Cures Within Reach Awarded Grant on Behalf of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Advisor: Steven Braun

From connecting families with housing and food resources to providing valuable mentorship opportunities to local youth, Northwestern Mutual financial advisors are leading impactful change in their communities across the country. Through its Foundation, the company is recognizing these efforts through its 2019 Community Service Awards program by awarding nearly $300,000 in grants to nonprofits nationwide.

Each year, Northwestern Mutual selects 16 financial advisors nationwide to receive grants to benefit a nonprofit of their choice as part of the program. Local resident Steven Braun, a wealth management advisor at Northwestern Mutual – Chicago, has been chosen as a 2019 Most Exceptional recipient of the award, receiving a $25,000 grant for Cures Within Reach. The organization was also recently awarded a 2019 Quality of Life grant for $5,000 from the MDRT Foundation in honor of Braun’s volunteerism.

Braun has been involved with Cures Within Reach for more than 13 years. He has served on the board of directors for seven years, leading various marketing and fundraising initiatives. Braun has supported the organization to invest over $6 million in more than 80 repurposing research projects, generating more than a dozen therapies that are impacting the lives of children and adults.

“I have had several family members with serious diseases, and every one of them has been treated with a repurposed therapy that has either extended or improved the quality of their lives,” said Braun. “I am dedicated to doing everything I can to support the discovery and validation of many more repurposed therapies to help others.”

Cures Within Reach is the only disease agnostic philanthropic organization exclusively dedicated to repurposing existing drugs, devices and nutraceuticals to drive more treatments to more patients, improving patient quality and length of life by leveraging the unrealized clinical potential and missed therapeutic opportunities of existing science and medicine. The organization will use the grant to fund repurposing research clinical trials that provide a fast track to patient impact.

“Every year I’m amazed by the enthusiasm our advisors exhibit for nonprofit support in their communities,” said Eric Christophersen, president, Northwestern Mutual Foundation. “Giving back is such an integral piece of our company culture, and our Community Service Award winners truly embody this through the meaningful work they’re accomplishing.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Community Service Awards program. Since the program’s inception, the Foundation has donated nearly $6 million to nonprofits on behalf of program winners. The 2019 winners were announced at the company’s regional meetings earlier this year, with grants presented to nonprofits at local events throughout the country.