Making a Difference in the Eyes of the World $63,994,056 Awarded/Directed since 1997
October 2016
*includes $1,211,946 through Regions/Buck Trust Since 1997 ESFA has funded a variety of eye health and vision projects across the state, from summer camps
support of the Ritter/RPB Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology Research at UAB.
for children with vision impairment and eye care for
Similarly, ESFA is collaborating with national partner Prevent
the medically indigent, to research into blinding eye
Blindness, the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety
disease and vision screenings for children. The foun-
organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight, to
dation began its work in 1997 with an endowment of
lead the Alabama Vision Coalition. The AVC’s goal is to help
about $60 million. Over the years it has provided
grantees and agencies increase and enhance their impact on
grant support totaling $60+ million to 60 organizations
eye care in Alabama through collaborations and partner-
and programs in Alabama. Even with this level of gen-
ships. Each of these examples illustrate ESFA’s intent to
erosity, given throughout some turbulent times in the
strengthen the impact of every grant making dollar we contrib-
investment markets, we are proud to hold $50+million
ute by amplifying the work of our grantees.
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 neared the $64 million milestone in July 2016. 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 matching fund with the School of Medicine that supports the research efforts of the UAB Department of
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
Ophthalmology. Another ESFA/UAB matching grant program is the Research Acceleration Initiative, an effort that encourages collaboration among vision scientists across all related disciplines at UAB. ESFA has also joined with Research to Prevent Blindness, the largest private funder of eye research, and Susan and Dowd Ritter for a three-way funding partnership in
MISSION To serve as a catalyst to improve eyesight through research, education and access to care
VISION Making a difference in the eyes of the world