Press release

American Kidney Fund's Kidney Kitchen™ Wins 2019 Gold MarCom Award

AKF's campaign about gout and kidney disease also received an Honorable Mention

ROCKVILLE, Md. (Dec. 5, 2019) — The American Kidney Fund (AKF)'s online Kidney Kitchen™ has won a Gold 2019 MarCom Award in the Digital Media – Website – Nonprofit category.

Launched earlier this year, Kidney Kitchen is the only comprehensive resource for the strict renal diet that provides easy-to-understand nutritional education and practical advice for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD or kidney failure) and their caregivers. Kidney Kitchen is a one-stop shop that helps patients meet their dietary needs, complete with an overview of specific nutrients pertinent to the kidney diet, nutrient guidelines based on the different stages of CKD, basic cooking tips, how-to videos, sample grocery lists, hundreds of kidney-friendly recipes patients can enjoy and more.
According to a MarCom Awards press release, this year's awards received more than 6,000 entries from around the world.

"We are proud that Kidney Kitchen has received a Gold MarCom Award, which recognizes the high-quality educational programs we develop to help kidney patients manage their disease," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF president and CEO. "More than half a million kidney patients and their caregivers have turned to Kidney Kitchen to better manage the strict kidney diet since we launched it this past spring. Through Kidney Kitchen we are helping to address what patients told us is the most challenging aspect of kidney disease treatment — the strict renal diet."

AKF's Goutful campaign also received an Honorable Mention in the Strategic Communications – Communications/Public Relations – Social Media Campaign category. Goutful, a blend of the words "gout" and "doubtful," debunks popular misconceptions about gout and helps people with kidney disease understand their risk for this painful, chronic condition. Goutful won a Gold Aster Award and a Silver Bulldog PR Award earlier this year.

Kidney Kitchen is funded with support from Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., AstraZeneca, Sanofi-Genzyme and Satellite Healthcare. Goutful is supported by an unrestricted grant from Horizon Therapeutics plc.

About the American Kidney Fund

The American Kidney Fund (AKF) fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nonprofit with the greatest direct impact on people with kidney disease. AKF works on behalf of 1 in 7 Americans living with kidney disease, and the millions more at risk, with an unmatched scope of programs that support people wherever they are in their fight against kidney disease—from prevention through transplant. AKF fights for kidney health for all through programs that address early detection, disease management, financial assistance, clinical research, innovation and advocacy. AKF is one of the nation’s top-rated nonprofits, investing 97 cents of every donated dollar in programs, and holds the highest 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator for 21 consecutive years and the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid, formerly known as GuideStar. 

For more information, please visit KidneyFund.org, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.