Last updated: September 8, 2026
Meet This Year’s Featured Nonprofit: American Cancer Society Washington
Most of us know someone who has faced cancer. In the United States alone, 18.6 million people are living with a history of the disease and about two in five of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives. These aren’t distant statistics. They are our coworkers, our neighbors and our families and it’s why this year we’re inviting you to stand with the American Cancer Society of Washington.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, responsible for nearly one in six deaths and close to 10 million lives lost each year. Roughly 21 million new cases are diagnosed globally every year.
Who is the American Cancer Society and how do they help?
Founded in 1913, the American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide, community-based organization with one clear mission: to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. ACS is the only organization fighting cancer on every front at once, combining patient support, research funding, early detection education and advocacy so that people everywhere have a real opportunity to prevent, detect, treat and survive this disease.
Support Close to Home
Even without a dedicated Hope Lodge in Seattle, ACS delivers meaningful local support and drives national progress through:
- Road To Recovery, which provides cancer patients with free rides to and from treatment appointments when getting there is often the hardest part of getting well.
- Lodging Assistance, where ACS partners with area hotels to offer free or discounted stays for patients who must travel for treatment.
- Research Funding, as the largest non-governmental funder of cancer research in the United States, fueling the discoveries that lead to new treatments and better outcomes.
This multi-pronged approach, caring for patients today while funding the breakthroughs of tomorrow, is exactly why ACS’s work matters. It is also why recent cuts to care and research funding over the past two years are so concerning. Every dollar lost slows progress toward a world without cancer.
A Shared Mission With UW
The University of Washington and the American Cancer Society are already partners in the fight. Through the Fred Hutch/UW/Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium and other regional collaborations, ACS backed research is happening right here on our campuses.
- The Cancer Consortium Institutional Research Grant (IRG) provides $120,000 annually in pilot funding to support early career researchers at UW, Fred Hutch and Seattle Children’s studying cancer disparities.
- Faculty in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health (HSPop) regularly secure ACS grants focused on equity in cancer prevention, diagnosis and survivorship.
- The Alliance for Reducing Cancer, Northwest (ARC NW), based at the UW Health Promotion Research Center, partners with ACS and regional health groups to bring cancer screening and prevention improvements directly to our communities.
This is life-changing work happening on our own campuses, powered in part by people just like us.
How You Can Help
When you give through the UW Combined Fund Drive, you become part of this story. Your gift helps fund the rides that get patients to treatment, the research that leads to breakthroughs and the programs that bring equity to cancer care right here in our region. Together, we can help write the next chapter toward a world without cancer.