As National Diabetes Awareness Month comes to an end, we wanted to highlight some incredible organizations. Throughout the year, these non-profit organizations and registered charities work tirelessly to make a difference for those living with diabetes. Through fundraising for research, developing clinical guidelines, providing education to healthcare professionals and people living with diabetes, or creating opportunities for those living with the disease to interact and engage with each other, they help us live our best lives.
Small Organizations
These small organizations are considered grassroots and are doing big things with small budgets and even smaller staffs. They have a very specific niche and target audience and we’re happy to support them and help spread the word about what they do!
Connected in Motion
CIM creates a culture of support and engagement in diabetes self-management through experiential diabetes education and outdoor adventure pursuits. By creating a community that is motivating, supporting, and inspiring individuals to take charge of their health today, we are helping to improve the quality of life for people with diabetes now and tomorrow.
Our Mission
To foster a community of people living with Type 1 diabetes through peer-based experiential diabetes education, sport, and outdoor adventure pursuits so that they may inspire one another to live life without limits.
Our Vision
A community of healthy, active, and educated adults living with Type 1 diabetes who are supported and engaged in diabetes management.
Online and in-person retreats and adventure activities for adults living with type 1 diabetes
Blog
Adults living with type 1 diabetes, their spouses, or caregivers are welcome to participate online. Most of the events are specifically geared for adults with T1D, with some events including support persons (spouses, family, friends).
Diversity in Diabetes
Diversity in Diabetes is a 5013c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to creating awareness and providing solutions to end health disparities and the lack of representation in the diabetes space.
Who are we
Diversity in Diabetes (DiD) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in August 2020 by Quisha Umemba and Kacey Creel, the co-creators of the People of Color Living with Diabetes Summit. DiD exists to create awareness, provide education, and develop solutions that address the lack of diversity in diabetes care and management that lead to inequities in healthcare and poor health outcomes in individuals and communities of color.
What we do
Advocate to increase representation of healthcare professionals in diabetes care and management
Advocate to increase knowledge of diabetes treatment options in POCLWD
Advocate to increase utilization of technology in POCLWD
Improve access to Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support programs for POCLWD
Our services
Diversity training and diversity consulting
Diabetes education and consulting
Presenting/speaking at various events
Services
Tools and Resources for those living with diabetes – all types
Events – online and in-person
Advocacy for people of color living with diabetes
Diversity training and diversity consulting
Diabetes education and consulting
Presenting/speaking at various events
Adults living with diabetes, their spouses, or caregivers are welcome to participate online. Most of the events are specifically geared for adults with diabetes, with some events including support persons (spouses, family, friends).
Diabetes Sangha
The DiabetesSangha is a community-driven initiative to make contemplative practices (like modern “mindfulness,” other meditation practices, and wisdom teachings) accessible and relevant to people affected by Type One Diabetes (T1D).
Our Mission
Our work is first and foremost to provide the resources for each person to develop a better capacity to deal with the slings and arrows of life with T1D, and to allow the experience of T1D, through a contemplative lens, to mold us into kinder, stronger, and more balanced people. As part of this effort, we aim to bring meditation practices and perspectives to the forefront of the conversation around living a healthy, happy life with T1D, as they are in other chronic conditions.
So what exactly do we do?
The DiabetesSangha has been a community space for Diabetes and meditation since 2020, but formally became a nonprofit in 2022, with the help of Ignition Community Glass to better serve the needs of our growing community. We have three areas of focus—Meditation, Education, and Community Support. We welcome your input and ideas on ways we can better support the community in this effort. Please email peter@diabetesssangha.com.
Meditation, yoga, mindfulness sessions, and events. These are mostly online but there are some in-person events. Most of the the events are free of charge.
Adults living with type 1 diabetes. Some sessions include and are open to spouses, friends, family, or caregivers.
Diabetes Sisters
Diabetes Sisters offers a range of education and support services to help women of all ages with all types of diabetes live healthier, fuller lives. We understand the fear and isolation that often comes with living with diabetes because we are an organization that is managed by women who are living with diabetes.
How We Began
DiabetesSisters was founded in January 2008 by a woman who was diagnosed with diabetes as a teenager in the early 1990s. In addition to being faced with many obstacles, including social isolation, she was amazed how little information about or services for women with diabetes were available and how the issue seemed invisible within the women’s health community. Her high-risk pregnancy further illuminated the limited number of resources available to women with diabetes during important life stages, such as puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. All of her experiences culminated in the formation of DiabetesSisters in January 2008.
What We Do
DiabetesSisters recognizes that emotional and peer support is vitally important to a woman’s overall wellbeing. Through DiabetesSisters opportunities for peer support and education, women form a special bond and can freely share information, helpful tips, and stories of hope.
Mission
DiabetesSisters is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and quality of life of women with diabetes, and to advocate on their behalf.
What We Believe
We believe all women with diabetes should have access to a healthy support system that includes peers with diabetes. A healthy peer support system provides encouragement, empowerment, and education with the purpose of helping each woman reach her full potential in life. An empowered, informed woman with diabetes is a healthy woman with diabetes!
What We Stand For
Diversity- DiabetesSisters strives to represent and include all women in a way that reflects the diversity of the population.
Encouragement- DiabetesSisters strives to provide a healthy environment for women to seek and provide encouragement throughout their journey with diabetes.
Collaboration- In order for women with diabetes to reach their full potential we believe supportive collaboration and information exchange are essential.
Growth- DiabetesSisters promotes the growth of womens’ spirits, souls, and intellect through supportive information exchange.
Respect- DiabetesSisters promotes the respect of all women’s opinions, beliefs, questions, and concerns regardless of race, religion, socioeconomicstatus, background, or sexual orientation.
Vision Statement
The vision for DiabetesSisters is a world in which women are fully empowered to effectively manage their diabetes.
Engage. Unite. Empower.
Diabetes Sisters provides a centralized location for women with diabetes around the world to come together to support and empower each other to reach their full potential by sharing information about the disease and its treatment to improve their health.
Through the unity of Sisterhood, women will find confidence through peers who understand and care about them as individuals. This confidence will provide motivation for women to take ownership of their diabetes.
Through the unity of Sisterhood, women will set in motion a radical change in the world’s view of women with diabetes increase awareness to areas in need of change in hopes of expanding the resources available to each women.
Through the unity of Sisterhood, women will celebrate each other’s innate strength and resilience and provide motivation for women to take control of their diabetes.
Through the unity of Sisterhood, role models will emerge for both younger and older generations. These role models will provide inspiration and courage for women to reach for high goal both in life and in their diabetes care.
Through the unity of the Sisterhood, women with diabetes will become better educated about the disease and impact long-term healthcare outcomes for women with the disease.
DiabetesSisters remains dedicated to the idea that before a woman can take care of anyone else, she must first take care of herself. Therefore, a strong emphasis is placed on nurturing her health and nourishing her spirit.
Imagine…
the day when every woman with diabetes walks proudly through each stage of life knowing that she has millions of DiabetesSisters to lean on.
the day when women around the world with diabetes talk freely and proudly about their disease (with no shame or blame).
the day when the differences in females with diabetes and males with diabetes are acknowledged, researched, and understood.
the day when strong female role models with diabetes of every age abound in the media.
the day when women with diabetes around the world declare their health a top priority by attending the Annual Conference to increase their support network, become more educated about diabetes’ unique effects on women, and find motivation to take control of their diabetes (mentally and physically).
the day when cities around the world are bustling with innovative activities and events for women with diabetes.
the day when the thought of our daughters having diabetes does not strike fear in our hearts because we know that we have built a strong foundation for future generations.
IMAGINE…with DiabetesSisters!
Blog, Online educational resources, an online forum, weekend retreats, leadership training, and in-person local meet ups.
Anyone identifying as a woman.
Medium Organizations
Have a larger reach, bigger operating budget, and more staff to provide support to the community through their programs. They are doing big things in the diabetes space, both online and in person.
Beyond Type 1
Beyond Type 1 is a nonprofit organization changing what it means to live with diabetes. Through platforms, programs, resources and grants, Beyond Type 1 is uniting the global diabetes community and providing solutions to improve lives today.
Founded in 2015 with a focus on education, advocacy and the pathway to cures for type 1 diabetes, Beyond Type 1 has grown to also include programs for those with type 2 diabetes. A new model of philanthropy, Beyond Type 1 aims to change what it means to live with chronic illness.
Founders + Leadership support operational expenses so that 100 percent of every dollar raised directly supports the most promising global efforts and programs working to educate, advocate and cure type 1 diabetes. Beyond Type 1 is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization, under charitable ID #47-3336640.
PORTFOLIO Beyond Type 1 provides programs and resources that enhance the lives of those affected by diabetes, changing the landscape of chronic disease management. Additionally, Beyond Type 1 has funded some of the most innovative efforts, technology and resources focused on education, advocacy as well as research and efforts paving the way to a Type 1 diabetes cure.
Tools and Resources for those living with type 1 diabetes
Events – engagement, education, or fundraising
Advocacy and Awareness
Anyone living with type 1 diabetes, their friends, and family are welcome to join the online community. Events or programs are designated for people with type 1 diabetes or their support system (friends, family, spouses). Please refer to the specific program for details.
Beyond Type 2
Launched in 2019, Beyond Type 2 is a program of the nonprofit organization Beyond Type 1. Beyond Type 2 is a place for everyone impacted by type 2 diabetes to share their stories, get connected to the community, and find resources on topics from daily management to mental health.
Since its founding in 2015, Beyond Type 2 was part of our organization’s roadmap. The same approach that has made Beyond Type 1 successful has the power to disrupt diabetes more broadly and to improve the lives of those impacted by type 2.
Beyond Type 2 hopes to radically change what it means to live with type 2 diabetes. We aim to unite the global community and empower everyone living with type 2 to live beyond it. With the right resources, programs, and power of our combined voices, we can redefine what it means to be a person living with diabetes—of any type.
Tools and Resources for those living with type 2 diabetes
Events – engagement, education, or fundraising
Advocacy
Anyone living with type 2 diabetes, their friends, and family are welcome to join the online community. Events or programs are designated for people with type 2 diabetes or their support system (friends, family, spouses). Please refer to the specific program for details.
DiaTribe
diaTribe, our patient-focused online publication, is part of The diaTribe Foundation’s mission to improve the lives of people with diabetes.
diaTribe seeks to empower our readers with useful, actionable information that gives them hope for a better future and helps them live happier and healthier lives. Our tagline is “Making Sense of Diabetes.”
Our team has access to the world’s leading diabetes and obesity researchers and clinicians. We attend all the relevant conferences, and we’ve developed unmatched expertise in this area. Most importantly, we have personal connections to diabetes – many of us have it ourselves, and this perspective influences everything we do and write.
diaTribe covers a wide variety of topics related to diabetes. From type 1 to type 2, from drugs to devices, from research opportunities to regulatory decisions, the common thread through our articles is that they aim to provide value to our readers. That might come from learning about a new product or study, from feeling more confident in discussions with their healthcare team, or simply gaining hope knowing that progress is being made every day. We also hope to raise awareness of unmet needs in diabetes and, through education, decrease the stigma associated with this disease.
Resources for those living with diabetes – all types
Online Blog
Anyone living with diabetes, their friends, and family are welcome to join the online community.
TCOYD
Guided by the belief that every person with diabetes has the right to live a healthy, happy, and productive life, Taking Control Of Your Diabetes® educates and motivates people with diabetes to take a more active role in their condition and provides innovative and integrative continuing education to medical professionals caring for people with diabetes.
OUR VISION
For all people with diabetes and their loved ones to have full access to proper education and therapy to aid in the prevention, early detection, and aggressive management of diabetes and its complications.
OUR STORY
Since 1995, Taking Control Of Your Diabetes® has been transforming the way people from around the world live with diabetes by encouraging them to take a more active role in their condition through education, motivation, empowerment, and humor.
The creation of TCOYD® started out as a desire for more. Founder and Director Dr. Steve Edelman, a type 1 himself, wanted to bring diabetes education directly to those most affected by it, the people living with diabetes. He became an endocrinologist to provide education, motivation, and empowerment to help the diabetes community understand that people living with diabetes can live a happy, healthy life. He then joined forces with Sandra Bourdette, who was a pharmaceutical rep at the time, to bring the vision to life and to help launch the not-for-profit, Taking Control Of Your Diabetes®.
TCOYD® began in Sandy’s small beach cottage in Del Mar, California but set its sights on doing big things. In 1995 TCOYD® hosted its first conference at the San Diego Convention Center. This event set a new standard for cutting-edge education, humorous presentation styles, and opening communication lines with patients—and sent ripples throughout the diabetes community. The San Diego conference became the flagship program for the organization, which over the last 25+ years has expanded into both in-person and virtual international events reaching over 500,000 people from over 100 countries and all 50 states.
In 2005 TCOYD® launched its continuing medical education program for healthcare professionals providing cutting-edge education on the most up-to-date care and management strategies presented by world-class key opinion leaders to healthcare professions. TCOYD® has continued to grow its CME program hosting both in-person and virtual events in a variety of educational and interactive formats to healthcare professionals from around the world.
Through one-of-a-kind conferences, interactive online programs, a content-rich website full of expertly-produced videos and informative articles, and supportive online community groups, TCOYD® has become the go-to resource for the diabetes community.
Founder Dr. Steve Edelman has always made sure to keep it light and entertaining in order to make a difficult subject palatable. His unique approach to humor, incorporated by the thousands of expert speakers, has defined our community’s experience and set the organization apart. The TCOYD® mission, experience, and way of life gives every person affected with diabetes the freedom to have fun, take control, and be you!
Tools and Resources for those living with diabetes – all types
Articles, Youtube, podcast
Events – engagement and education, in-person and online
Education for healthcare professionals
Anyone living with diabetes, their friends, family and healthcare professionals are welcome to join the online community. Events or programs are designated for people with diabetes or their support system (friends, family, spouses) or healthcare professionals. Please refer to the specific program for details.
The Diabetes Link
The Diabetes Link is the go-to for peer support, resources, and leadership opportunities designed specifically for young adults.
We exist to support and empower you
When you’re part of The Diabetes Link, you don’t just live with diabetes, you thrive with diabetes. We understand the extra challenges that diabetes adds to your life and we can help make it easier.
As you embark on adulthood and all the excitement and drama that comes with that, you deserve a place where diabetes is understood and doesn’t need to be explained. A place where you can feel heard, without judgment, and find encouragement and inspiration.
The Diabetes Link is the go-to for peer support, resources, and leadership opportunities designed specifically for young adults. We will be an ally that connects you to the people, programs, and practical information that can help make your life easier and more enjoyable now and into the future.
Tools and Resources for those young adults living with type 1 diabetes
Events – engagement and education, in-person and online
College and University Chapters for students living with type 1 diabetes
Leadership and training program for Chapter leads
Anyone living with type 1 diabetes, their friends, and family are welcome to join the online community. Events or programs are designated for people with type 1 diabetes or their support system (friends, family, spouses). Please refer to the specific program for details.
Large Organizations
Make an impact nationally for both people living with diabetes but also healthcare professionals. These organizations are fundraising for a cure and providing the needed funds for research studies to happen. They also work tirelessly to advocate for change to improve the lives of those living with this disease. There are two major organizations in the US that you’ve most likely already heard of.
American Diabetes Association
The moving force behind the work of the American Diabetes Association® is a network of more than 565,000 volunteers, their families, and caregivers, a professional society of nearly 12,000 healthcare professionals, as well as nearly 350 staff members.
See the vision. Join the mission.
Vision: Life free of diabetes and all its burdens
Mission
To prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
We lead the fight against the deadly consequences of diabetes and fight for those affected by diabetes.
We fund research to prevent, cure, and manage diabetes.
We deliver services to hundreds of communities.
We provide objective and credible information.
We give voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes.
Tools and Resources for those living with diabetes – all types
Events – engagement, education, or fundraising
Developing and maintaining clinical guidelines for healthcare providers
Advocacy
Anyone living with diabetes, their friends, family and healthcare professionals are welcome to join the online community. Events or programs are designated for people with diabetes or their support system (friends, family, spouses) or healthcare professionals. Please refer to the specific program for details.
JDRF
JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our strength lies in our exclusive focus and singular influence on the worldwide effort to end T1D.
Vision: A world without type 1 diabetes
Mission: Improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent, and treat T1D and its complications
Why we fight type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes both children and adults suddenly. It has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent it. And, at present, there is no cure.
In T1D, your pancreas stops producing insulin—a hormone the body needs to get energy from food. This means a process your body does naturally and automatically becomes something that now requires your daily attention and manual intervention. If you have T1D, you must constantly monitor your blood sugar level, inject or infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance these insulin doses with your eating and activity throughout the day and night.
However, insulin is not a cure for diabetes. Even with the most vigilant disease management, a significant portion of your day will be spent with either high or low blood sugar levels. These fluctuations place people with T1D at risk for potentially life-threatening hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic episodes as well as devastating long-term complications such as kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness, and amputation. Learn more about T1D.
JDRF wants a world without T1D
JDRF works every day to change the reality of this disease for millions of people—and to prevent anyone else from ever knowing it—by funding research; advocating for government support of research and new therapies; ensuring new therapies come to market and are recommended by healthcare providers; and connecting, engaging, and educating the T1D community.
Founded by parents determined to find a cure for their children with T1D, JDRF expanded through grassroots fundraising and advocacy efforts to become a powerhouse in the scientific community with dozens of U.S. locations and five international affiliates. We’ve funded about $2.5 billion in research to date and have made significant progress in understanding and fighting the disease. We must keep up the pace of funding so progress doesn’t slow or stop entirely.
You’re the reason for our success.
Every dollar we put toward research comes from donations. So when you support JDRF with your time, talent, voice, and, yes, your money, you enable us to advance even more research.
There are many ways to join the JDRF family, but since our founding in 1970 there has been only one reason—because we are the organization that will turn Type One into Type None.
We have some of the best ratings for an organization focused on a single disease from charity watchdog groups and media. In 2012, Forbes named JDRF one of its five “All-Star” charities, based on its evaluation of our financial efficiency.
What’s in a name? A bit of “JDRF” history
JDRF has led the search for a cure for T1D since our founding in 1970. In those days, people commonly called the disease “juvenile diabetes” because it was frequently diagnosed in, and strongly associated with, young children. Our organization began as the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Later, to emphasize exactly how we planned to end the disease, we added a word and became the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Today, we know an equal number of children and adults are diagnosed every day—approximately 110 people per day. Thanks to better therapies—which JDRF funding has been instrumental in developing and making available—people with T1D live longer and stay healthier while they await the cure. So a few years ago, we changed our name to JDRF:
To remove the misconception that T1D is only a childhood disease
To acknowledge that nearly 85 percent of people living with the disease are over age 18
To reinforce our commitment to funding research that improves life for people at all ages and all stages of the disease
Tools and Resources for those living with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers
Events – engagement, education, community, fundraising
Advocacy
Research
Anyone living with type 1 diabetes, their friends, family and healthcare professionals are welcome to join the online community. Events or programs are designated for people with type 1 diabetes or their support system (friends, family, spouses) or healthcare professionals. Please refer to the specific program for details.