New Jersey's Reeve Foundation Wins $10M Grant to Keep Paralysis Lifeline Running

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation has secured a new three-year federal grant to keep running the National Paralysis Resource Center, a program that directly serves an estimated 5.4 million Americans living with paralysis. The Administration for Community Living awarded the cooperative agreement on August 26, 2026, and the first year alone comes with $10 million in funding.

As reported by ROI-NJ, Congress appropriated the $10 million for fiscal year 2026, and federal funding records reviewed separately show the underlying grant notice carries an estimated program funding ceiling of $30 million across the full three-year period, according to Grants.gov. The Reeve Foundation, headquartered in Short Hills, has operated the center for more than 25 years and had to compete in a rigorous bidding process during this grant cycle to renew the funding, per the same ROI-NJ report.

Maggie F. Goldberg, speaking for the foundation, said the National Paralysis Resource Center has helped millions of Americans navigate life after injury or diagnosis. Goldberg added that the Reeve Foundation is honored to partner with the Administration for Community Living through the center, the outlet's report notes.

A New Jersey Nonprofit With National Reach

The foundation is named after the late actors Christopher and Dana Reeve, both of whom were born in New Jersey. Christopher Reeve became paralyzed from the neck down in 1995 after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Virginia, and he used a wheelchair and ventilator for the rest of his life, the article states. The National Paralysis Resource Center itself was established by Congress in 2002 as a federally supported national resource, and it serves as a national source of resources, support and connection for people living with paralysis and their families.

Spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and stroke are all listed among the leading causes of paralysis, according to the same account. Paralysis-causing conditions can affect movement, health, independence, communication, employment, school, caregiving, family life and community participation, the report notes.

How the Money Reaches Local Communities

The federal award is not new territory for the arrangement between Washington and the New Jersey nonprofit. The Administration for Community Living, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the current federal sponsor of the National Paralysis Resource Center, per the Federal Register. The 2009 Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act addresses paralysis research, clinical networks, and quality-of-life programs, according to Neff Injury Law.

That federal money doesn't stay in New Jersey. Since Dana Reeve established it in 1999, the foundation's Quality of Life Grants Program has distributed more than $52 million across over 4,100 projects nationwide, supporting non-profits and community groups that assist people living with paralysis, according to the Christopher Reeve Foundation. In June 2026, the foundation announced it had awarded $1.7 million across 47 Quality of Life grants as the last Quality of Life Grants Program awardees of the current cooperative agreement, benefiting organizations including Working Dogs for Vets and the United States Adaptive Golf Alliance.

Why the Center's Work Outlasts Hospital Stays

The National Paralysis Resource Center has assisted over 128,000 individuals and families since launch, offering personalized navigation support in up to 170 languages, per a PR Newswire release announcing an earlier five-year grant. That guidance on rehabilitation, insurance, and assistive technology matters because acute medical coverage rarely matches the long-term reality of paralysis. Private health insurance plans in the United States cover an average of only 36 days of acute inpatient rehabilitation for spinal cord injury patients, Hoodline has previously reported, leaving families to find long-term support elsewhere once that window closes.

The financial stakes behind that gap are steep. Data from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center cited by the Thomas E. Smith Foundation address medical and living expenses associated with traumatic spinal cord injury and distinguish them from indirect losses such as lost wages and fringe benefits.

Roots Tracing Back Four Decades

The foundation's history stretches back further than its famous name. It began in 1982 as the Stifel Paralysis Research Foundation, after Henry Stifel was paralyzed in a car accident at age 17, according to the Christopher Reeve Foundation's own history page. That group later merged with the American Paralysis Association before uniting with Christopher Reeve's organization in 1999, forming the foundation as it exists today.

Today the foundation describes itself as a nonprofit dedicated to curing spinal cord injury and improving quality of life for people impacted by paralysis, per the ROI-NJ report. The new three-year cooperative agreement continues the National Paralysis Resource Center grant for three years.