Grants for Cancer Support Organizations 2026: Top Funders

Cancer support source review, Grantsights, October 30, 2026: Grantsights checked the CDC's program page for its state, tribal and territorial cancer control program (NCCCP), the CDC National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program page (opens in a new tab), NCI's Office of Cancer Survivorship statistics (opens in a new tab), NCI's pages on cancer support groups (opens in a new tab) and managing cancer care costs (opens in a new tab), and 990-PF filings. Where official sources stop: none of them tells a local support group how to get a share of state cancer control money, which is where most groups never ask.

5 Services Cancer Support Organizations Get Funded For

Cancer support groups raise money for at least 5 distinct services, and foundations judge each one differently. According to NCI's support group page, groups meet in hospitals, community centers and schools or online, and some focus on family concerns such as role changes, relationship strain and financial worries. That range is why one organization can appeal to several kinds of funders.

Groups that also run bereavement programs should read grants for grief support programs, since many families keep coming after a death. Programs that give caregivers a break can find more prospects in grants for respite care programs.

Who Gave to Cancer Support Organizations: What 990-PF Filings Show

Foundations reporting on IRS Form 990-PF are a main source for cancer support nonprofits, and the money runs deep in a few states. Grantsights analysis of 990-PF health grants pulled October 30, 2026 found 1,168 foundations that made 2,085 grants to cancer support organizations, totaling $37,638,152. Of 40 recipients Grantsights checked by hand, 38 were support organizations or hospital patient support programs rather than research groups.

For example, Cancer Support Community South Bay received $920,050 from the Morita Donna Foundation in 2024 and $820,914 in 2023, both as general support. Repeat general operating grants like those are rare in health giving and show what a long relationship with one family foundation can do.

Cancer support grants by state

California's lead is real but lopsided: the Simpson PSB Fund's construction gift alone is close to half the state's total. Indiana stands out for its size. The Smithville Charitable Foundation gave $25,000 to Orange County Cancer Patient Services in Paoli, $20,000 to Cancer Support Community South Central Indiana and $20,000 to Lawrence County Cancer Patient Services in 2023. One organization in Indiana, a county cancer patient services group, shows that small rural groups do win grants from regional funders.

Georgia's total of $5,479,511 from 32 foundations is mostly the Aflac Foundation's yearly $1,500,000 for pediatric cancer support at a hospital center, so it doesn't mean Georgia has deeper giving for community groups.

The California preview

In California, the free preview on the Grantsights health funder list names 204 foundations that gave to cancer support organizations. Its sample is the UniHealth Foundation, which gave $100,000 in 2023 to Cancer Support Community Los Angeles to expand no-cost psychosocial cancer care to the Coachella Valley, and $25,000 to Cancer Support Community Greater San Gabriel Valley for support groups. Other California gifts in the filings include $150,000 from The Ahmanson Foundation to Cancer Support Community Pasadena for renovations at its new headquarters (2022) and $122,360 from the Thrive Causemetics Foundation to Michelle's Place Cancer Resource Center in Temecula (2025).

A state list is $29, or $99 for a year of every cause, refundable within 30 days. It lists every health funder in your state, so it reaches beyond the cancer-specific foundations to those backing hospitals, hospices and community health.

Federal Money: State Cancer Programs, Not Direct Grants

Federal cancer support money reaches local groups through 2 CDC programs, and in both cases a state, territory or tribe holds the award. According to CDC program pages, its cancer control program for states, known as the NCCCP, funds programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 8 territories and freely associated states, and 7 tribes and tribal organizations.

The NCCCP and state cancer coalitions

CDC reports that the NCCCP provides funds, guidance and technical assistance to cancer prevention and control programs, and that cancer coalitions create and carry out plans to prevent and control cancer. One of its stated priorities is supporting people diagnosed with cancer through treatment and beyond, including assessing survivors' needs, offering education and patient navigation, and improving access to services.

That survivorship priority is your opening. Your state's cancer coalition writes the plan that decides where some of this money goes. Join the coalition, sit on its survivorship work group and ask whether the state program subcontracts support or navigation services. Groups that skip this step usually never see the money.

National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program

CDC reports that the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) funds 71 award recipients and serves women with low incomes who don't have adequate insurance, offering screening, diagnostic testing and patient navigation. A breast cancer support group that already helps women get to appointments is a natural referral and outreach partner for the state program. Ask your state program whether it pays partners for outreach or navigation, and get the answer in writing before you budget it.

NCI

The National Cancer Institute funds research, so a support nonprofit won't find a service grant there. What NCI gives you is evidence for a proposal. Its support group page says some research shows that joining a support group improves both quality of life and survival. Its page on care costs describes financial toxicity, the problems a patient has related to the cost of treatment, and tells patients to plan for costs such as drugs, travel and childcare. A request for gas cards or ride programs can cite that page directly.

What CDC and NCI Don't Tell You About Funding a Cancer Support Group

Grantsights compared the federal pages with the 990-PF filings, and 5 points stood out.

1. Research language can sink a support request. Many family foundations exclude research. If your proposal mentions "studies" or "trials," say plainly that the grant pays for services, not research.
2. Affiliates of national networks do well, but locals win too. Cancer Support Community and Gilda's Club affiliates appear again and again, yet county groups in Indiana and a resource center in Temecula won grants without a national brand.
3. General operating support is common here. The Coleman Foundation's Illinois grants to Cancer Support Center, Gilda's Club Chicago and Cancer Wellness Center were all general operating support. Contrary to popular belief, health funders don't always insist on project grants.
4. Capital gifts come from a few big families. The 2 largest grants in the search paid for buildings and lodging. Don't plan a capital campaign around foundations unless you've already got a relationship with one.
5. Federal money is a partnership, not an application. The NCCCP and NBCCEDP both flow through state programs, so the real work is getting on the coalition and the referral list.

Grantsights' honest view: a local cancer support group should anchor its budget with 1 hospital or cancer center partnership and a state coalition role, then ask 8 to 12 health and family foundations for operating support. Skip national research funders entirely; they're the wrong route for service work.

How Many People Need Support, and How to Say It

Funders want to know the size of the need, and NCI's Office of Cancer Survivorship gives a federal number to cite. NCI estimates there were 18.6 million cancer survivors in the United States as of May 2025, about 5.4% of the population, and it counts a survivor from the time of diagnosis through the rest of life.

Use that figure for context, then switch to your own numbers quickly. A funder reading a local request cares about 3 things:

The table is illustrative, not data. Pick measures you can collect the same way every year, since a funder learns more from 3 years of one measure than from a list of national studies.

6 Cancer Support Projects Foundations Have Paid For

Each of these 6 project types appears with a named funder in the 2023 to 2025 filings.

1. No-cost counseling in underserved areas. UniHealth Foundation's $100,000 to Cancer Support Community Los Angeles for the Coachella Valley.
2. New or renovated centers. The Simpson PSB Fund's Lafayette center and The Ahmanson Foundation's Pasadena renovation.
3. Lodging near treatment. The Sunderland Foundation's $1,000,000 for Hope Lodge in Kansas City.
4. Survivor education. The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation's $875,000 in 2024 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for scholarships for blood cancer survivors.
5. Mental health support. The Florence M. Muller Foundation's $30,000 to Gilda's Club Rochester in 2025.
6. Rural patient services. The Smithville Charitable Foundation's grants to county cancer patient services groups in Indiana.

Common Mistakes in Cancer Support Grant Requests

These mistakes cost support groups money because funders read them as signs of a weak program.

• Mixing research and services in one budget. A request that funds "programs and research" often fails with family foundations that exclude research.
• Counting only patients. Families and caregivers use many of your services; leaving them out undercounts your reach.
• Underestimating staff costs. Licensed social workers and counselors cost more than volunteers, and a common mistake is pricing groups as if volunteers ran them.
• Ignoring the state coalition. It's a red flag to a health funder when a group has no tie to its state cancer plan.
• Sizing asks without research. Read how to read a 990-PF to see what each foundation actually gives before naming a number.

A Cancer Support Group's Funding Calendar

This calendar spreads coalition work, foundation asks and events across the year.

The Grantsights grant database tracks open federal and state notices, including state health department and behavioral health programs where a cancer support service can fit inside a larger application.

Related Guides for Cancer Support Organizations

These 4 guides cover nearby programs. Support groups working alongside end-of-life care should read grants for hospices. Hospital-based patient support programs usually raise money through their hospital's foundation, which grants for hospital foundations covers. Programs offering art-based support groups can find related funders in grants for art therapy programs. Groups serving rural counties should see grants for rural health nonprofits.

If your center runs creative programs for patients, grants for art therapy programs covers the funders and credential questions behind that work.

FAQ: Common Questions

Are there federal grants for cancer support organizations? Mostly through state partners: the CDC's NCCCP funds 66 programs and the NBCCEDP funds 71 recipients.

How many foundations fund cancer support organizations? 1,168 in Grantsights' search of 990-PF health grants pulled October 30, 2026, 204 of them in California.

What's the largest cancer support grant in the filings? $5,070,075 from the Simpson PSB Fund for a new center in Lafayette, California.

How many people do cancer support organizations serve? NCI estimates 18.6 million survivors as of May 2025.

What's a typical health foundation grant for a cancer support group? State medians of $5,000 to $10,000 in the states shown.

Sources

• CDC: About the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (opens in a new tab)
• NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship: Statistics and Graphs (opens in a new tab)
• NCI: Cancer Support Groups (opens in a new tab)
• NCI: Managing Costs and Medical Information (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)