National Foundation for Cancer Research

NFCR uses a peer-review system managed by a scientific advisory board of active cancer researchers. The foundation identifies individual principal investigators whose work targets fundamental molecular mechanisms of cancer, then awards multi-year unrestricted grants that allow the researcher to follow promising leads without the administrative burden of reapplying annually. Nomination, review, and renewal decisions are made by working scientists rather than program officers.

No. NFCR exclusively funds basic laboratory research — the cellular, molecular, and genomic science that precedes drug development. The organization explicitly does not fund clinical trials, patient treatment programs, or hospital infrastructure. Its mandate ends at the laboratory door, leaving translational and clinical work to other funders and biopharma partners.

NFCR awards unrestricted grants; the researcher decides how to allocate funds within the scope of the proposed work, and can reallocate resources mid-grant when experimental results open a new direction. By contrast, NIH RO1 and ACS grants are typically restricted to pre-specified aims with limited flexibility. NFCR also targets earlier-stage, higher-risk hypotheses that might struggle to meet the preliminary-data requirements of institutional grantmakers.

Franklin C. Salisbury, Jr. serves as CEO and has day-to-day operational authority. Grant allocations are recommended by NFCR's scientific advisory board through peer review and approved by the board of directors. Investment management for the endowment is overseen by the board's finance committee, whose membership is drawn from business leadership and finance professions.

NFCR is a 501(c)(3) public charity, supported by donations from individuals and corporations. It is not the philanthropic vehicle of a single family or fortune, nor does it operate as a private foundation with a single funding source. The organization files IRS Form 990 and reports its grants publicly.