Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy


Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, sometimes referred to by its initials CURE, is a non-profit organization based in Chicago, Illinois. The organization is focused on raising awareness and funds for research targeting a cure for epilepsy. It was founded in September 1998 by Susan and David Axelrod, driven by their daughter starting to have severe seizures when she was a child.
David Axelrod's involvement caused problems for the Obama administration when the White House refused to release the names of donors to CURE; David was not actively involved in running the organization by that time, but donations to the organization tripled after the Obama administration took office. David raised awareness of CURE in 2012 when he promised to shave off his mustache if he wasn't able to raise $1 million in donations for CURE.
CURE raises money through gala events. By 2018 it had raised around $60 million and had funded around 220 research projects.