Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Announces Three-Year Grant to Lead the National Paralysis Resource Center

SHORT HILLS, N.J., Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the nation's premier nonprofit dedicated to curing spinal cord injury and improving quality of life for all those impacted by paralysis, announced today that the Administration for Community Living (ACL) has awarded the Foundation a three-year grant to continue its leadership of the National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC). The cooperative agreement awards $10 million, appropriated by Congress for FY26, to support the first year of the grant. The Reeve Foundation has operated the NPRC for more than 25 years, competing in a rigorous, competitive bidding process every grant cycle to renew funding.

"The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities can live with dignity, independence, health, and full participation in their communities. The Reeve Foundation is honored to partner with ACL to advance that vision through the National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC), the nation's trusted source of resources, support, and meaningful connection for people living with paralysis and their families," said Maggie F. Goldberg, President & CEO of the Reeve Foundation. "With longstanding bipartisan federal support, the NPRC has helped millions of Americans navigate life after injury or diagnosis, and the Reeve Foundation is proud to continue that work alongside ACL."

The NPRC is at the heart of the Reeve Foundation's commitment to Today's Care. Tomorrow's Cure., a vision of a world where spinal cord injury doesn't result in paralysis, and paralysis does not result in diminished quality of life.

Congress established the NPRC in 2002 as a federally supported national resource because living with paralysis requires specialized expertise and national coordination. When paralysis changes life, people need clear answers, timely support, and a path forward. Paralysis may begin suddenly after injury, stroke, a traumatic event, or surgical complication, or it may develop gradually as part of a progressive condition. It can affect a child growing up with paralysis, an adult returning to work, an older adult adapting to new supports, a veteran navigating multiple systems, or a family member who becomes a caregiver overnight.

The NPRC is the only national program that directly serves the 5.4 million Americans living with paralysis, the leading causes of which include stroke, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy. These and other paralysis-causing conditions affect movement, health, independence, communication, employment, school, caregiving, family life, and community participation.

The NPRC delivers a coordinated, national system of services designed to increase access to trusted information, improve care systems navigation and self-advocacy, reduce isolation, create stronger caregiver supports, increase community capacity, reduce barriers to care, and demonstrate measurable quality of life improvements. Its services combine information and care referrals, peer support, community outreach, national and community-based partnerships, competitive Quality of Life Community Grants, and more.

In 2025 alone, the NPRC responded to over 7,400 inquiries, showing the continuing need for individualized support long after injury, diagnosis, or hospital discharge. Over the course of the prior five-year ACL cooperative agreement, the NPRC awarded more than $17 million in nonprofit community-based grants to support nearly 1,500 programs that have resulted in measurable improvements for individuals, families and caregivers and whole communities. For the approximately 42,000 veterans living with paralysis, the NPRC helped provide specialized support tailored to veterans' unique needs. Its nearly 600 certified peer mentors ensure that individuals have someone to turn to who understands deeply their personal experiences with paralysis.

This coordinated system of care addresses a critical care gap facing everyday Americans. Although paralysis-related conditions may begin in different parts of the healthcare system, life after paralysis quickly extends beyond healthcare. People and families need support across rehabilitation, benefits, caregiving, transportation, housing, employment, education, peer connection, adaptive recreation, mental health, community living, and long-term services and supports. No single local system is responsible for coordinating all of these needs, and state-based services may vary. As a result, people frequently encounter disconnected care, inconsistent information, limited provider coordination, and gaps in community-based supports.

Delayed or unreliable support has real consequences. It can lead to inappropriate services, delayed access to equipment or benefits, preventable secondary conditions, avoidable rehospitalization, increased healthcare costs, caregiver strain, reduced independence, and lost opportunities for community participation. The problem is not simply that services do not exist. The problem is that people must find, understand, trust, coordinate, and use those services while already navigating a major life change.

"From the moment Dana Reeve envisioned and championed a centralized place where people affected by paralysis could turn for practical and emotional support, the Reeve Foundation has worked to make the NPRC the trusted, go-to resource for people living with paralysis and those who care for them," said Regina Blye, Chief Program Officer at the Reeve Foundation. "No one should have to navigate paralysis alone. The NPRC is here to ensure that everyone, regardless of where they live or what challenges they face, can access the information, resources and support they need to live their best life."

For more information on the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, please visit ChristopherReeve.org.

About the Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation (Reeve Foundation) is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. We envision a world in which spinal cord injury does not result in paralysis and paralysis does not result in diminished quality of life. The Reeve Foundation operates the National Paralysis Resource Center, the only federally funded entity dedicated to directly supporting the paralysis community. As the recognized leader in the field, the National Paralysis Resource Center is supported by a competitive cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to promote the health, well-being, and independence of people living with paralysis, providing comprehensive information, resources, and referral services.

We meet all 20 of the Better Business Bureau's standards for charity accountability and hold the BBB's Charity Seal. For more information, please visit ChristopherReeve.org or call 800-225-0292.

SOURCE Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation