The American Cancer Fund® has been operating continuously since the early 1960’s. They have worked tirelessly to provide assistance to Cancer patients. The organization was started by transplanted New Yorkers when they moved to Florida and realized that many retirees did not have the funds they needed to pay for serious medical care like Cancer. The founders enlisted family and friends and started chapters (from 1960 – 1986) in Florida, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, and Arizona. The original goal was to provide some amount of funding and resources to anyone struggling with the big ‘C’. They started their efforts by working with churches and synagogues (of the founders) to find donors so that they could evaluate and really help those in need. The founders reached out to everyone they knew in the garment and plumbing industries as well as lawyers and accountants and asked for donations from every personal connection they made. This model lasted until the late 1990’s when most of the original founders passed on leaving a legacy of service to the next generation. The original organization was also called the American Cancer Association, the National Cancer Society, Focus on Cancer, and the American Cancer Foundation and we still use these names as a DBAs.

Most of the patients that received assistance were identified by ‘word of mouth’ (there was no internet in those days and NO twitter), and were assessed by the volunteers from ‘chapters’ that were in cities where the founders had a family or business connection.

As the original volunteers passed away, the assistance became more centralized. It wasn’t until the late 1990’s when the next generation decided to restructure and re-evaluate the mission and goals that the current mission was established. American Cancer Fund and American Cancer Association joined forces and refiled as a charity in 2005.