FAQs

The Cancer Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that raises funds for cancer immunology research from individuals, corporations, and foundations. We provide direct support to cancer scientists through fellowships, grants, and awards. Our mission is to support and coordinate research that will yield an understanding of the immune system and its response to cancer, with the ultimate goal of developing immunological methods for the treatment, control, and prevention of the disease.

Read our CRI fact sheet for a basic introduction to the institute. For more information, explore the About CRI section of the site.

You can download our latest annual report on the site, or request a printed copy by mail.

We are administratively headquartered in New York City, but we fund research all throughout the United States and around the world. In addition, our Scientific Advisory Council includes representatives from the U.S. and other nations. CRI has a commitment to the global community of cancer scientists and patients.

CRI is the only nonprofit funding organization committed exclusively to seeking immune-based approaches for preventing, controlling, and treating cancer. Unlike charities that focus on one type of cancer only, CRI's mission is to advance a new class of treatments that have the potential to help patients with any type of cancer. The Institute also stands out among other cancer charities as a leader in responsible management of donor dollars and earns high scores from charity watchdog organizations.

CRI was founded in 1953 by Helen Coley Nauts (1907-2001) and her friend Oliver R. Grace (1909-1992) with a $2,000 grant from Nelson Rockefeller. Ms. Nauts established the institute in honor of her father William B. Coley, an early pioneer of non-surgical, immunological treatments for cancer.

At CRI’s headquarters in New York, our staff includes 16 specialists in donor relations, grants administration, communications, special event planning, accounting, information technology, and other areas. We also provide training experiences for interns in our New York office. Volunteers staff our other offices throughout the United States.

CRI is guided by its core staff and a diverse and all-volunteer Board of Trustees that includes corporate, financial, and philanthropic leaders. Research decisions are made by our Scientific Advisory Council.

Funding decisions are made by our Scientific Advisory Council, which evaluates all fellowship, grant and award applications. Many of the world’s most distinguished immunologists serve on the council, including 3 Nobel Prize winners and 30 members of the National Academy of Sciences. The council is headed by a director and six associate directors.

The best way to stay current on developments at CRI is to read and subscribe to our blog. You can also sign up for our e-updates. You’ll receive e-mail announcements about newsworthy research breakthroughs, landmark donations, and upcoming events. You also may want to visit our News @ CRI page regularly to read the latest news bulletins and releases.

The word “cancer” is used to refer to any of the 200 different diseases, affecting many parts of the body, that are characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells that invade and damage the body’s normal tissues. Cancer can begin in organ tissues as well as the skin, bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, immune system, and bone marrow. These cells can form tumors, although not all cancers do. In some cases, cancer cells spread from their original site to other places in the body via the bloodstream or lymphatic system, a process and medical complication called metastasis. See our publication, Cancer & the Immune System: The Vital Connection to learn more.

In the United States alone, more than one million people are diagnosed with cancer each year — and it remains the second-leading cause of death. One-third of American women and one-half of American men can expect to develop cancer. For Americans, the risk of dying from certain cancers has decreased in recent years, perhaps through better screening methods and more effective treatments, but there has been no drop in new cases of cancers.

Globally, about 13% of all deaths are due to cancer — 7.6 million in 2008, and an estimated 84 million by 2015.

[Sources: American Cancer Society, World Health Organization]
 

At the cellular level, cancer occurs when a cell’s DNA becomes damaged and cannot be repaired. Cancer starts in just one cell, and there are several stages in cancer development — from precancerous changes to malignant tumors. Different cancers develop at different rates. Many different factors can play a role, from genetics (the BRCA genes, for example) to lifestyle habits (such as smoking, diet, and sun-tanning) to environmental exposures to harmful substances. Viral and bacterial infections also can lead to certain cancers, such as the hepatitis virus in liver cancer, Helicobacter pylori in stomach cancer, and the HPV virus in cervical cancer. The immune system’s function also is key to controlling or preventing cancer.

Genes are segments of DNA located on chromosomes. Mutations can occur over time, sometimes because of exposure to environmental factors such as smoking or viruses, and those changes can cause cells to become cancerous. As a result, increased age alone can be a risk factor for cancer: More than 75% of all cancer cases are diagnosed in people aged 55 or older. Only about 5% to 10% of cancers are genetically inherited, and those cancers tend to occur earlier in life. Oncogenes are genes that cause cancer, while tumor suppressor genes play a role in controlling or stopping cancer.

The “modalities” used to treat cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy, usually in some combination. Treatment plans vary from patient to patient based on the type and stage of cancer. In cancer immunotherapy, patients are given biological substances that have potential to activate or boost their own immune response to cancer. These substances can be laboratory-produced versions of antibodies or the body’s own defense cells.

Cancer immunology studies the relationship between cancer and the body’s immune system, including its innate ability to prevent or eliminate cancer cells, called immunosurveilance. In the early 1900s, the immune system’s power to recognize and eliminate cancers was known. Later discoveries showed that cancer displays “antigen” markers, for example, that the body’s natural defense mechanisms can recognize and target. Cancer immunologists focus on identifying these mechanisms and developing immunotherapies to boost those natural defenses.

Cancer immunotherapies also are known as biologic therapy, biotherapy, or biological response modifier therapy. They include cancer vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, T cell transfer, and other approaches that can be more targeted and effective ways for preventing, managing, or treating different forms of cancer. Immunotherapies — which could be used in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation — also may have fewer side effects, making them easier for patients to tolerate.

Cancer immunology has its origins in medical research done by Dr. William B. Coley (1862-1936), a cancer surgeon and the father of CRI founder Helen Coley Nauts. Through his clinical experiments, he discovered that “killed” bacteria, which are the basis of many modern-day immunizations, stimulated the immune system to attack cancer cells. The roots of immunotherapy stretch to 1778, when English physician Edward Jenner developed a smallpox vaccine. Cancer immunology is a relatively young field, but it’s already yielding impressive results — advances in understanding and treatment is made possible by donor support. View our timeline (new window will open) for more on the history of cancer immunology.

With donor support, CRI has been able to nurture decades of innovative cancer research by top scientists worldwide. For example, CRI funding contributed to Ian Frazer’s groundbreaking vaccine to prevent infection from four types of the human papillomavirus, which accounts for 70 percent of all cervical cancers worldwide. The institute also has assisted in the development of a vaccine for lung cancer, and contributed to the development of Provenge, the first FDA-approved therapeutic cancer vaccine. In addition, CRI has helped to bring cancer vaccines and other immune-based therapies into the mainstream of treatment options for cancer patients around the globe.

Clinical trials are well-defined, well-monitored, and controlled tests of new or experimental medical treatments. They are used to assess the effectiveness, side effects, and potential applications of medications, procedures, and other treatment approaches. A cancer immunology clinical trial, for example, might investigate the ability of cancer vaccines to help certain types of patients to avoid or overcome particular forms of cancer. Clinical trials are essential for medical progress, and patients can enroll in them voluntarily under the supervision of their physicians. Before a treatment is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it must be studied in three phases of clinical trials. CRI uses the Physician Data Query service to respond to patient questions opportunities to enroll in cancer clinical trials. Visit our Clinical Trial Finder form to request more information.

The Clinical Accelerator is a new model of nonprofit and for-profit partnership that brings promising immunotherapies into clinical trials faster. The idea behind it is simple: If we can empower top nonprofit cancer researchers around the world to work in closer collaboration with leading biopharma companies, and provide nonprofit resources that help reduce the financial risk of studying new combinations, then more clinical research can be conducted each year, and more effective immunotherapies can be developed more quickly.

This program is based on the strengths and expertise of the CVC Trials Network, a global network of clinical trial sites and experts in clinical immunotherapy that is managed and supported jointly by CRI and our partner, the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Funding for the Clinical Accelerator is provided by CRI's Cancer Vaccine Acceleration Fund, a venture philanthropy fund providing donors a unique opportunity to achieve near-term impact in the fight against cancer while also bringing future possible returns on their charitable investment back into the fund.

Read our timeline of milestones in the field, and visit our Web links page that lists cancer research and immunology sites. For additional background, go to the Cancer Immunotherapy page.

Go to our Glossary page to search or browse our list of medical and scientific terms. You also may want to consult the MedlinePlus encyclopedia and on National Cancer Institute site.

Anyone who has an interest in helping to advance the fight against cancer is encouraged to donate to CRI. Individuals can make cash donations and also include CRI in their estate planning or planned giving. Corporations and foundations also can make donations.

CRI is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, so your donations are deductible for federal or state tax purposes as allowed by law. Planned giving, which can encompass bequests and gift annuities, may offer other tax or financial planning advantages as well.

There is no minimum — we’re grateful for any donation. Many CRI donors find it affordable to donate smaller amounts via automatic monthly payment rather than make one larger gift at once. Some donors find that planned giving arrangements allow them to give more generously to CRI.

Through our strategic programs, CRI is leading global efforts to bring new immune-based treatments to patients sooner. Our focus on immunotherapy – which is applicable in the treatment of almost all types of cancer – means our donors are making an impact in the lives of more cancer patients. We are proud to have one of the lowest overhead expense ratios among nonprofit organizations. Historically, between 85 and 90 cents of every dollar donated to us goes to our research and medical education programs.

We consistently earn high marks from charity watchdog organizations, including an A or higher from the American Institute of Philanthropy. We are also a proud member of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, the most rigorous evaluator of charity activity with 20 standards of accountability and ethical practice.

Visit our Financial Statements page for a financial summary and IRS form 990 information. To learn more, you also may want to download our current annual report.

We turn donations into direct research and educational support for the world’s top cancer scientists and medical professionals. CRI grants and fellowships help to provide crucial resources for laboratory work and clinical trials, including personnel, equipment, and supplies. We also host conferences and meetings for the global scientific community. CRI donations also are used for cancer immunology awareness and education for patients and the public.

In addition to making “cash” donations by check or credit card, individuals can donate vehicles and securities. You also can make a planned gift, by including CRI in your will or estate plans. You may also be interested in workplace giving, which allows you to make regular payroll contributions to CRI.

You can make donations in memory or honor of someone important to you. You also can designate that your donation be used for certain kinds of research or CRI programs. Our online donation forms allow you to request that we send a card notifying others of your gift. You can contact our development staff with questions about naming or directing your donations.

Following are the ways for individuals, trusts, foundations, and corporations to make donations of cash to CRI:

Donate Online

Click here to go to our secure donation form. Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and Discover are accepted.

Donate by phone

To donate via credit card, call us at 1-800-99-CANCER. Our donation line is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

Donate by Mail

Click here to download and print our mail donation form. Send your check payable to "Cancer Research Institute" to:

Cancer Research Institute
Web Donation
One Exchange Plaza
55 Broadway, Suite 1802
New York, NY 10006

We will acknowledge your donation and provide a receipt for tax purposes.

Read our Ways to Give page for details on types of donations as well as making arrangements with CRI staff.

We are grateful to those donors who are willing and able to make significant or continuous donations to CRI through planned giving arrangements. One option is to make CRI a beneficiary of your estate by will or trust. You also can donate through any charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts and charitable gift annuities that you establish, as well as through gifts of life insurance policies and retirement plan assets. Contact Emily Livingstone, elivingstone@cancerresearch.org or (212) 688-7515 x220 to discuss your options and see which one(s) may be right for you.

Friends of CRI have planned fundraising events on our behalf and also encouraged their employers to establish workplace giving programs, which enable people to contribute regularly to CRI through payroll deductions. You can also help generate donations to CRI just by shopping online with your favorite stores. Click this link, find your store, and complete your transaction without closing your browser. At no extra cost to you, your purchase will trigger a donation of a percentage of the sale. Percentages vary based on the store.

You can also help to spread the word about our important work by joining us on Facebook and Twitter and share our posts with your friends.

Under no circumstances will CRI sell, trade, or share your information to outside parties. All personal data is kept confidential. Please refer to our Privacy Policy to learn more about how CRI uses and protects your information.

No. CRI does not solicit funds via telephone campaigns and does not use automated services for this purpose.

Cancer scientists at any stage of their career, as long as they are based at non-profit research or clinical institutions, can apply for CRI grants and awards. We have supported a range of initiatives, from basic laboratory studies to clinical trials testing novel immunotherapies. The proposed research must be immunological in basis, preferably with potentially direct application to cancer treatment.

Yes. To date, CRI has given fellowships and grants to more than 3,100 scientists in the United States and abroad.

CRI offers training fellowships to predoctoral students interested in pursuing a career in cancer immunology. Postdoctoral scientists also can seek fellowships for advanced immunology training at top institutions. Practicing cancer immunologists can apply for CRI support throughout their careers, and may seek funding for laboratory, clinical, and translational research projects. Learn more about our grants and programs.

For application information, visit our Grants and Programs page. All funding decisions are made by our Scientific Advisory Council.

Browse our World Map to see where CRI support is helping to transform cancer treatment.

The annual William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology, named for our founder’s pioneering surgeon-father, is announced at our Annual Awards Dinner. This $5,000 prize and medal recognize scientists who’ve made outstanding contributions to cancer or basic immunology research. There is a list of winners since 1975.

Since 1995, CRI has given the annual Oliver R. Grace Award for Distinguished Service in Advancing Cancer Research to dedicated laypersons whose leadership has had a significant impact on cancer research. It is named in honor of CRI’s founding chairman. There is a list of award medal recipients since 1995.

The Institute established its annual International Symposia Series in 1994 to convene a diverse group of cancer immunology researchers from dozens of countries and bring them up to the minute on progress in the field. We also host an annual Scientific Colloquium, organized by the Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium. For information about upcoming conferences, go to the Conferences and Meetings page.

Anyone is welcome to attend our Annual Awards Dinner, Young Philanthropist events, and other fundraising or educational events, including free online webinars. To stay informed about CRI happenings, check the CRI calendar or sign up for e-updates.

Sign up for our e-mail bulletin for breaking news and timely announcements about publications, podcasts, events, and more. You also can visit the CRI Calendar page to see upcoming events. CRI fundraisers, including benefits organized by strong supporters and new friends, take place around the country.

CRI has created a Team CRI Fundraising Kit to help community fundraisers get started and plan successful fundraising events, including general Team CRI guidelines, event ideas and “how-to” materials, and sample language and templates. For your event, CRI can provide donation envelopes and donor tracking forms, facts sheets on CRI and cancer immunotherapy, past newsletters, and other resources as available, such as CRI stickers or other promotional items.

When you register to join Team CRI, you will automatically receive our Team CRI Fundraising Kit via email. To request additional materials for your event, email us at events@cancerresearch.org and indicate the type and quantity of materials requested. We will try to accommodate your request as available resources allow. Please allow up to three weeks for mail delivery. If you would like more than the quantity provided or if you would like to help save costs for CRI by printing the materials yourself, please contact us and we will provide you with the electronic documents.

Because the Cancer Research Institute has a very lean staff, we are generally unable to represent the Institute at independent fundraising events. We are happy to provide materials and messaging, which you can find in our Team CRI Fundraising Kit and other complementary event materials, which will help you tell the CRI story and convey the impact and importance of our work.

Yes, as long as the logo is used in accordance with our Community Fundraising Terms and Conditions. The CRI staff can provide you a color logo or black and white version. All Team CRI event materials that will bear the CRI logo must be submitted to CRI for review and approval before they are made public. This includes, but is not limited to, press releases, pitch letters, printed or electronic advertisements, save-the-dates and invitations, brochures, shirts or other apparel, banners, and any other form of event collateral. Please allow one to two weeks for approval from our communications department.

The Cancer Research Institute evaluates opportunities for media promotion on a case-by-case basis, depending on staff time, resources, the nature of the fundraising event, and the amount of lead time prior to the event. If you would like us to help promote your event, please contact us as events@cancerresearch.org and describe the type of media promotion assistance you are seeking. We will evaluate your request and respond within two weeks. We encourage you to use the tools and suggestions for reaching out to media provided in our Team CRI Fundraising Kit.

One of the easiest ways to boost your fundraising is through employer matching gifts. Many companies offer employees a matching gift benefit that doubles or sometimes triples your gift. Contact your company’s Human Resources or Finance department to see if they match charitable donations, or use our MatchFinder to see if your employer is in our database of companies with matching gift programs. Follow the instructions provided, fill out the proper forms provided by your company, and send your paperwork in along with your donations to the Cancer Research Institute. Also be sure to encourage your donors to look into opportunities for matching gifts. By participating in these programs, you and your donors can significantly increase the impact of your support.

Please indicate on all materials that proceeds from the event will benefit the Cancer Research Institute. CRI can also provide a formal letter of support upon request, which is often helpful as an assurance to donors and potential sponsors that CRI is aware of the event and that proceeds will be directed to the Institute. To request a formal letter of support, email us at events@cancerresearch.org.

The Cancer Research Institute cannot provide funding for expenses related to community fundraising events. There are many ways to limit event-related costs, such as securing in-kind donations from local businesses. More information can be found in the Team CRI Fundraising Kit.

• Marine Corps Marathon
• New York Road Runners – New York City Half Marathon

Yes. If you gain entry to a race, you can join Team CRI and raise money on behalf of the Cancer Research Institute. After you independently secure your own entry, please email us at events@cancerresearch.org so we can add you to the team. You should also set up your own fundraising page through our site. You are not required to raise a certain amount of money. If you are running in a race for which CRI has secured dedicated slots, however, we do encourage you to set your goal at the same level as the athletes who obtained their slots through CRI for that particular race.

Yes! Although CRI cannot help promote the sales of such items, we greatly appreciate being the beneficiary of your sale. All materials related to the sale should note the percent of proceeds (or dollar amount per item) going to the Cancer Research Institute. If you would like to designate (a portion of) proceeds from sales to CRI, please contact us to notify us and for more information.

If a supporter makes the check payable to you, simply endorse the check with your signature, write “Payable to the Cancer Research Institute,” and submit it with a Contribution Form.

This is not recommended. The IRS will consider any deposits into your personal account as taxable income, and we will not be able to issue tax receipts to your donors for their gifts if the contribution comes from you.

Please do not send cash in the mail. If you’re collecting cash donations, you can either have cash donors fill out a Contribution Form with their contact information and donation amount, transfer the cash into a cashier’s check, and send both the check and the form to CRI, or use your own credit card to make the donation in your donor’s name online through your event fundraising page.

The Cancer Research Institute will send an acknowledgment and receipt for tax purposes to those who donate to your fundraising efforts. You should also be sure to send your own personal thank-you message to anyone who responds to your request for support.

Mail contributions to:

Cancer Research Institute
National Headquarters
ATTN: Team CRI
One Exchange Plaza
55 Broadway, Suite 1802
New York, NY 10006

Our Press Room page contains links to background information on CRI and cancer immunology, including news releases on recent discoveries and noteworthy events. Reporters, writers, and other media professionals interested in interviewing CRI-sponsored researchers, members of our staff, or patients enrolled in immunological clinical trials can call us at (212) 688-7515 or contact us online. We also offer press badges to our International Symposium and other scientific meetings.

In addition to our annual report, we produce the Researcher, our general newsletter with scientist interviews and cancer immunology news, and the Visionary, our newsletter for current or prospective donors. Both current and back issues of these publications can be found on this site. We also publish Cancer ImmuNews, our monthly e-newsletter.

Sign up to receive email bulletins from CRI about institute news and events. To receive printed copies of our annual report, newsletters, or patient guides, visit the Contact Us page.

We publish video of special events, lectures, and interviews with CRI community members, including scientists, donors, and patients.

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide direct financial support to patients. We do seek to support patients in another important way, however — by providing fellowships, grants, and awards to the scientists researching new and better ways to prevent, control and treat the disease. In addition, CRI’s site contains patient guides with helpful clinical information on cancer topics, an educational article on Cancer & the Immune System, and Web links to other resources for patients.

If you want to explore your clinical research and treatment options, we can help you to locate clinical trials that may be appropriate matches for your type and stage of cancer. We perform these searches using the Physician Data Query, part of the National Cancer Institute. We do not make treatment recommendations, however, and we encourage patients to share this information with their medical care teams. Visit our Clinical Trial Finder form for more information.

We support a wide range of projects in immunology, including clinical trials for many different kinds and stages of cancer. Visit our People Behind the Progress page to read the personal stories of some of the patients who have enrolled in these trials and experienced positive clinical outcomes.