The Sanford Consortium is an independent California not-for-profit public benefit corporation exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 23701d of the

California Revenue and Taxation Code. 

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Sanford was founded in March 2006 as the San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine by its

Collaborating Organizations including the Burnham Biomedical Research Institute (later renamed

the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute), the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 

Scripps Research and UC San Diego.

In October 2011, the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology became the fifth Collaborating Organization.

The consortium was established to plan, permit, finance, construct and operate a new research facility- known as the "Collaboratory". Its purpose was to support and expand collaborative stem cell research and to translate discoveries into clinical therapies and cures...to imagine the possibilities and accelerate solutions.

In September 2008, philanthropist T. Denny Sanford of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, announced an extraordinary donation of $30 million. In recognition of this donation, the organization was renamed the

Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. 

With benefit of Mr. Sanford's gift, in 2009 Sanford was awarded a $43 million grant by the

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine awarded, that Sanford used to fund construction of the Collaboratory, which was completed and certified for occupancy in 2012.
 

Sanford is governed by a Board of Directors and operated by a Management Team.