Andy Hill Cancer Research Endowment (CARE) Fund

The initial corpus was seeded with approximately $200 million from legal settlements, primarily tied to multi-state actions against financial institutions. Washington's legislature appropriated these one-time settlement dollars into a permanent endowment structure, with the principal protected by statute and only investment income used for grants (per public record).

The endowment is governed by a board that includes the Washington State Treasurer, the dean of the University of Washington School of Medicine, and appointed scientific and public members. Investment management of the underlying corpus is handled through contracted institutional managers under board oversight, with no dedicated internal investment office publicly disclosed.

Grants are restricted to non-profit research organizations within Washington State. Known recipients include Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, the University of Washington, and Seattle Children's Research Institute.

No. The CARE Fund does not operate as a venture investor. It awards research grants — never equity — and all funding decisions flow through a peer-reviewed scientific evaluation process.

Unlike a private foundation, it was created by legislative act with public stewards and settlement-derived capital. Unlike NIH grants, its mandate is restricted to Washington State researchers and specifically targets projects that may fall through gaps in federal funding.