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research dossier

THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 133727250 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE M20Z · Public Safety & Disaster Relief · Very Large (>$50M) · bcrf.org
revenue
$102.3M
expenses
$94.8M
net assets
$135.2M
employees
69
volunteers
300
program ratio
84%
mission · from form 990

PREVENT AND CURE BREAST CANCER BY ADVANCING THE WORLD'S MOST PROMISING RESEARCH.

profile · synthesized from sources

Nonprofit advancing research to prevent and cure breast cancer. Focuses on funding scientific studies into metastatic breast cancer, tumor biology, genetics, and disparities in younger women and underserved populations. Supports global research initiatives and clinical trials to develop new therapies and improve early detection. Founded in 1993, it operates primarily by awarding grants to researchers worldwide.

named programs · 4 · from sources

What they call their work

AURORA EU
European research initiative analyzing tumor and blood samples from metastatic breast cancer patients to understand disease progression and treatment response.
AURORA US
Research initiative harnessing clinical trial infrastructure to analyze molecular differences between primary and metastatic breast cancer through retrospective and prospective studies.
Evelyn H. Lauder Founder’s Fund for Metastatic Breast Cancer Research
Flagship initiative funding large-scale research projects on metastatic breast cancer, including development of model systems and open-access databases for the research community.
POSITIVE Trial
Clinical study led by Dr. Ann Partridge investigating whether pausing estrogen-blocking therapy to allow pregnancy affects recurrence risk in hormone-receptor positive patients.
activities · 2 groups

What they do

  • Cancer Research Funding 4 activities
    • Conducting clinical trials and developing new treatments
      Leads and supports investigator-led clinical trials that have contributed to FDA approval of 17 new breast cancer drugs since 2015, including Trodelvy for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Conducts trials such as POSITIVE, CMIST, and WISDOM to evaluate hormone therapy interruption during pregnancy, contrast-enhanced mammography, and personalized screening, respectively.
    • Funding breast cancer research globally
      Invests $74.75 million annually in breast cancer research, supporting over 260 scientists across 17 countries. As the largest private funder of breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer research worldwide, it has raised over one billion dollars since 1993 to advance scientific understanding and treatment.
    • Leading metastatic breast cancer research initiatives
      Allocates nearly $25 million annually to fund 96 metastatic breast cancer research projects through the Evelyn H. Lauder Founder’s Fund, the largest privately funded program exclusively focused on this area. Supports AURORA US and AURORA EU, large-scale studies analyzing tumor and blood samples from metastatic patients, and operates the Global Data Hub, the world’s first centralized platform for breast cancer research data.
    • Supporting early-career researchers and genomic testing development
      Recognized for funding promising early-career investigators in breast cancer research. Supported foundational studies (TAILORx, RxPONDER, MINDACT) and the PAM-50 gene assay, which contributed to the development of the Prosigna test for recurrence risk assessment and informed the OPTIMA trial design.
  • Biomedical Research and Innovation 1 activity
    • Advancing genetic and AI-driven risk assessment tools
      Supports research identifying genetic mutations linked to breast cancer, including BRCA1/BRCA2 and others beyond, and develops polygenic risk scores (PRS) for personalized risk prediction. Developed FDA-approved AI tools like Clairity Breast and MIRAI, and supports AI research to predict chemotherapy needs and brain metastasis risk using pathology and clinical data.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$102.32M
Contributions & grants$94.76M93%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$7.48M7%
Other revenue$80K
expenses
Total expenses$94.85M
Program expenses84%
Admin / overhead6%
Fundraising10%
Salaries & benefits$11.79M
Grants paid out$71.95M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$220.48M
Cash$91.25M
Investments$104.39M
Liabilities$85.25M
Net assets$135.23M
Liquid reserves24.8 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue -12.8%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 13
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
DONNA MCKAY PRESIDENT AND CEO 40 $753K
LISA C RISI CFO/COO (TO 02/25) 40 $468K
DORRAYA EL-ASHRY CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER 40 $430K
KATHERINE MINSTER CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER 40 $343K
JODI PATKIN CHIEF MARKETING/COMM. OFFICER 40 $331K
KATHLEEN TRIPP DIRECTOR DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS 40 $293K
ASHLEY CAREY CHIEF PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER 40 $289K
KATHERINE ANDERSON MNG DIR DEVELOP/SIGNATURE EVENTS 40 $236K
SADIA HAQUE ZAPP MANAGING DIR COMMUNICATIONS/CONTENT 40 $234K
REBECCA WASSERMAN MNG DIR DEVELOPMENT/REGIONAL EVENTS 40 $224K
MARGARET FLOWERS MANAGING DIRECTOR RESEARCH PROGRAM 40 $214K
STEPHANIE HAMBURGER TO 924 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PLAY FOR P.I.N.K 40 $192K
MYRA J BIBLOWIT FORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO (3/31/23) 0 $190K
board members · 12
  • ABBE RAVEN — DIRECTOR
  • BETSY BATTLE — TREASURER
  • CARLYN S MCCAFFREY — DIRECTOR
  • CYNTHIA CITRONE — DIRECTOR
  • DEBORAH KRULEWITCH — SECRETARY
  • DONNA ACQUAVELLA — DIRECTOR
  • EFFRAIM GRINBERG — DIRECTOR
  • ELLEN ODONER — DIRECTOR
  • JEROME BETTIS — DIRECTOR
  • KAREN HALE — CO-CHAIR
  • KAY KRILL — DIRECTOR
  • KECIA STEELMAN — DIRECTOR
relationships · 9

Who they work with

  • ARPA-H Partner — Partnering to support a large, innovative biomarker-driven clinical trial for metastatic breast cancer in the U.S.
  • AstraZeneca Partner — Referenced via FDA approval of trastuzumab durextecan (Enhertu®), developed by AstraZeneca, now benefiting TNBC patients with low and ultralow HER2 levels.
  • BCRF Network — Organization through which Rana Fowlkes and her husband raised funds for breast cancer research.
  • BCRF Network — Participant in BCRF's Research Is the Reason storytelling initiative
  • Breast International Group Partner — Collaborates on the AURORA EU research initiative to study metastatic breast cancer.
  • International Breast Cancer Study Group Partner — Collaborates with Dr. Meredith Regan on extended follow-up of the SOFT and TEXT trials to assess long-term outcomes of anti-estrogen therapies in premenopausal women.
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Partner — Collaborates with BCRF investigator Dr. Luke Pike on AI-driven research to predict brain metastases in breast cancer.
  • Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium Partner — Partners with BCRF to conduct the AURORA US research program using its clinical trial infrastructure.
  • U.S. Food & Drug Administration Government — FDA approved Trodelvy based on clinical trial results led by BCRF investigators.
strategies · 7

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Accelerated Research Funding Model
    methodology: accelerated research funding
    By streamlining the grants process to rapidly identify and fund top scientific talent, the foundation accelerates discoveries across all areas of breast cancer research because speed and access to capital are critical bottlenecks in scientific progress.
  • Collaborative Research Networks
    methodology: collaborative_research_networks
    By promoting multi-institutional and cross-industry collaborations, the foundation advances breast cancer science more rapidly than isolated labs can, because complex problems require shared expertise, data, and resources.
  • Comprehensive Translational Research
    methodology: comprehensive translational research
    By funding research that spans biological mechanism discovery to clinical application, the foundation accelerates the development of new therapies and improves patient quality of life because bridging lab science and clinical care shortens the path from breakthrough to benefit.
  • Precision Prevention and Personalized Screening
    methodology: precision prevention
    By shifting from one-size-fits-all screening to risk-based, biologically informed prevention strategies—including AI, genomics, and vaccine technology—the foundation enables earlier detection and interception of breast cancer because individualized approaches improve accuracy and outcomes, especially in high-risk and underserved populations.
  • Precision Prevention and Risk-Based Screening
    methodology: precision_prevention
    By shifting from one-size-fits-all screening to personalized, risk-based strategies informed by genetics, breast density, and AI-driven data analysis, the foundation enables earlier detection and interception of breast cancer because individualized approaches match prevention efforts to actual biological risk.
  • Research-Driven Theory of Change
    methodology: research-driven
    By investing in high-impact research, the foundation produces life-saving treatments and advances toward a cure because scientific discovery is the foundational and necessary pathway to ending breast cancer.
  • Research-Driven Therapeutic Development
    methodology: research-driven treatment development
    By investing in translational and genomic-guided research, the foundation generates life-saving treatments and enables personalized therapy decisions because deep biological understanding leads to targeted interventions that improve survival and quality of life.