Frequently asked questions

Answered by a team member at National Kidney Foundation of Illinois

• What is your mission?

  The National Kidney Foundation of Illinois (NKFI) improves the health and well-being of people at risk for or affected by kidney disease through prevention, education, and empowerment.

• How are donations used?

  Charitable contributions to NKFI support vital programs and services that raise awareness about the dangers of kidney disease and its risk factors; educate patients and professionals about ways to manage the disease and advance treatment in the field of renal care; and empower patients, families, and communities to advocate for their own care in the fight against kidney disease.

• What can be done with a $100 donation?

  A $100 donation provides one week of health education for a kidney patient attending a NKFI patient education program

• What progress has been made already thanks to your donors?

  Thanks to the generous support of the greater kidney community and those who share NKFI's passion for the fight against kidney disease, the NKFI KidneyMobile preventative health screening unit has traversed the State of Illinois and provided free kidney health screenings to over 59,000 participants in medically underserved and at-risk communities since it first hit the road in 2006. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the KidneyMobile also distributed personal protective equipment relief kits to over 5,000 households in communities throughout the Chicago area most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and kidney disease. Since 1997, NKFI's Kidney Camp, a week-long summer camp experience for children living with kidney disease and their families, has served over 400 kidney campers and their families. Additionally, NKFI's long-running patient education programs such as Living with Kidney Disease and Transplantation (LWKD&T) and its professional education programs such as the Interdisciplinary Nephrology Conference continue to support the patients, families, and practitioners whose lives and work are most connected to the fight against kidney disease.

• What is the history of your organization?

  Beginning as the Chicago League for Nephritic Children in 1949, the organization later affiliated with the National Kidney Foundation and incorporated as NKFI in 1964. Locally governed and funded, NKFI supports kidney patients, caregivers, and clinical practitioners in myriad ways: preventative health screenings, patient and professional education programs, partnerships with health care providers and institutions, community outreach, and advocacy that works to eliminate health care disparities and have a meaningful impact on the lives of kidney patients throughout the State of Illinois. NKFI board members have decades of clinical expertise across multiple specialties of kidney care, and NKFI staff have personal connections to the fight against kidney disease. Simply put, NKFI supports individuals of all ages and all stages of kidney disease.