Mission Grants

Mission Grants is sponsored by The Peter G. Dodge Foundation. Supports nonprofit organizations advancing evidence-based knowledge and support for addiction and recovery.

$2. 4M awarded across 61 grants to 30 organizations Active from 2014-2023, Mission Grants provided funding for exemplary nonprofits addressing alcohol addiction in the United States. PGDF began as a grantmaking organization.

Our collaborative grantmaking style supported increased options, elevated awareness, and facilitated access to care for alcohol use disorder.

By distributing funds to exemplary non-profit organizations, we worked to: * Develop and test new medications and behavioral interventions for alcohol use disorder (AUD) * Identify the causative roots of AUD * Promote a "yes-and," toolbox approach to AUD recovery that includes multiple strategies and modalities * Raise public awareness about AUD signs, symptoms, treatment, and recovery * Encourage the growth of innovative and effective local and national programs that promote AUD recovery * Address local and systemic obstacles to AUD treatment access ### National Institutes of Health Microbiome Study A study jointly funded by PGDF, NIDA, and NIAAA and conducted by Dr. Lorenzo Leggio at NIH examined the role of gut microbiota in the AUD disease process.

The study was published in _PLOS One_ in 2024. The study also produced a systematic review of existing literature that was published in _Alcohol and Alcoholism_, July 2017, as well as a secondary analysis published in _Addiction Biology_ in 2025. Examining hormonal and digestive environments in the presence of AUD generates new avenues of exploration for physiological treatments.

My team and I are very grateful to The Peter G. Dodge Foundation for supporting this very exciting project. The bidirectional role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in neuropsychiatric disorders is becoming increasingly recognized but little is known in AUD.

Not only does this project expand our focus on the role of the gut / brain signaling in AUD, but also it will provide preliminary data that may represent the basis for the future development of novel treatments for patients who suffer from AUD. — Dr. Lorenzo Leggio, National Institutes of Health ### McLean Hospital Developmental Disabilities Study A study jointly funded by PGDF and the Peter and Elizabeth C.

Tower Foundation and conducted by Dr. Marc Copersino developed a curriculum of refusal skills for people with intellectual disabilities, and demonstrated the feasibility of delivering the curriculum in a residential clinical setting. This high-risk and underserved group previously lacked clinical tools to help prevent relapse. The study was published in _Disability and Health Journal_, June 2022.

Impact:Adding resources for people with intellectual disabilities and AUD contributes to better outcomes for an underserved population. ### Pinhead Institute Intern Program With PGDF's support, Pinhead Institute placed eight exemplary high school students over five years as interns in the lab of Dr. Olivier George at Scripps Research Institute, where they assisted with groundbreaking scientific research in alcohol addiction.

Impact:Inspiring young people to enter the field of addiction science through early exposure to a world-class laboratory environment leads to future breakthroughs. Throughout our time in the George Lab, up to the last moments, we have been exposed to plenty of knowledge about addiction and drugs...

It has been an amazing, as well as strengthening, experience to take a part in… I am very grateful for this opportunity given to me and to all the people I have met during this experience.

— Ella White, PGDF-sponsored intern, Pinhead Institute ### David Lynch Foundation Meditation Pilot Study A PGDF-funded pilot study by the David Lynch Foundation, in partnership with Friends Research Institute, determined that Transcendental Meditation (TM) was a potentially useful intervention to include in inpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD).

The study showed that regularly practicing TM may lead to better short-term treatment outcomes. The data generated from this research will be used to apply for funding for further study on the effects of TM on AUD treatment. Additionally, 71 individuals (60 study participants, 11 facility staff) received TM training as part of the study.

The study was published30436-1/fulltext) in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment in 2018. Impact:Confirming anecdotal evidence of a technique's usefulness through rigorous study allows more facilities to use it to support recovery from AUD. This project would never have occurred without the generous and visionary support of PGDF.

The findings show strong support for feasibility of using TM in the alcohol treatment setting… In addition, the dataset could be used for various secondary analyses that could answer important scientific and clinical questions about alcohol-dependent patients who undergo inpatient treatment.

— Dr. Jan Gryczynski, Vice President and Senior Research Scientist, Friends Research Institute (David Lynch Foundation grant) ### David Lynch Foundation Veterans' Study PGDF also contributed to funding for a phase III clinical trial, conducted through a partnership between the David Lynch Foundation and six research hospitals including Columbia, Stanford, USC and UCSD, examining the effects of TM on veterans' levels of substance use, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide.

This study is in process, with publication of results pending. Impact:Applying earlier research to a new, related population helps to expand the way an intervention can be used. ### The C Three Foundation General Support General operating support in an organization's early days positions them to sustain their work over time, in this case, advocating use of the medication naltrexone to help people moderate their drinking.

Before we received our Mission Grant late in 2014, the C Three Foundation was exclusively online, which put us at a deep disadvantage for fundraising opportunities. It's astounding how big of a difference a $10,000 grant made for us. — Jenny Williamson, Executive Director, C Three Foundation Mainly active from 2014-2017, PGDF Community Grants supported education, animal welfare, and children's health.

These grants were administered by invitation only and were supported directly by founder Peter Dodge.