In FY2024, Susan G. Komen spent $17.2M on breast cancer research—about 12% of total expenses and 16% of program costs.
Susan G. Komen publishes audited statements each year that show where donor dollars go. The latest report (fiscal year ending March 31, 2024) lists spending across three mission programs—research, patient care, and advocacy—plus fundraising and general administration. Using those statements, you can see the exact dollars directed to research and the share that research represents within Komen’s overall budget.
Where The Dollars Went In FY2024
Here’s the big picture from the most recent audited statement. Research is one part of Komen’s mission mix alongside patient support and advocacy, with additional costs to raise funds and run the organization.
| Category (FY2024) | Dollars (USD) | Share Of Total Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Research | $17,163,888 | ≈11.8% |
| Patient Care | $83,827,561 | ≈57.8% |
| Advocacy | $4,654,734 | ≈3.2% |
| Program Services Total | $105,646,183 | ≈72.8% |
| Fundraising | $27,393,061 | ≈18.9% |
| General & Administrative | $12,042,003 | ≈8.3% |
| Total Expenses | $145,081,247 | 100% |
Two ways to read those numbers help answer the core question:
- Share of total expenses: research is roughly 12% of all FY2024 spending.
- Share of program services only: research is roughly 16% of Komen’s mission program spend (research + patient care + advocacy).
How Much Money Goes To Susan G. Komen For Cancer Research? Year-Over-Year
Donors often want a trend, not just a single data point. The prior year shows a higher research line than FY2024, while overall expenses were also different. Looking at multiple years gives better context for planning a gift that targets research.
Research Dollars Versus Other Mission Costs
Mission budgets shift from year to year for a few reasons: multi-year grant timing, donor designations, and changes in patient support demand. Komen’s grants are often pledged across several years, so a new awards cycle can move the research line up or down even when cumulative research investment keeps climbing.
Close Variant: How Much Money Goes To Komen For Cancer Research — By Program Share
Another useful view is the research share inside Komen’s mission programs. In FY2024, program services totaled about $105.6M. Research was about $17.2M of that, or roughly 16%. Patient care—the helpline, treatment assistance, screening support, navigation, and similar services—was the largest slice at roughly 79% of program services that year.
What “Research” Means In Komen’s Books
The research line on the audited statements includes peer-reviewed grants to institutions and investigators, including early-career awards, translational studies, and projects tied to metastatic disease. Komen also lists multi-year grant commitments in “grants payable,” which signals funds scheduled to be paid out under existing awards.
How Much Has Komen Invested In Research Since Founding?
Komen reports a cumulative research investment of nearly $1.1 billion since 1982, making it one of the largest nonprofit funders of breast cancer research in the U.S. That long-horizon figure reflects decades of awards across prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship science.
How We Calculated The FY2024 Answer
All figures come from the latest audited statement of activities. “Research,” “Patient care,” and “Advocacy” together form program services. “Fundraising” and “General & administrative” are supporting services. The featured answer uses the exact research dollar line and expresses it two ways—share of total expenses and share of program services—to give a direct, apples-to-apples read.
Can You Direct A Donation Toward Research?
Yes. Komen accepts donor-restricted gifts. If you want every dollar of your gift to advance research, earmark your donation for research at checkout or through donor services. That restriction keeps your contribution within the research program bucket rather than patient services or advocacy.
How Donor-Restricted Gifts Show Up
When gifts are restricted to research, they appear in the financial statements as net assets with donor restrictions for research and are released as grants are awarded or paid. This is why a single year’s research spend may not mirror the restricted research balance at a point in time—multi-year grants and timing matter.
By The Numbers: Research Trend And Shares
Here’s a quick view using the last two fiscal years to show both dollars and the slice of total expenses.
| Fiscal Year | Research Dollars | Share Of Total Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 (year ended 3/31/2024) | $17,163,888 | ≈11.8% |
| FY2023 (year ended 3/31/2023) | $24,178,624 | ≈15.3% |
What This Means For Your Gift
If your goal is to fuel research, two tactics help:
- Designate your gift to research. Use the donation form’s restriction option or contact donor services to specify research grants.
- Give across the grant cycle. Multi-year research awards are common. A recurring gift can smooth the year-to-year swings in the research line.
How Komen Balances Research With Patient Care
Many donors want both near-term help and long-term advances. Komen spends the largest share of program funds on patient care—navigation, financial assistance, helpline services, and screening support—while still funding research every year. That balance is visible in the program totals and in grant commitments scheduled over several years.
How Much Money Goes To Susan G. Komen For Cancer Research? Practical Takeaways
From the audited FY2024 statement, research was about $17.2M, or roughly 12% of all expenses and 16% of program services. The prior year’s audited statement shows $24.2M for research, or about 15% of total expenses that year. Across four decades, Komen cites nearly $1.1B invested in research through peer-reviewed grants. If you want your own donation to raise the research line, restrict it to research at the time of giving.
Helpful Sources And How To Verify
You can review Komen’s Financial Reports page and open the audited statements and Form 990s. For FY2024, the “Consolidated Statement of Activities” lists research, patient care, and advocacy dollars by line item. Komen’s newsroom and impact reports also summarize the lifetime total invested in research.
Method, Scope, And Limits
This article reads Komen’s audited statements exactly as published. It sums only what Komen classifies as research within program services and expresses it as a share of total expenses and of program services. It does not estimate in-kind value beyond what’s recognized in the audits and does not treat patient-care education as research unless Komen classifies it that way.