AutoNation Grants $100,000 for Childhood Glioma Research

The grant from AutoNation to CURE Childhood Cancer supports Mayo Clinic research into a potential treatment for a rare pediatric brain cancer.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Philanthropy

Sunlit row of unbranded cars beside a glass-walled research building, with a microscope and petri dish on a laboratory bench in the foreground. — AutoNation awarded CURE Childhood Cancer a $100,000 grant to fund Mayo Clinic research into a potential treatment for diffuse midline glioma, a rare pediatric brain cancer. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

AutoNation has awarded CURE Childhood Cancer a $100,000 grant to fund Mayo Clinic research into a potential new treatment for diffuse midline glioma. The donation was presented at AutoNation Toyota Mall of Georgia as one of 10 grants the company is giving to longtime cancer partners nationwide.

Why it matters

Diffuse midline glioma is a rare and aggressive brain cancer that primarily affects children, and the research aims to move a promising therapy closer to FDA review and a Phase I trial in children. The grant also marks the 10th anniversary of AutoNation's DRV PNK initiative.

AutoNation's $100,000 grant is one of 10 identical grants presented nationwide, and the DRV PNK program has raised and donated more than $50 million over the past decade. CURE Childhood Cancer's Precision Medicine Program has supported more than 1,500 pediatric cancer patients, though the source does not say how much of the grant will go to the Mayo Clinic work specifically.

The players

AutoNation

AutoNation is a Fort Lauderdale-based automotive retailer that operates a large network of franchised dealerships across the United States.

CURE Childhood Cancer

CURE Childhood Cancer is a nonprofit organization that funds pediatric cancer research and its Precision Medicine Program supports children with cancer.

The details

Associates at AutoNation Toyota Mall of Georgia presented the grant as part of the DRV PNK 10th anniversary celebration. Dealership Associates also delivered Totes for Hope care bags to patients at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta during the annual DRV PNK Across America day.

Over the past decade, the DRV PNK initiative has raised and donated more than $50 million for cancer research, education, prevention and patient care.
Over the past 10 years, AutoNation Associates have contributed more than 7,500 volunteer hours.

Philanthropy Pipeline

The grant supports Mayo Clinic work aimed at taking a therapy for diffuse midline glioma toward FDA review and a Phase I pediatric trial. It also follows a decade of DRV PNK giving that funds cancer research, education and patient care beyond this single award.

For families of children with diffuse midline glioma, the grant helps advance research toward a potential new treatment option. The donation does not yet change access to any therapy, since the source describes only the goal of moving closer to a clinical trial.

The takeaway

Corporate philanthropy can fund early-stage research that might eventually reach children with rare cancers. Readers interested in supporting similar work can look at how organizations like CURE Childhood Cancer direct grants to specific research programs.