Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association is one of the most influential diabetes charity working in the United States. Its offices are located throughout the country, and are staffed primarily by volunteers who engage in a wide range of nonprofit work.

Some of the principal areas the American Diabetes Association focuses on include providing public diabetes education, promoting diabetes research, and fundraising or advocating for diabetic causes.

Diabetes Education and Outreach

Some of the most important services offered by the American Diabetes Association are those related to diabetes education and outreach. The organization has numerous programs aimed at educating diabetics and the general public alike on issues related to diabetes, providing valuable information on how to help prevent, manage, and understand the illness.

These are three of the primary ways the American Diabetes Association works to inform the public:

• National Call Center and Chat Line: To help people better understand diabetes, the American Diabetes Association maintains a call center and online chat line dedicated to answering questions. By dialing 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383), callers can receive free general information about caring for diabetes. The American Diabetes Association's internet chat line is located on their website and performs a similar service. Both programs are available Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:30 AM and 8:00 PM EST.
• Food and Fitness Information: Diet and exercise play a significant role both in diabetes prevention and management. To help people with diabetes better manage these areas of their lives, the American Diabetes Association produces diabetic cookbooks, fitness advice, and more.
• At-Risk Community Outreach: For a variety of complex reasons, certain communities are more at risk of diabetes than others. The American Diabetes Association works with community leaders in these areas to provide awareness and educational materials to vulnerable groups.

Diabetes Research

The American Diabetes Association funds a significant amount of medical research, much of which is designed to complement the work of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). By funding research that supports the existing work of the NIH, the American Diabetes Association helps the NIH solidify experiments and make their work more attractive to federal funding.

Alongside funding diabetes research, the American Diabetes Association also hosts an annual event called the Scientific Sessions. This five-day program brings together top scientists, researchers, and medical professionals for an in-depth discussion of diabetic topics.

Diabetes Advocacy

The American Diabetes Association also engages in advocacy on behalf of diabetes related concerns. According to their website, the advocacy goals of the organization are to:

• Increase Funding for Diabetes Research and Programs
• Prevent Diabetes
• Improve Access to Health Care
• Eliminate Discrimination Against People with Diabetes at School, Work and Elsewhere in Their Lives

To help accomplish these goals, the American Diabetes Association lobbies Congress once every two years as part of the organization's Call to Congress event. The American Diabetes Association also offers support to people who've been discriminated against due to diabetes as part of their advocacy mission.

American Diabetes Association Fundraising

To help accomplish their many goals, the American Diabetes Association engages in a significant amount of fundraising. Examples of their fundraising events include Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes, the Tour de Cure, School Walk for Diabetes, and the Bikers Against Diabetes (BAD) Ride. The organization also has a number of corporate sponsors, as well as other fundraising endeavors. As of 2011, Charity Navigator gave the American Diabetes Association 67.00 out of 70 points for accountability and transparency, and 40.10 out of 70 points for financial performance.