The Cancer Research Institute, founded in 1953, is the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused exclusively on finding ways to employ the human immune system to prevent, treat, and cure all types of cancers. These efforts have contributed over decades to the creation of the exciting new category of cancer treatments known as cancer immunotherapy (CI).

The Cancer Research Institute drives the advancement of research and development of CI techniques by awarding grants and fellowships to scientists at the best universities and clinics around the world. These distribution decisions are made by its Scientific Advisory Council on which sit Nobel Prize winning scientists, members of the National Academy of Sciences, and members of the Academy of Cancer Immunology. To view the decades-long list of achievements by the Cancer Research Institute, and the scientists they’ve supported, click here. You’ll see CRI’s Timelines of Progress which include CRI milestones, treatment approvals, major discoveries, awards and honors, and field milestones.

To accomplish its objectives, the Cancer Research Institute relies on donations from individuals, businesses, and foundations. In furthering the development of CI, it’s proven itself to be a highly efficient, extremely well-run, charitable organization, having one of the lowest overhead expense ratios among nonprofit corporations. In fact, the three leading entities that monitor the activities of charitable organizations – Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, and the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance – all give the Cancer Research Institute outstanding marks. Specifically,

Charity Navigator currently gives CRI its highest four-star rating for financial health, accountability & transparency, and overall quality. Its overall score of 94.69/100 (and 100.00/100.00 for accountability & transparency) places it among this monitor’s highest-rated charities devoted to cancer research. Perhaps most impressively, Charity Navigator reports that CRI spends more than 85 cents of every dollar of donations it receives directly on the programs and services it delivers. Charity Watch currently gives CRI an “A” rating (on an A-F scale) and classifies it as “Top-Rated.” Through its assessments, CRI meets all of its transparency and governance benchmarks. Like Charity Navigator, Charity Watch calculates that CRI spends 85 cents of every dollar raised directly on cancer-related program expenses. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance currently rates CRI as meeting its high standards for overall charity accountability. CRI also specifically meets the BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s high standards for governance, effectiveness measurement, finance, and fundraising. * From www.cancerresearch.org/about