Diabetes Research Connection
It takes a community to connect for a cure
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
One out of every hundred Americans has type 1 diabetes. Millions of children and adults struggle with this autoimmune disease. Despite these numbers, funding for diabetes research has declined. Of the funding available, 97% goes to established scientists. Scientific breakthroughs often emerge due to the inventiveness of early-career scientists. Albert Einstein revealed his theory of general relativity at 26. Banting & Best discovered insulin before they turned 33. Imagine our world today if these scientists had not received funding for their research? These young scientists have exciting new ideas however, mainstream funding rarely supports them, so their ideas simply can’t off the ground…until now.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Grant administration
The DRC provides funding for early-career scientists to perform innovative research in type 1 diabetes
Fundraising
The DRC connects donors and research scientists in the mutual pursuit of answers about diabetes
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Live Well San Diego 2021
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsTotal number of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, People with diseases and illnesses
Related Program
Grant administration
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of organizations applying for grants
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People with diseases and illnesses
Related Program
Grant administration
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Scientists from across the country submit their projects through our website. Members of our panel of more than 80 of the leading diabetes experts review each proposal.
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People with diseases and illnesses
Related Program
Grant administration
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
DRC funds early-career scientists ' vetted research projects for up to $50,000.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our mission is to connect donors with early-career scientists enabling them to perform peer-reviewed, novel research designed to prevent and cure type 1 diabetes, minimize its complications and improve the quality of life for those living with the disease.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
DRC utilizes the online mechanism called “crowdfunding” because it connects scientists just starting out in their research career directly to the crowd of people seeking solutions to diabetes.
The seed money supporters provide through DRC’s website will help ensure that innovative ideas can be pursued. Without this source of funding, the number of researchers in diabetes is certain to decline and a cure will be that more difficult to find.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Scientists from across the country submit their projects through our website. Members of our panel of more than 80 of the leading diabetes experts review each proposal for innovation, value and feasibility. These established scientists donate their time and expertise to encourage the next generation of diabetes investigators.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
- $2M has been distributed directly to early-career scientists to perform new Type One Diabetes research.
- 44 research projects have been funded since 2015.
-First to use crowdfunding to support a specific disease and is helping other disease-focused nonprofits, like the American Brain Foundation, emulate our platform to raise funds for their research.
-The only organization that can provide researchers with funds in as few as six months.
- 3 of DRC's supported early-career scientists have gone on to establish their own labs and 3 have had their research project's results published.
- $8.4M has been secured in follow-on funding from 7 of our DRC supported projects
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Diabetes Research Connection
Board of directorsas of 02/06/2024
Eric Zwisler
Nigel Calcutt
University of California, San Diego
Charles King
Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, UCSD
Alberto Hayek
University of California, San Diego
Vincenzo Cirulli
University of Washington
Matthias VonHerrath
La Jolla Institute
Ron Leibow
David Winkler
Del Mar Partnership
Steve Korniczky
Sheppard Mullen
Amy Adams
Tarson Investments
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/10/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.