October 2015
Making a Difference in the Eyes of the World has also joined with Research to Prevent Blindness, the largest $61,692,019 private funder of eye research, and Susan and Dowd Ritter for a Awarded/Directed since 1997 *includes $1,135,923 through Regions/Buck Trust
three-way funding partnership in support of the Ritter/RPB Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology Research at UAB. Similarly, ESFA is collaborating with national partner Prevent
Since 1997 ESFA has funded a variety of eye health
Blindness, the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety
and vision projects across the state, from summer
organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight, to
camps for children with vision impairment and eye
lead the Alabama Vision Coalition. The AVC’s goal is to help
care for the medically indigent, to research into blind-
grantees and agencies increase and enhance their impact on
ing eye disease and vision screenings for chil-
eye care in Alabama through collaborations and partner-
dren. The foundation began its work in 1997 with an
ships. Each of these examples illustrate ESFA’s intent to
endowment of about $60 million. Over the years it
strengthen the impact of every grant making dollar we contrib-
has provided grant support totaling $60+ million to 58
ute by amplifying the work of our grantees.
organizations and programs in Alabama. Even with this level of generosity, given throughout some turbulent times in the investment markets, we are proud to hold $50+million from which we will continue to award grants. The ESFA Board of Trustees also advises Regions Bank on grants awarded from the Carl and Pauline Buck Trust held at Regions; counting those grants, ESFA surpassed the $61 million milestone in
July 2015. In recent years the foundation has intentionally engaged in strategic funding and collaborative partnerships to leverage the impact of our grantmaking. We are partnering, for example, with the University of Alabama at Birmingham on the Vision of Excellence, a
AREAS OF SUPPORT ESFA awards grants in the following areas: • Public education regarding preventive and routine eye care and vision screening • Eye care for the medically indigent • Low vision and rehabilitation service • Improved geographical access to general and specialty eye care services • Education and training of eye care professionals and scientific investigators • Research in the prevention and treatment of eye diseases, disabilities or impairment prevalent in Alabama and the development of effective methods of treatment, surgery or rehabilitation • Basic science research on the visual system
matching fund with the School of Medicine that sup-
MISSION
ports the research efforts of the UAB Department of
To serve as a catalyst to improve eyesight through
Ophthalmology. Another ESFA/UAB matching grant
research, education and access to care
program is the Research Acceleration Initiative, an effort that encourages collaboration among vision scientists across all related disciplines at UAB. ESFA
VISION Making a difference in the eyes of the world