The Cause

STEP UP FOR CEREBRAL PALSY RESEARCH

Cerebral palsy is the most common lifelong physical disability in the world, affecting 18 million people. It’s caused by damage to the developing brain during pregnancy, birth, or shortly after birth, and it directly affects a person’s movement and posture for life.

WHAT YOU’RE STEPPING UP FOR

Funds you raise during STEPtember support Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation (CPARF), the foremost nonprofit in the world focusing on research and disability innovation for cerebral palsy. CPARF brings science to life to uncover and change what's possible for cerebral palsy.

Early Detection and Intervention

Funding research to give babies the best possible start. Early detection enhances the chance of successful intervention treatment and improves overall quality of life. 

Chronic Pain

Advancing research on chronic pain, focusing on prevention and new treatment development. These findings will help people lead fuller, less painful lives with enhanced career, education, and social opportunities. 

Genomics

Funding research that has the potential to transform lives by identifying genetic factors that contribute to various diagnoses. Advances in genomics means we can develop targeted therapies, earlier interventions, and improve quality of life with better care and support. 

Adulthood

From aging, and changes in mobility, to better access to ongoing care and support, the needs of adults with CP matter and we’re working to ensure that those needs can be met.

Technology & Innovation

Investing in the next generation of assistive technology. Through our startup accelerator, Remarkable US, we bring affordable technologies to the people who need them. These technologies increase independence and make life easier – improving movement, communication, navigation, and more. By expanding access to assistive technology, we can ensure that everyone — from people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to the aging population — is fully included in society.  

Let's Move Together for Cerebral palsy

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How We've Stepped Up

Want to learn more about where your fundraising money goes?
Read more about Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation.

For 10 years, we’ve been driving  life-changing international cerebral palsy research.

$48M

Granted to CP Research

780

Grants

183

Institutions

408

Researchers
 

But our work is far from over. Raising funds for CP Research is more important than ever before.

WHAT WE DO

CPARF funds the brightest US researchers to discover what's possible for cerebral palsy.

We are the foremost organization in the world that solely focuses on CP research. CP is the most common childhood-onset physical disability in the world and it is one of the most underfunded. We will be the ones to change that. We will be the ones to find, fund, and support the researchers who will positively reshape what it’s like to live with CP.

TACKLING A CRUCIAL NEED IN THE US

In the US, CP research is currently trapped in a cycle of chronic underinvestment that stifles innovation. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) only allocates around $28 million to CP research annually, despite CP’s high prevalence and exceptionally high lifelong economic burden. One in 323 babies is diagnosed with CP each year, and related lifetime costs exceed $1.2 million per person, while less common disabilities with lower lifetime costs receive exponentially more NIH funds, leading to more research for them.

OUR APPROACH

We were established in New York City in 2015 by Australia’s Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA). With their 75-year history as the global leader in CP care and treatment, and as the largest private funder of CP research in the world, CPA recognized an urgent need to create a research-based presence in the United States.

By founding the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute in 2005, CPA propelled CP research into the international spotlight. They supported several studies that revolutionized prenatal care, including using therapeutic cooling to counter brain injury in full-term babies in intensive care, and administering magnesium sulfate to any mother in extreme preterm labor, forming a potentially protective shield around their baby’s brain, which greatly lessened the severity of CP.

We proudly partner with researchers, institutes, and foundations around the globe to harness scientific expertise, aggregate global findings, incentivize progress, and access unparalleled insight in the CP research space. We take a strategic and thoughtful approach when choosing each study we fund. Our goal is always to amplify the science that is closest to making a breakthrough.

AN ALLIANCE LIKE NO OTHER

Our global presence makes us the ideal conduit to fund US-based researchers who are asking the unasked questions and discovering new solutions. We connect them with others in the field to expand collaboration and translation of their work, making it easier and faster to get information to the scientific community and to people with CP and their families.

Our information-sharing alliance ensures we’re best positioned to place your funds where they will fuel the most consequential change through research.

10,000 REASONS TO JOIN

By stepping up to the challenge, you’ll be raising crucial funds for life-changing cerebral palsy research and innovation. And with the help of the STEPtember trainers, you’ll unlock the motivation you need to reach your personal fundraising and fitness goals.

Connect with Us

@researchforcp #STEPtemberUS