Susan G. Komen Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Susan G. Komen Foundation supports research on breast cancer treatments, prevention and detection at leading medical schools and institutes across the U.S. It also supports breast cancer patients experiencing financial distress.
IP TAKE: Komen’s research grants are organized around the stages of researchers’ careers, with specific awards for early-, mid- and late-career scientists. Eligibility, guidelines and due dates vary by program; research are advised to check program pages frequently for updates. This funder also runs a smaller grantmaking program for organizations in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. that support at-risk women with breast cancer detection and treatment services. The foundation also offers some financial help to individual breast cancer patients in financial distress.
PROFILE: Established in 1982, the Susan G. Komen Foundation is a global movement that began when Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan Komen, that she would do everything she could to end breast cancer. Brinker, who worked in fashion and public relations early in her career, is married to Norman Brinker, the founder of Chili’s and other restaurant chains. She later became U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and a Goodwill Ambassador to the World Health Organization for Cancer Control. Based in Dallas, Texas, the Susan G. Komen foundation focuses aims to “save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities and investing in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer.” This organization focuses exclusively on breast cancer, funding research on breast cancer treatments, as well as prevention and early detection. The foundation also provides financial support to breast cancer patients facing financial difficulty.
Grants for Diseases and Public Health
The Susan G. Komen Foundation’s grantmaking for breast cancer research is organized around the stages of researchers’ careers. Grants are made through the following programs:
Graduate Training in Research and Disparities Grants support graduate students “who are seeking careers dedicated to understanding and eliminating disparities in breast cancer outcomes across population groups.” Masters level or doctoral students must apply as collaborators with one or more academic mentors or primary investigators. Grants are awarded in the amount of $135,000 a year for up to three years.
Postgraduate Fellowships aim to “to ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists will emerge as the next generation of leaders in the field of breast cancer research.” Applicants must have “have no more than three years post-completion of their most recent clinical fellowship, five years post-completion of their most recent residency (for physicians), or five years post-completion of their most recent Ph.D.” Fellowships are awarded in the amount of $60,000 for up to three years.
Career Catalyst Research Grants invest in the work of promising early-career researchers in the field of breast cancer by offering up to three years of “'protected’ time for research career development under the guidance of a mentor committee.” These grants are geared toward hypothesis-driving basic, translational or clinical research and are awarded in amounts of $150,000 a year for up to three years.
Investigator-Initiated Research Grants fund the work of “independent investigators who seek to explore important issues and novel approaches that will lead to reductions in breast cancer incidence and/or mortality within the next decade.” Awards are made in amounts of up to $1 million annually for three or four years.
Promise Grants provide “substantial funding for multidisciplinary teams of clinical and laboratory investigators to conduct a set of related studies that address an overarching issue of critical importance in breast cancer.” The focus of Promise Grants changes from year to year and is designated by the foundation’s scientific advisory board. These grants are awarded in amounts of up to $7.5 million for a period of up to five years.
In addition to these grantmaking programs, the foundation provides ongoing support to the Susan G. Komen Metastatic Breast Cancer Collaborative Research Initiative, through which research teams at Duke Cancer Center and the University of North Carolina’s Lindberger Comprehensive Cancer Center work together to improve and expand treatments for metastatic breast cancer.
Grants for Women and Girls
The Susan Komen G. Komen Foundation supports breast cancer patients who suffer from financial hardship as well as organizations that serve and support these patients. Komen’s Financial Assistance Program supports patients undergoing treatments whose household income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. The foundation also makes grants to organizations working with patients through its National Capital Region Grants program, which makes grants to small- and medium-sized organizations that serve “women who fall through the healthcare gaps.” These grants serve the states of Maryland and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C. Recent grantees include Breast Care for Washington, the Arlington Free Clinic and the African Women’s Cancer Awareness Association of Greenbelt, Maryland.
Important Grant Details:
The Susan G. Komen Foundation’s grantmaking surpassed $29 million in a recent year, making it one of the largest givers in the breast cancer space. Grants generally range from $10,000 to over $2 million, with an average grant size of about $500,000. Research grants tend to go to individual researchers and teams at leading universities, medical schools and research institutes across the U.S., including the Dana Farber Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Northwestern University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. For additional information about this funder’s past grantmaking, see its Meet Our Scholars and Funded Scientific Research Grants pages.
The Komen Foundation runs applications for its various grantmaking programs at different times throughout the year. Guidelines, eligibility and due dates vary significantly by program. Applicants should check individual program pages periodically, as well as the foundation’s current funding opportunities page. General inquiries may be submitted via the foundation’s contact page.
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