Fact Sheet on Donations

Fact Sheet on Grants

Fact Sheet on Major Projects

Fact Sheet on Resources

LCIF annually gives as many as 500 grants. Many of them are standard grants (matching grants) that enable Lions to provide humanitarian service to their community or another community. Typical projects include developing children's hospices, care centers for the elderly and vocational programs for the disabled.

Additionally,  LCIF supports many long-term major projects. LCIF's major projects are listed below.

Children's Preschool Vision Screening
LCIF's children's eye photoscreening program enables Lions to conduct mass screenings of children for amblyopia ("lazy eye"). The 17 programs in the United States and MD300 Taiwan, have screened more than 4 children. Of those screened, 125,600 have been referred to physicians for further evaluation, 21,200 have received glasses and 21,700 have been treated for various eye conditions. The photoscreening projects have been funded by Core 4 grants totaling US$2.8 million.

Diabetes Prevention/Treatment
Since 1982, LCIF has awarded nearly US$5 million to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for research on diabetic retinopathy. The funding, the world's largest source of non-governmental support for diabetic retinopathy research, has resulted in a greater understanding of the disease and laid the groundwork for more effective treatments. LCIF also has provided 12 diabetes-related grants totaling US$1.1 million. These grants have helped youths and adults with diabetes successfully manage their disease, supported large-scale screening and treatment programs and raised awareness of the disease.

Habitat for Humanity International Partnership
In 1999, LCIF began a partnership with Habitat and set aside US$3 million per year for three years to build homes for people with disabilities. In 2001, LCIF committed an additional $3 million to the partnership. Nearly 1,000 homes have been built or approved to date with many more in process.

Hurricane Katrina Relief
LCIF has coordinated US$5.1 million for this disaster relief program, including foundation funding and donations from Lions. LCIF approved 15 Emergency Grants for US$150,000 for Lions in the affected states to provide victims with vouchers to receive food, water and medicine. Recent projects include medical equipment support for a free medical clinic and an ophthalmology clinic serving evacuees and a transport van and two shower trailers for an organization that coordinates volunteers for large-scale and long-term reconstruction projects.

Lions Affordable Hearing Aid Project (AHAP)
Responding to the global problem of hearing impairment, Lions are making available low-cost, quality hearing aids to people who could not otherwise afford them. The Lions Affordable Hearing Aid Project is pilot program for low-income people in the United States. All hearing aids are distributed in cooperation with participating Lions and hearing care professionals. The hearing aid is ordered from LCIF by Lions clubs, districts and hearing programs. It is then shipped to hearing care professionals who have a relationship working with these Lions entities.

Lions Eye Health Program (LEHP)
LEHP is the main SightFirst-funded initiative for industrialized nations. LEHP is a community-based public awareness initiative that encourages the early detection and timely treatment of glaucoma and diabetic eye disease and the appropriate treatment for low vision. LEHP has been active in the United States, Japan, the British Isles and Ireland, Canada, Australia and Turkey. LEHP has been revamped and improved in the United States. The new LEHP for the United States includes a new CD-ROM format, a new logo and design, a new LEHP Web site and development of new print materials. Perhaps most importantly, everyone interested in eye health can now participate in LEHP, not just Lions clubs. This will help increase eye health awareness.

Lions Quest
Lions Quest is a schools-based life-skills program for children from kindergarten to the 12th grade. Lions originally partnered with Quest International to nurture youth in 1984. LCIF acquired the rights to Lions Quest in 2002 to increase the program's reach and to offer greater support and visibility for the Lions who work with their local schools and communities on the program. To date, more than 11 million youths have taken part in a Lions Quest classroom. The program is currently active in 24 countries. The program has received high ratings from government agencies and educational groups.

Low Vision Treatment and Services
LCIF funds treatment and services for low vision (an eye condition that cannot be improved medically, surgically or with conventional lenses) and refractive error (nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism). LCIF also funds eyeglass distribution clinics. Since low vision became part of the Core 4 grant program, LCIF has awarded 13 grants related to low vision totalling US$2.1 million.

Project for Elimination of Avoidable Childhood Blindness
A US$3.75 million SightFirst grant is funding pediatric vision centers and training programs in 30 countries. The program is being done in concert with the World Health Organization. The program represents a broad counterattack against preventable childhood blindness.

River Blindness/Trachoma Control
SightFirst has supported more than 88 million treatments of river blindness in Africa and Latin America since it forged a partnership with The Carter Center in 1999. The grant to the Carter Center also is targeting trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness. SightFirst is controlling trachoma among 2 million people in three countries. The treatments for river blindness have transformed individual lives and communities in 12 countries in Africa and Latin America. River blindness is caused by infections that occur after being bitten by a black fly, which is found near swiftly flowing rivers (hence the name of the disease). Villagers have abandoned fertile land near the rivers to avoid being bitten. The treatments are not only preventing blindness but also enabling people to return to rich land and revive their local economy. LCIF is tackling trachoma through medication, surgery, training of healthcare workers and health education.

SightFirst
LCIF's primary mission is preventing blindness and restoring sight. It does this through its SightFirst program, which Lions initially generously funded with US$143 million. Since the program began, LCIF has awarded $202 for sight-related projects under the SightFirst program. SightFirst fights the major causes of blindness: cataract, river blindness, trachoma, and, especially in developed nations like the United States, diabetic eye disease and glaucoma.

SighFirst has restored sight to 7 million people with cataract, prevented serious vision loss for 20 million and improved eye care services for hundreds of millions. Additionally, SightFirst has supported 80 million treatments for river blindness, built or expanded 213 eye hospitals, clinics and wards, upgraded 325 eye care facilities with equipment, provided management training for 109 eye care centers and trained 305,000 people in eye healthcare. So far, SightFirst has approved 841 projects in 90 nations for a total of US$202.4 million.

Campaign SightFirst II
CSF II will allow Lions to expand the extraordinary work of SightFirst. Campaign SightFirst II is a coordinated, global fund-raising effort involving all 1.3 million Lions in approximately 45,000 clubs to raise US$150 million for the SightFirst program. CSFII was endorsed by the Board of Directors in July 2004 and was launched at the 2005 International Convention in Hong Kong. The campaign will be conducted on a three-year timetable with intensive fund raising at the local level scheduled for 2006-2008.

SightFirst China Action Project
Completed in 2002, Phase I of LCIF's SightFirst China Action (SFCA) supported 2.1 million cataract surgeries in China and established surgical eye units in 104 rural counties that previously had none. Phase II will once again address blindness on a large scale. A SightFirst grant of US$15.5 million was matched with about US$200 million from the Chinese government.  The goal of Phase II is to perform at least 2.5 million cataract surgeries as well as to strengthen eye care infrastructure by creating secondary eye care units at hospitals in 200 underdeveloped counties, provinces and Tibet. To assure sustainable eye care services for the vast populations of rural poor, training courses for paramedics will be created in the western and northern provinces.

Special Olympics Opening Eyes
The partnership with Special Olympics provides athletes at select Special Olympics games free vision screenings, and, if needed, free glasses and sports goggles on the spot. They also are checked for glaucoma and other eye diseases. More than 100,000 Special Olympians to date have received free vision screenings. The screenings have resulted in better vision in a chronically underserved population and have prevented blindness through early detection of disease.

Tsunami Relief
LCIF has mobilized nearly US$15 million for tsunami aid. The funds enabled Lions in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand to rebuild 3,400 homes as well as schools and child welfare centers for orphans. Lions donated US$12 million to LCIF for tsunami relief. LCIF provided US$470,000 in grants and committed an additional US$2.5 million from its reserves. Immediately after the tsunami, Lions quickly sprang into action to provide immediate aid to survivors. Lions provided hundreds of thousands of people with food, water and medicine. Lions also quickly began working with government officials on planning for long-term reconstruction.