What Vasculitis Ireland Awareness does

Vasculitis Ireland Awareness (VIA) is a registered charity and All-Ireland support group serving people living with vasculitis, their carers, and interested healthcare professionals. The organization was founded and is operated entirely by volunteers, with all funds raised reinvested into its charitable aims. VIA holds registrations in both the Republic of Ireland (RCN20204769) and Northern Ireland (NIC105731), with HMRC registration (XT34911), and is listed on Orphanet as a rare disease organization. It is headquartered at the Gate Lodge, Park House, Bawn Street, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon.

VIA's core digital offering is Dwayne, an AI-powered vasculitis chatbot described as the first of its kind in the vasculitis space. Dwayne is built on the Voiceflow platform using OpenAI and Claude LLM models, processes text-based queries, and draws on the VIA knowledge base to answer questions about symptoms, treatments, medications, and side effects across 16 documented vasculitis types. Supporting technology includes Make.com for workflow automation (notably notifying developers when the chatbot cannot find answers) and Airtable for storing chatbot transcripts for internal review. The chatbot was developed and is maintained by technology partner ReganByte. Beyond Dwayne, VIA distributes comprehensive educational content via its Squarespace-hosted website, a blog with member stories, an email newsletter, and community events, and sells branded merchandise (tote bags €10, tee shirts €25, gift cards from €25) through an e-commerce store.

VIA generates revenue through two primary streams: one-time merchandise sales via its Squarespace online storefront and recurring donations and fundraising. The organization explicitly states that 100% of money raised is spent on advancing the charity's aims. It pursues a community-led go-to-market motion, relying on organic community building through its website, AI chatbot, content marketing, and partner-driven research initiatives (notably with Rare Disease Ireland) rather than paid sales channels. VIA has no paid staff and no disclosed investors, parent company, or institutional funding.

Name

Vasculitis Ireland Awareness

Legal name

Vasculitis Ireland Awareness

Website

https://vasculitis-ia.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Vasculitis Ireland Awareness (VIA) is a volunteer-run All-Ireland registered charity that supports vasculitis patients, carers, and healthcare professionals through education, peer support, and Dwayne, the first AI-powered vasculitis chatbot.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rare Disease Patient Support

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Health, Wellness & Patient Communities (MPACAJAL)

Keywords

• Patient support services
• Rare disease awareness
• Vasculitis education
• Charitable healthcare support
• Peer support groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Strokestown

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Merchandise Sales: Online store selling VIA-branded merchandise including tote bags (€10), tee shirts (€25), and gift cards (from €25). Revenue supports charity operations.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations and fundraising. All money raised is 100% spent on furthering the aims of the charity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Vasculitis Ireland Awareness (VIA) is a volunteer-run All-Ireland registered charity that provides educational content, peer support, and resources for people affected by vasculitis, their carers, and interested healthcare professionals. Its core digital offering is Dwayne, an AI-powered vasculitis chatbot that delivers information about symptoms, treatments, medications, and side effects, complemented by a Squarespace-hosted online store selling branded merchandise (tote bags, t-shirts, gift cards) to fund charitable operations.

Product overview

Vasculitis Ireland Awareness (VIA) operates as an All-Ireland Support Group for vasculitis patients, offering both digital services and merchandise. The core digital offering is Dwayne, an AI-powered chatbot that provides vasculitis information. Supporting resources include comprehensive educational content covering 16 types of vasculitis. The VIA Store offers merchandise including gift cards, tee shirts, and tote bags. The organization is entirely volunteer-run.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dwayne - AI Vasculitis Chatbot An AI-powered chatbot providing general information about vasculitis, including symptoms, treatments, medication information, and potential side effects. Built by ReganByte on Voiceflow using OpenAI and Claude LLM models and trained on the VIA knowledge base. Available to vasculitis patients, carers, and interested healthcare professionals.
• VIA Tote Bag Eco-friendly tote bag made from high-quality cotton canvas with reinforced handles, featuring VIA branding. Sold for €10 to support the charity's mission.
• VIA Tee Shirts Branded clothing item featuring Vasculitis Ireland Awareness branding, sold for €25 to support the charity's operations.
• VIA Gift Card Digital gift card available for purchase starting at €25, allowing supporters to contribute to the VIA charity while providing a gift option.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, support, minor and supporting.

• ReganBytecoreTechnology or IntegrationReganByte built and maintains the Dwayne AI chatbot. They handle development and maintenance of the AI-powered vasculitis information chatbot using Voiceflow platform.
• Rare Disease IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on research initiatives. Rare Disease Ireland asked VIA community members to complete healthcare experience questionnaires for rare disease research.
• Teach Ruadh FoundationsupportOthersFoundation that provides support to VIA, mentioned in website footer as supported by organization.
• Urban Brand CreativeminorOthersDesign agency credited for website design services.
• VoiceflowcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party platform powering the Dwayne AI chatbot. May collect technical and interaction data per their privacy policy.
• Make.comsupportingTechnology or IntegrationUsed to automate processes including sending emails to developers when chatbot cannot find answers. May collect technical and interaction data.
• AirtablesupportingTechnology or IntegrationUsed to store chatbot transcripts externally so VIA team can monitor and review for issues or improvements.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD): US-based umbrella organization serving as the main advocacy and resource hub for rare diseases. Similar volunteer- and donation-driven model but at much larger scale; comparable rare-disease education and support mission.
• Versus Arthritis: Large UK charity funding research and providing services across musculoskeletal conditions including vasculitis. Overlaps patient population and information-providing mission at significantly larger scale.
• EURORDIS-Rare Diseases Europe: European alliance of rare disease patient organizations representing over 1,000 member organizations. Broader umbrella covering vasculitis among hundreds of conditions; comparable voluntary health organization model at scale.

Direct peers

• MPN Voice: UK-based patient-run charity supporting people with myeloproliferative neoplasms through information, forums, and events. Closely comparable volunteer-run, niche-condition patient support model.
• Vasculitis Foundation: A US-based patient organization for vasculitis, providing education, research support, and community for people affected by all forms of vasculitis. It is the most directly comparable vasculitis-specific patient support organization.
• Genetic Alliance UK: National charity supporting those affected by genetic and rare conditions across the UK. Operates an analogous patient-information, support, and community model for overlapping rare-disease populations.
• Vasculitis UK: A UK-based charity supporting people with vasculitis and their families, offering information, support networks, and research funding. Closest geographic and disease-specific peer to VIA.
• Rare Disease Ireland: Irish national alliance for rare diseases, advocating for improved services and supports. A confirmed partner of VIA on research questionnaires; addresses overlapping patient populations in Ireland.

Regional players

• Rare Voices Australia: Australia's national rare disease advocacy organization, providing a comparable peer-support, policy, and information model in a different geography; useful as a regional analogue.

Emerging players

• Lupus UK: UK charity supporting people with lupus and related autoimmune conditions (which can include vasculitis overlap). Operates an analogous education, support, and community model for an adjacent autoimmune rare-disease population.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Vasculitisirelandawareness
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vasculitisirelandawareness

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Vasculitis Ireland Awareness