The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation

The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation

Bonnie J. Addario founded the foundation in 2006 after her own diagnosis and successful treatment, identifying a critical gap in lung cancer awareness, funding, and patient support. The organization began as a single-entity nonprofit and grew into a major advocacy and research force in thoracic oncology. The foundation deploys capital through a venture-philanthropy model: grants to academic researchers, direct funding for early-stage diagnostic tools and therapies, and patient navigation programs. It has supported work on low-dose CT screening, genetic profiling of non-small cell lung cancer, and immunotherapies. Notable grant recipients include the University of Michigan and Stanford University (per public record, various years). The foundation’s geographic footprint covers the US, with clinical partnerships in Palo Alto, Ann Arbor, and San Francisco. In 2019, the foundation merged with the Lung Cancer Alliance to form the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, Andrea Ferris serving as CEO. Bonnie Addario remained board chair. The combined entity now reports tens of millions in annual revenue, according to public filings. The merger created a unified national voice for lung cancer policy, screening access, and survivorship. The structural differentiator is the merger itself — rather than compete for donor dollars, two mature advocacy nonprofits chose to consolidate. This allows the foundation to operate a single fundraising and grantmaking apparatus while preserving the Addario brand’s patient-first identity.