About The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America
The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) works to cure Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases. CCFA sponsors basic and clinical research of the highest quality. The foundation also offers a wide range of educational programs for patients and health-care professionals, and provides supportive services to help people cope with these chronic intestinal diseases. These programs are supported solely by contributions from the public. Our areas of focus are: research programs, education programs, and support services.
Mission
The mission of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) is to cure Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases.
CCFA sponsors basic and clinical research of the highest quality. CCFA also offers a wide range of educational programs for patients and health care professionals, while providing supportive services to help people cope with these chronic intestinal diseases. These programs are supported solely through our donors, grants, and fundraising efforts.
Areas of Focus Include:
Research Programs—CCFA has provided more than $200 million for research on the treatment and cure of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). Most recently, we have contributed to early research on TNF-alpha, which contributed to the development of infliximab; development of animal models of IBD—vital resources that have greatly accelerated the pace of research; the identification of two regions on chromosomes that contain genes for IBD; and to the discovery of NOD2, the first gene for Crohn's disease.
Education Programs—CCFA provides information and education for the more than 1.4 million IBD patients and their families through a variety of awareness campaigns, books, exclusive mailings, local chapters periodicals (Take Charge and Under the Microscope), our webcasts, and through this website. CCFA also offers professional education through our professional journal, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, as well as through health professional workshops.
Support Services—CCFA support services are delivered through local chapters which offer more than 300 support groups annually, Camp Oasis (our summer camps for children living with IBD) and a wide range of educational and training programs for communities nationwide.
Fundraising Initiatives—Essential to CCFA's mission, our ongoing fundraising efforts enable us to fund further research, as well as educational and support activities. We raise more than $55 million annually through memberships, fundraising events, sponsorships, and other programs. Find out how you can support CCFA.