Grants for cancer organizations

922 cancer nonprofits received at least $78.2 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 3,500 grants made from 1,969 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $500. Of these 1,969 foundations, 85% made just a single grant to cancer orgs, and 3% made grants to four or more cancer orgs. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$78,240,181
Total grant dollars given to cancer organizations
3,500
Number of grants made annually to cancer organizations
1,969
Number of grantmakers funding cancer organizations
$500
Median grant size to cancer organizations

Foundations that support cancer nonprofits

Out of all grants made to cancer organizations, 82% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 94% of the dollar-value of grants to cancer orgs. Foundations funding cancer orgs also made grants to scholarship organizations, multiservice human service organizations, food banks, animal shelters, and youth development programs.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
1,614
Medium
 
191
Large
 
163
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
36
Private
 
1,686
Corporate
 
105
Other
 
142

Grants made

Grants made to cancer orgsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
1,683
2-3
 
226
4-10
 
36
11+
 
24

Top 10 foundations supporting cancer nonprofits

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to cancer orgsNumber of grants made to cancer orgsMedian grant size
Baird FoundationWINational0.8%170$25
Chubb Charitable FoundationPANational0.5%165$53
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.3%121$210
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)NJNational0.0%66$250
Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesIAState0.1%63$1,000
Ani Mamin FoundationNYMetro0.7%62$36
Salesforce Com FoundationCANational0.0%57$100
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational0.0%48$613
Charity Partners FoundationMANational0.7%43$17
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational0.2%42$500

Cancer nonprofits grantees

Cancer organizations with more than $5 million in total revenues received 96% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 47% of all cancer orgs.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
3,495
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
5

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$868
$500k-$1M
 
$1,306
$1M-$5M
 
$1,000
>$5M
 
$400

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
New York
 
1,077
Georgia
 
491
Texas
 
271
California
 
210
Other
 
1,451

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
1,154
Atlanta
 
475
Dallas
 
159
Washington DC
 
158
Other
 
1,490

Top 25 grants made to cancer organizations

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute$27,264,760CostDana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute$27,264,760CostDana-Farber Cancer Institute
American Cancer Society (ACS)$8,950,000Challenge GrantCommunity Foundation of Collier County
Cancer Research And Biostatistics$6,931,763Public Health SciencesFred Hutch (FHCRC)
CancerCare$2,874,966Education, TreatmentSusan G Komen
Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County$5,000Respite From the Road ProgramCommunity Foundation of Mendocino County
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society$5,000Humanitarian AidMatthew 25 Ministries
Kentucky Cancer Link$5,000General SupportBaptist Healthcare System
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation$5,000GeneralThe Greene Family Foundation
American Cancer Society (ACS)$5,000Sponsorship - Making Strides Against Breast CancerExeter Hospital
My Breast Cancer Support$5,000Sponsorship - "celebrate Pink 5k"Exeter Hospital
On Belay$5,000Support the Organization's Mission To Build Community Among Youth Who Have Or Have Had A Family Member With Cancer Using Adventure Based Programs That Encourage Participants To Uncover Their Inner ResilienceExeter Hospital
The Gathering Place$5,000GeneralCorinne L Dodero Foundation for the Arts and Sciences
Liga Contra El Cancer$5,000DonationBarreiro Foundation
Tomorrows Children's Fund (TCF)$5,000Charitable Giving As Directed Under the By-Laws of the Council By the Board of Trustees.Eastern Produce Council
Drivers For Survivors$5,000General Support To Help Fund the Work of This OrganizationThe Morris Memorial Foundation
Bone Marrow and Cancer Foundation$5,000Medical ResearchAinslie Foundation
First Descents$5,000Support Individuals With DisabilitiesK2 Adventures Foundation
Cancer Angels of San Diego$5,000GeneralJewish Community Foundation of San Diego
The Kareem Jackson Foundation$5,000Player Matching GrantNFL Foundation
Fairman-Adams Project$5,000Player Matching GrantNFL Foundation
Victory in the Valley$5,000General DonationBeach Family Foundation
Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer$5,000The Five for Ten CampaignThe Scott and Nancy Atherton Foundation
United in Pink$5,000Support United in PinkRobins Financial Credit Union
The Rose$5,000Support Non-Profit Philanthropic OrgTexas Children's Hospital (TCS)
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Cancer organizations" category for this page is determined by the "G30: Cancer" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.