5 Reasons to Give to CRI Before Year’s End 

It is a busy time of year dotted with holidays as 2023 comes to a close. At the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), we ask that you make a donation towards cancer immunotherapy research. Your gift can help improve patients’ outcomes and prolong lives. Here are five reasons why giving generously to CRI is money well-invested: 

1. CRI is a leading nonprofit focusing on cancer immunotherapy research. CRI-funded scientists and acclaimed members of CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council are among the brightest innovators in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Whether it is identifying a patient’s traits that can predict responses to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy, or serving on the U.S. government’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, CRI-affiliated scientists are regularly involved in scientific breakthroughs and important research expanding the public’s knowledge about the potential for cancer immunotherapy research. 

2. CRI is committed to a multi-pronged approach to thwart cancer through immunotherapy research. This is why CRI has five grant tracks: 

• CRI Postdoctoral Fellowships provide early-career training and development in immunology and immuno-informatics to a diverse cohort of scientists. 
• CRI Clinic and Laboratory Integration Program (CLIP) grants empower pre-clinical and translational research for qualified scientists who are testing clinically relevant questions to improve the field of cancer immunotherapy research. 
• The CRI Technology Impact Award is designated for scientists with novel and innovative ideas that have the potential to significantly impact technology that can propel the field of cancer immunotherapy forward.  
• The CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR (Scientists TAking Risks) Program provides significant funding for mid-career scientists with outstanding track records who are expected to be field leaders. These scientists take unique, high-reward risks to accelerate progress in the field of cancer immunotherapy research. 
• CRI Clinical Innovator grants support novel clinical studies aimed at addressing areas of high unmet need in cancer research. 

Recently, Robbie Majzner, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR, and Ansuman Satpathy, MD, PhD, Stanford University, CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR, were co-senior authors on a Nature article examining toxicities observed in patients with CAR T cell therapy.  

By addressing multiple areas of need in cancer immunotherapy research through several grants with differing purposes, CRI hopes to holistically combat cancer through rigorous scientific research. In the fiscal year 2023, CRI funded nearly $29M in new cancer immunotherapy research. 

3. Prospective and current donors alike can trust CRI as a nonprofit with sterling marks for accountability and good governance. In September, the nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator affirmed that CRI is a four-star charity with a 100% confidence rating. CRI is proud to be a fiscally responsible nonprofit that allocates funds for cancer immunotherapy research that propels the field forward in a tangible, impactful way. 

4. 2023 marked CRI’s 70^th anniversary as a nonprofit. For seven decades, CRI has had a singular purpose and unwavering focus on harnessing the body’s own immune system to combat cancer. CRI has been involved in several groundbreaking developments in the field of cancer immunotherapy, and you can read about many of them over the years on The CRI Timeline. 

5. Led by Nobel Laureate James P. Allison, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, CRI’s scientific governing body, its Scientific Advisory Council, ultimately decides which scientists get funding through specific grant tracks. The Scientific Advisory Council is bolstered by dozens of the brightest immunologists and immuno-oncologists who represent institutions from around the country and the world. Their careful selection of grantees and guidance over research programs put the funds CRI raises to the best possible use. 

CRI takes a multi-faceted approach to helping eliminate cancer. Between its leadership, multiple grant tracks, and decades-long track record of proven results and trustworthiness, there is no better time to give to CRI. Together, we can create a world immune to cancer. 

Want to do something big for cancer immunotherapy research? Make a donation to the Cancer Research Institute today.