What Do Breast Cancer Nonprofits Do With Donated Funds?
There are many reasons why you or your organization might want to support a breast cancer nonprofit. Maybe you’re a survivor and would like to help those who are now in the same boat you were in. Maybe you know a survivor and wish to donate in their honor, or lost a loved one to breast cancer and wish to donate in their memory.
Or perhaps your business is looking for the right nonprofit partner — a charity that truly reflects your company’s values. Maybe you want to make a real difference, while building trust and credibility with your customers.
If you’re considering donating to or partnering with a breast cancer charity, you’ll want to be very sure it’s the right one. You need to know where your money goes in order to make the best decision for you or your business. Read on to find out how breast cancer donations are used, so you or your company can make the most informed choice.
What Organizations Promote Breast Cancer Awareness?
Charity Navigator lists over 400 active breast cancer–related charities in the U.S. Some of these include:
- Breast Cancer Research Foundation
- Susan G. Komen Foundation
- Living Beyond Breast Cancer
- METAvivor
- National Breast Cancer Foundation
- Breastcancer.org
All of these organizations promote breast cancer awareness in addition to offering other types of resources.
What Do Breast Cancer Charities Do?
Many charities fund research to better understand what causes breast cancer. This includes understanding why breast cancer spreads, what role genetics and lifestyle play, and how to prevent, treat, and eventually cure cancer.
Other charities promote awareness by educating the public on concepts like conducting breast self-exams and getting regular mammograms. They might also help people learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Or they may educate people about making lifestyle choices that could prevent or reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.
Still more charities contribute to patient support services, like screening and diagnosis and medical costs. Other breast cancer organizations connect people with legal, medical, or financial advice. Many fund support groups that help patients connect with those services or cope with the emotional aspects of breast cancer. For a list of cancer support groups, check the National Cancer Institute’s database.
What Do Breast Cancer Nonprofits Do With Donated Funds?
Breast cancer nonprofits use donated funds in a number of ways. Funds should go primarily toward program costs — those expenses that directly support the charity’s stated mission. But breast cancer nonprofits also have other business expenses that donations can be used to cover.
Every nonprofit uses some portion of donated funds to pay its own operational expenses, like office space, employee salaries, utilities, and other administrative costs. The worst breast cancer charities spend a huge percentage of their funds on promotional materials, administrative expenses, or executive salaries. A good charity should spend, at minimum, 65% of its budget directly on program expenses.
Portions of breast cancer charity funding are also funneled back into further fundraising. This can include the costs of printing and mailing out donor appeals and running phone campaigns. It might also involve producing merchandise like ribbons and t-shirts and hosting benefits and other events to solicit donations. While some of these expenses are reasonable investments in the organization’s continued work, beware of charities that spend more on galas than mission-specific expenses.
Where Does the Money Raised for Breast Cancer Go?
Money raised for breast cancer can go toward a plethora of purposes, including research, prevention, treatment, education, and support groups. Where the money goes will depend on the organization’s purpose and values. But at a good breast cancer charity, most money is used to take direct action.
A research-focused charity will use donations to fund science that supports understanding, treating, and curing cancer. Its funds could go toward anything from paying scientists’ salaries to purchasing lab equipment to conducting clinical trials.
Funds donated to a program that supports cancer awareness and prevention might be used for staffing and education. This could include paying dietitians and genetic counselors to meet with people at higher risk of developing breast cancer. Donations could also fund the creation of videos, websites, or printed educational materials on topics like breast cancer screening and lifestyle factors.
At Pink Fund, most donations go directly toward paying rent, utility, and transportation bills for patients in active treatment. They help support breast cancer patients by using funds to help with non-medical bill expenses. Pink Fund donations have a direct impact on individual patients’ lives and their health outcomes.
How Do I Donate to Breast Cancer Now?
To donate to breast cancer now, choose the charity that best aligns with your goals. You can fund research, support education and awareness, help breast cancer patients get financial and other resources, and more.
Most breast cancer charities have links to donate right on their websites. You can simply click the donate link and pay with your credit card, a payment app, or ACH transfer. If you prefer to pay by phone or mail, most organizations’ websites also provide this contact information.
If you can’t afford to make breast cancer donations, many charities also need help from volunteers. Volunteer opportunities can include office help, event planning and staffing, or fundraising assistance.
What Is the Best Breast Cancer Charity to Donate To?
The best breast cancer charity to donate to is one that works directly to solve the problems that matter most to you. Ideally, it should do so without spending too much on overhead costs.
When evaluating breast cancer organizations to donate to, consult sites like CharityNavigator.org or look at the nonprofit’s annual report. This way, you can see what percentage of donated funds go directly to program expenses and how those funds are used.
If you want to offer financial support to breast cancer patients, donate to breast cancer organizations that help with bills. At Pink Fund, we assist patients in tackling the often overlooked financial challenges of battling breast cancer. We offer 90 days of non-medical cost-of-living expenses for housing, transportation, utilities and insurance, paid directly to the patient's creditors.
Is Pink Fund Legit?
Pink Fund is a legitimate, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity. To learn more about how we operate, you can review our financials or read our most recent annual report.
We’re platinum-rated on GuideStar, demonstrating our organization’s commitment to transparency. We also scored 100% on Charity Navigator in the category of Leadership & Adaptability.
About two-thirds of the payments Pink Fund disperses go toward patient housing. The remaining funds are split mainly between transportation, utilities, and health insurance. Pink Fund financial assistance recipients submit their bills to Pink Fund, and we pay each one directly by issuing a check to the creditor.
Should You Donate to Pink Fund?
The financial hardships of breast cancer can be devastating to patients. The stress of worrying about finances can negatively impact health outcomes for people with this devastating disease. Those who forgo or delay treatments due to lack of funds risk worse prognoses and higher mortality rates.
Pink Fund tackles these challenges head-on by providing financial support directly to breast cancer patients. Our program impacts treatment adherence, decreases stress levels and improves survivorship outcomes.
Donate now to help breast cancer patients focus on what matters most: healing.