In 2023, the American Cancer Society received $738 million in public donations and $866 million in total revenue.
The question on many donors’ minds is simple: how much money is donated to the American Cancer Society, and where does it go? The latest audited figures answer both. In 2023, total revenue reached $865.7 million, with $738.2 million coming directly from the public through contributions, bequests, events, and in-kind gifts. Those dollars funded patient services, research, and advocacy at scale. The sections below break down the numbers, the main sources of support, and how the charity used those funds across its programs.
2023 Donation Snapshot And Revenue Mix
ACS publishes combined audited financial statements that roll up the full organization. The most recent report shows how support from the public fits alongside investment returns and smaller government grants. Here’s a clear view of the 2023 revenue picture based on that filing.
| Revenue Source (2023) | Amount (USD, Millions) | Share Of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Contributions (Cash & Financial Assets) | $262.27 | 30.3% |
| Bequests | $167.41 | 19.3% |
| Special Events | $175.25 | 20.2% |
| In-Kind Contributions | $117.78 | 13.6% |
| Other Public Support | $15.44 | 1.8% |
| Investment Income, Net | $88.58 | 10.2% |
| Change In Split-Interest Agreements | $42.66 | 4.9% |
| Government Grants & Contracts | $5.99 | 0.7% |
| Other Net Losses | −$9.66 | −1.1% |
The totals above come from the American Cancer Society’s 2023 audited financial statements, which detail $738.2 million in support from the public and $865.7 million in total revenue across the full organization. Those figures reflect cash gifts, legacies, event proceeds, donated goods and services, and other items recognized under GAAP for the year.
How Much Money Is Donated To The American Cancer Society Each Year?
Year to year, the mix shifts with events, markets, and estates, but the broad answer is steady: hundreds of millions of dollars flow in annually, most of it from individual donors and families. In the 2023 filing, donations, bequests, in-kind support, and event revenue together made up about 85% of total revenue. That’s the part most people mean when they ask, in plain words, how much money is donated to the American Cancer Society. The remaining slice came from investment income, changes in split-interest agreements, and a small amount of government grants.
Two items within that donated stream are worth calling out. Bequests accounted for $167.4 million, reflecting planned gifts that supporters arranged years earlier. In-kind contributions totaled $117.8 million, representing donated goods and services used in mission work and fundraising. Both categories are part of the lifeblood of a large health charity and tend to move with broader economic cycles.
Where Donations Go In 2023
Once funds arrive, ACS reports spending across program work and support services. The 2023 statements show $817.8 million in total expenses. More than four-fifths of revenue funded the mission, a point ACS also communicates in its annual report.
Program Areas And Support Costs
Program services fall into three major buckets: patient support, discovery (research), and advocacy. Support services include management and general, along with fundraising costs needed to sustain donor revenue and events. The next table summarizes the 2023 breakdown.
| 2023 Expense Area | Amount (USD, Millions) | Share Of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Patient Support | $424.50 | 51.9% |
| Discovery (Research) | $184.67 | 22.6% |
| Advocacy | $54.63 | 6.7% |
| Fundraising | $121.92 | 14.9% |
| Management & General | $32.04 | 3.9% |
Behind those numbers is a wide set of services: rides to care, lodging near treatment centers, navigation for patients and caregivers, peer support programs, and grants that back scientists across institutions. The research line covers both extramural grants and ACS’s internal research programs.
How To Read The Dollar Figures
Not all dollars look the same in a financial statement. Here’s a brief guide to the categories you see in the 2023 report so you can compare year over year without confusion.
Contributions And Bequests
These lines represent gifts from individuals, families, and corporations. Contributions are the everyday donations you see on appeals, web pages, or checks. Bequests are legacy gifts through wills and trusts. In most years, these two lines together form the largest share of support.
Special Events
Events like Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer generate net proceeds that show up as event revenue. The gross amount is offset by direct event costs, so the number you see reflects funds available to fuel programs and research.
In-Kind Contributions
In-kind gifts include donated media, space, professional services, and products. These are recognized at fair value. They’re real support, even if no cash changes hands, and they help ACS reach people and reduce out-of-pocket spending on mission delivery.
Investment Income And Split-Interest Items
Large charities steward endowments and reserves. Investment income can swing with markets. Split-interest items come from trusts and similar arrangements where donors retain some rights during life; changes in value are recognized annually under accounting rules.
Government Grants
This is a smaller piece of the total. In 2023, grants and contracts from agencies totaled about $6 million, a modest share compared with donor-driven funding.
How Donations Turn Into Impact
Dollar amounts tell only part of the story. Patient support spending includes rides, lodging, navigation, and guidance that help people get care and stick with treatment schedules. Research dollars fund multi-year grants in prevention, early detection, survivorship, basic science, and health services. Advocacy efforts push for coverage, screening access, and smoke-free policies at state and federal levels.
For context on the need, ACS tracks national cancer trends and publishes detailed statistics each year. If you want a reliable overview of incidence, mortality, and screening uptake in the US, review ACS’s Cancer Facts & Figures series. Those data points anchor the case for sustained support.
Why 2023 Looks The Way It Does
Bequests often rise and fall based on estate settlements in a given year. Markets affect investment income and the value of split-interest agreements. Events rebound or soften based on participation and sponsorships. With those moving parts, a single year can look a bit different from the one before it, even when the core fundraising base stays strong.
What About Large One-Off Gifts?
Occasionally, a high-value gift lands in a visible way, such as a property donation or a landmark check. Those items can be restricted for research or other needs, and they’re accounted for under the same rules as other gifts. They don’t change the long-term pattern: broad donor support still provides the bulk of annual funding.
How To Verify The Numbers Yourself
Two primary sources are worth bookmarking:
- ACS 2023 Financial Statements — the audited, combined picture of revenue and expenses for the year.
- ACS IRS Form 990 (2023) — the public tax filing with additional detail by category.
Key Takeaways For Donors
Answering The Core Question
So, how much money is donated to the American Cancer Society? In the most recent audited year, donors and event participants contributed $738.2 million. That donor-powered base remains the engine of the organization.
How Those Dollars Move
Most revenue flows into patient services, research, and advocacy. In 2023, program services represented the majority of total spending, with fundraising and management making up a smaller share.
What This Means For Your Gift
Every type of gift plays a part. Smaller recurring donations keep services running. Event teams bring in local support and awareness. Legacy gifts create a longer runway for research commitments. If you’re weighing a gift, the audited statements show how dollars turn into care and science across the year.
Method Notes And Sources
Figures in this article come from the 2023 audited financial statements for the American Cancer Society, Inc., which present a combined view of ACS, ACS Cancer Action Network, and ACS Puerto Rico, and from ACS materials summarizing mission spending. Statements reflect accounting under US GAAP and include both cash and non-cash support, such as donated goods and services. When comparing against a charity rating site or a news article, check that you’re looking at the same year and the same scope; some outlets summarize only portions of the organization or use a different cut of the data.
Bottom Line For Readers
If you came here asking, “how much money is donated to the American Cancer Society,” the answer is clear and current: donors and event supporters provided about three-quarters of a billion dollars in 2023, and those funds largely powered patient services and research grants. The audited statements linked above give a transparent, line-by-line look at where the money came from and where it went.