Manning Family Foundation

What Manning Family Foundation does

The Manning Family Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) family foundation established in 2003 and headquartered at 200 Garrett Street, Suite O, Charlottesville, Virginia. The foundation advances health and healthy communities by awarding grants to nonprofit organizations across two programmatic areas: Health & Life Sciences Research, with a primary focus on Type 1 Diabetes and retinal diseases (macular degeneration and Stargardt's disease); and Local Giving, supporting 501(c)(3) nonprofits serving the greater Charlottesville community with emphasis on at-risk youth, disadvantaged populations, and free physical and mental health services.

The foundation's core outputs are grant programs, including three flagship research initiatives: the UVA LaunchPad for Diabetes Innovation Fund (created 2013, 64 projects funded), the Retinal Degeneration Fund in partnership with Foundation Fighting Blindness (launched 2018, a first-of-its-kind investment-style vehicle with Fund 1 fully committed across 10 investments and Fund 2 targeting $75-100M and having raised over $40M plus attracted $400M+ in institutional co-investor capital), and the Manning Innovation Program at UMass Amherst's Institute for Applied Life Sciences (14 faculty awardees, $3M expansion gift in 2023). Local grantmaking supports over 30 Charlottesville-area organizations annually, including ReadyKids, Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, and City of Promise.

The foundation operates a structured, rolling-basis grant process administered through a cloud-based web portal (GivingData), with a Grant Committee review and Board approval cycle three times per year (January, May, September/October). First-time applicants and grantees inactive for more than two years must submit a Letter of Intent before full application. As a private philanthropic entity, the foundation does not generate commercial revenue; its grantmaking capacity derives from investment returns on its charitable endowment. Since founding, the foundation has awarded over 300 grants to 110 organizations across its first twenty years.

Name

Manning Family Foundation

Legal name

Manning Family Foundation

Website

https://themanningfamilyfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Manning Family Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) family foundation, founded in 2003 in Charlottesville, Virginia, that awards grants to nonprofits advancing Type 1 Diabetes and retinal disease research and supporting local Charlottesville community organizations, with flagship programs at UVA, UMass Amherst, and Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Nonprofit foundation
• Health research grants
• Community development funding
• Medical research grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Awards: The foundation generates no revenue from its operations. As a private family foundation, it distributes grants to qualifying nonprofit organizations from its endowment and investment portfolio. The foundation's income derives from investment returns on its charitable assets, which are then awarded as grants to advance health research and local community organizations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Manning Family Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) family foundation that awards grants to nonprofit organizations in two primary focus areas: Health & Life Sciences Research (supporting transformational research toward cures for Type 1 Diabetes and retinal diseases including macular degeneration and Stargardt's disease) and Local Giving (supporting over 30 Charlottesville, Virginia community organizations annually in physical and mental health, education, and financial literacy). Grants are awarded three times per year through a structured rolling application process managed via an online portal.

Product overview

The Manning Family Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization advancing health and healthy communities through two primary grant programs: Health & Life Sciences Research Grants and Local Grants in the Charlottesville, Virginia area. The Health & Life Sciences Research program focuses on curing Type 1 Diabetes and retinal diseases (macular degeneration, Stargardt's disease), including support for specific initiatives such as the UVA LaunchPad for Diabetes Innovation Fund, the Retinal Degeneration Fund, and the Manning Innovation Program at UMass Amherst. The Local Grants program supports over 30 regional organizations annually serving physical/mental health, education, and financial literacy needs. All grant applications are processed through a web portal system. Since 2003, the foundation has awarded over 300 grants to 110 organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health & Life Sciences Research Grants Philanthropic grant program supporting research leading to more effective treatments and cures for Type 1 Diabetes and retinal diseases (macular degeneration and Stargardt's disease). Intended for 501(c)(3) research institutions and disease-focused nonprofit organizations.
• Local Grants Philanthropic grant program supporting Charlottesville, Virginia organizations serving physical and mental health, educational opportunities for children, and financial literacy, with emphasis on at-risk youth and disadvantaged community segments. Currently supports over 30 local organizations annually.
• UVA LaunchPad for Diabetes Innovation Fund Partnership fund with the University of Virginia supporting transformational research projects addressing unmet clinical needs in diabetes mellitus; 64 projects funded since inception.
• Retinal Degeneration Fund Investment vehicle to help companies and researchers accelerate promising treatments for inherited retinal diseases into early-stage human studies. First Fund 100% committed with 10 investments; Second Fund has raised over $40M toward a $75-100M target and has attracted over $400M in institutional co-investor capital.
• Manning Innovation Program at UMass Amherst Program at UMass Amherst's Institute for Applied Life Sciences providing grants to advance applied research and development in sciences and engineering through creation of start-up companies and licensing of intellectual property. 14 faculty members have received Manning Innovation Awards since inception, with research spanning cancer treatments, wastewater treatment, veterinary science, and reproductive health care.

Quantifiable outcome

• 64 diabetes research projects funded since 2013 through UVA LaunchPad partnership
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Foundation Fighting BlindnesscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018The Retinal Degeneration Fund was launched in 2018 to help companies and researchers accelerate promising treatments for inherited retinal diseases into and through early-stage human studies. This first-of-its-kind investment vehicle provides an opportunity for donations to function like investments. The first Fund is 100% committed with 10 investments plus reserves. The second Fund has made 2 investments and raised over $40M in commitments (target $75-100M), attracting over $400M in institutional co-investor capital.
• University of Massachusetts AmherstcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018The Manning Innovation Program at UMass Amherst's Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) provides grants to advance applied research and development in sciences and engineering through creation of start-up companies and licensing of intellectual property. Since inception, 14 faculty members have received Manning Innovation Awards supporting research in cancer treatments, wastewater treatment, veterinary science, and reproductive health care. The foundation provided a $3 million gift to expand the commercialization pipeline.
• University of VirginiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013In 2013, the Manning Family Foundation partnered with UVA to create the LaunchPad for Diabetes Innovation Fund. The goal is to support and develop transformational research projects addressing unmet clinical needs and improving care for patients with diabetes mellitus. Since its inception, 64 projects have been funded, paving the way for dramatic changes in diabetes diagnosis and treatment.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• JDRF (Breakthrough T1D): The leading global Type 1 Diabetes research funder; directly comparable as a disease-focused research grantmaker competing for the same investigator pool the Manning Foundation supports via UVA LaunchPad.
• The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust: Large private foundation with a defining focus on Type 1 Diabetes research and care, mirroring the Manning Family Foundation's core T1D program via the UVA LaunchPad partnership.
• Russell Berrie Foundation: Family foundation with concentrated giving in diabetes research and community programs — directly comparable mission structure to Manning's two-pronged health-and-local-giving approach.
• Charles H. Hood Foundation: New England-based family foundation funding pediatric health research and community programs; structurally and operationally similar to Manning's Charlottesville-centered model.
• Foundation Fighting Blindness: The Manning Family Foundation's core partner on the Retinal Degeneration Fund; FFB is the dominant US nonprofit funding inherited retinal disease research, including macular degeneration and Stargardt's.

Broad incumbents

• The Joslin Diabetes Center: Specialty diabetes research and care institution that both receives research grants and operates its own grant programs, comparable to the Manning Foundation's T1D research focus.
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Large family-origin foundation supporting medical research and the performing arts; comparable in structure (private 501(c)(3) grantmaker) and overlapping in health research, though broader in mission.
• American Diabetes Association: National nonprofit funder of diabetes research and programs; directly comparable disease focus on diabetes research grants and a potential partner/peer of the Manning Foundation's UVA LaunchPad work.
• The John Templeton Foundation: Large private foundation funding science and medical research grants at scale; comparable as a peer grantmaking institution supporting investigator-initiated research, though broader in thematic scope.

Regional players

• Carl Zeiss Foundation (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung): German foundation funding science research including ophthalmology; comparable as a disease-aligned research funder though geographically focused on Europe.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments3 records

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Frequently asked questions about Manning Family Foundation