman John Alahouzos, Founder Mike Gretschel, William Catherwood, Christian Gretschel, and Nick Larigakis, with Andrea Stancik serving as Executive Director. Operating geographies span the US, UK, France, Sweden, and Finland.

Name

Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation

Legal name

Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation

Website

https://diabeteswellness.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation (DRWF) is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 1993 that funds diabetes cure research and provides free patient support tools (newsletters, ID necklaces, drug discount cards, brochures) to people with diabetes across the US, UK, France, Sweden, and Finland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Health Charity

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Diabetes research grants
• Patient education programs
• Chronic disease awareness
• Nonprofit health charity
• Wellness support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: DRWF relies entirely on voluntary donations from individuals to fund research and support programs. Donations can be made online, by phone, or by mail. One-time and recurring donation options are available.
2. Partners for the Cure (Monthly Giving): Committed giving program allowing supporters to donate regularly (monthly, quarterly, or yearly) via Direct Debit. Monthly giving starts at $5/month. This regular income enables planning and committing larger sums to research projects.
3. Corporate Partnerships: DRWF partners with Amazon Smile where 0.5% of purchase price is donated. Also participates in Combined Federal Campaign and United Way workplace giving programs.
4. Legacy/Bequest Gifts: DRWF accepts estate gifts and bequests through wills. The Federal Tax Identification is 52-1840230 for legacy giving.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels10 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds diabetes medical research through grants to scientists and institutions, and delivers patient education, wellness programs, and public awareness campaigns to people affected by diabetes. It operates international programs across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and Finland, and has awarded more than $25 million in research grants since its founding in 1993.

Product overview

Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation (DRWF) offers a portfolio of wellness support services and educational resources for people living with diabetes. The core offerings include the Diabetes Wellness Network membership program with monthly newsletters, free diabetes identification necklaces, a drug discount card saving up to 75% on medications, and freely available diabetes self-management brochures covering topics from exercise to islet transplantation. Additional services include annual educational events, community health fair outreach, and research funding grants up to $50,000 per year. The organization funds diabetes research and provides information support for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Diabetes Research Grants Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $25 million awarded in research and educational grants since 1993
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Minnesota Medical School / Schulze Diabetes InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2019DRWF supports research at the University of Minnesota on islet cell transplantation. Researchers published in Nature Communications showing success in maintaining long-term survival of pancreatic islet transplants despite complete discontinuation of anti-rejection drugs in nonhuman primates.
• Lions Club District 24-A VirginiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRWF partnered with the local Lions Club to serve Virginia residents through diabetes awareness campaigns. Activities include diabetes, blood pressure, and retinopathy screenings. DRWF's Kathy Gold, RN and CDE worked with Lions to screen patients and provide education. The partnership also provided educational brochures and diabetes ID necklaces to attendees.
• IPITA (International Pancreas And Islet Transplant Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRWF has been supporting the IPITA annual congress for over 10 years. IPITA 16th International Congress was held in Oxford, UK (June 20-23) - the first time in the UK. The event brings together clinicians and scientists specializing in islet cell research to explore beta-cell replacement technologies and promote collaboration between whole pancreas and islet transplant communities.
• Amazon SmilecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDRWF is part of the Amazon Smile section where 0.5% of purchase price is donated to the foundation. This partnership allows consumers to support DRWF through everyday shopping. The foundation hopes to raise $1,000 through this channel.
• Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRWF has been supporting the free eye screening program at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore for over 18 years. DRWF has provided more than $1,000,000 in funding. The program has provided free retinopathy screening to more than 7,500 patients and over 650 free laser surgeries. Dr. Daniel Finkelstein leads the program.
• Service Dogs by Warren RetrieversminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRWF funds service dogs trained to assist individuals with diabetes by detecting low and high blood sugars.
• Lifesharing Community Organ & Tissue DonationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrant recipient for islet cell research and organ donation awareness.
• Lifegift Organ Donation CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrant recipient for organ donation awareness programs.
• Diabetes Research Institute (University of Miami)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRWF funds islet cell studies at the Diabetes Research Institute under Dr. Norma Kenyon. The DRI received FDA approval for Phase I/II clinical trials testing the omentum as a new transplant site using a BioHub platform.
• Spring Point ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRWF funds pig islet research for clinical trials at Spring Point Project under Dr. Bernhard J. Hering (2014). This addresses the shortage of human donor organs for islet transplantation.
• Joslin Diabetes CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRWF funds the Islet Cell Transplantation Research Program at Joslin Diabetes Center under Gordon Weir, MD (2006).
• Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry (CITR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRWF supports the National Institutes of Health-established CITR which collects comprehensive data on all islet transplants performed in North America and some European and Australian centers to expedite progress and promote safety.
• Donate Life South CarolinaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrant recipient for organ donation awareness.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• JDRF (formerly Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation): The largest US nonprofit focused exclusively on Type 1 diabetes research funding and advocacy. Directly comparable to DRWF in mission (cure-focused T1D research grants, patient support, community events) but operates at materially greater scale (>$300M annual revenue) and brand recognition.
• American Diabetes Association (ADA): The largest US voluntary health organization focused on all forms of diabetes. Directly comparable in research grantmaking, patient education, advocacy, and community programs; broader scope than DRWF (covers both T1D and T2D plus prevention) and substantially larger scale.
• Diabetes Research Institute Foundation (DRIF): Fundraising arm of the University of Miami Diabetes Research Institute, focused on islet cell transplantation and BioHub platform — a research area DRWF also funds. Direct peer for diabetes cure-focused philanthropy and biomedical research grantmaking.
• International Diabetes Federation (IDF): Global umbrella organization for national diabetes associations across 170+ countries. Comparable to DRWF in global diabetes mission and multinational reach, but operates as an association of associations rather than a direct grantmaking and patient-services provider.
• Joslin Diabetes Center: Harvard-affiliated diabetes research and clinical care organization that DRWF has funded for islet cell research. Functions both as a peer (diabetes research, education, and patient services) and as a DRWF grant recipient — overlapping mission with materially larger clinical and research scale.
• Sansum Diabetes Research Institute: Independent nonprofit research institute focused on diabetes and diabetes in pregnancy. Comparable to DRWF in combining cure-oriented research funding with patient education and community programs, at similar scale and with overlapping grantmaking activities.

Broad incumbents

• The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust: One of the largest private foundations funding Type 1 diabetes research, with billions in assets and a programmatic T1D focus. Comparable to DRWF in grantmaking mission but operates as a private foundation at vastly larger scale with broader health grantmaking portfolio.

Regional players

• Diabetes UK: The leading UK charity for diabetes research, awareness, and support — directly analogous to DRWF's UK entity. Same disease focus, similar mission (cure + care), but UK-only geographic remit and substantially larger scale and brand.

Emerging players

• Beyond Type 1: Newer nonprofit focused on Type 1 diabetes education, advocacy, and community-building with a digital-first, social-media-native model. Comparable to DRWF in mission but differentiated by modern platform strategy and broader program scope.
• Taking Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD): Nonprofit focused on diabetes education through conferences, programs, and digital content. Directly comparable to DRWF's educational events and patient empowerment mission, with a more event- and conference-driven model and slightly larger national footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/drwfwellness
• Facebookfacebook.com/DRWFUSA
• Pinterestpinterest.com/drwfwellness
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/diabetes-wellness

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation