navigation search susan g. komen type non profit founded 1982 in dallas texas founder nancy goodman brinker headquarters 5005 lbj freeway suite 250 dallas texas 75244 1101 king street suite 520 alexandria virginia 22314 key people judith a. salerno president & ceo nancy brinker founder & chair of global strategy dr. george w. sledge jr. chief scientific adviser linda p. custard chair board of directors website komen.org susan g. komen formerly known as susan g. komen for the cure and originally as the susan g. komen breast cancer foundation often referred to as simply komen is the most widely known largest and best funded breast cancer organization in the united states . 1 since its inception in 1982 komen has spent through 2010 nearly 1.5 billion 2 for breast cancer education research advocacy health services and social support programs in the u.s. 3 and through partnerships in more than 50 countries . 4 5 today komen has more than 100 000 volunteers 6 working in a network of 124 affiliates worldwide . 7 according to the harris interactive 2010 equitrend annual brand equity poll komen was once one of the most trusted non profit organizations in america . 8 9 in 2012 komen s controversial attempt to withdraw funding for mammogram referrals provided by planned parenthood caused a significant decline in donations event participation and public trust . 10 the organization was further criticized for its use of donor funds the ceo s 64 % pay raise after the significant drop in donations its administration costs its choice of sponsor affiliations its role in commercial cause marketing 11 and its use of misleading statistics in advertising . 12 13 14 in march 2013 komen dropped from charity navigator s highest rating of four stars down to three stars and then to two stars in 2014 . 15 as of june 2016 komen is back to three stars with a score of 81 out of 100 . 16 contents 1 history 2 philosophy 3 activities 3.1 use of funds 3.2 grants and awards 3.3 global activities 4 fundraising 4.1 cause marketing 4.2 events 4.3 mobile fundraising 4.4 top corporate partners 5 controversy and criticism 5.1 pinkwashing in cause marketing 5.1.1 donation criticisms 5.1.2 health criticisms 5.2 legal battles over trademarking 5.3 relationship with planned parenthood 5.4 embryonic stem cell research 5.5 ceo salary 6 see also 7 notes 8 further reading 9 external links history edit susan goodman later susan goodman komen was born in 1943 in peoria illinois . she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33 . 17 she died of the disease at age 36 in 1980 . 18 komen s younger sister nancy goodman brinker who believed that susan s outcome might have been better if patients knew more about cancer and its treatment promised her sister that she would do everything she could to end breast cancer . 18 19 to fulfill that promise brinker founded the susan g. komen breast cancer foundation in komen s memory in 1982 . 19 in 2008 the 25th anniversary of the organization the name was changed to susan g. komen for the cure and trademarked a new logo in support of its promise to end breast cancer forever . 20 the new logo is a pink ribbon that resembles a runner in motion 20 21 and is meant to reflect the importance of komen s signature race for the cure event 21 which is currently the world s largest fund raising event for breast cancer education and research . 22 the logo symbolically associates the organization with the values of breast cancer awareness pink ribbon culture fear of breast cancer hope and the charitable goodness of people and businesses who publicly support the breast cancer movement . 1 in december 2009 brinker was appointed ceo of the organization . 23 philosophy edit komen advocates for breast self awareness as a primary method for fighting breast cancer . 24 25 komen supports universal screening mammography as well as ever increasing levels of government spending on diagnosing and treating breast cancer . 26 they promote early detection as the primary tool for preventing breast cancer deaths . 27 many scientific reviews have concluded that indiscriminate screening mammography for all middle aged and older women regardless of each woman s individual risk of developing breast cancer results in overtreatment of some women whose cancer would never harm them . for every one woman whose life is saved by screening mammography 250 to 500 women will be told that they might have breast cancer when they don t false positives 125 to 250 will have biopsies performed and between two and ten women will receive unnecessary treatment . 28 29 30 komen s response is to keep hammering away at our basic message which is early detection saves lives . 31 by contrast organizations like the national breast cancer coalition follow a medical consumerism model in which individual women are educated by their physicians about their options and encouraged to make individualized evidence based decisions about their health care . 26 other organizations advocate more research into the environmental causes of breast cancer and cancer prevention . 26 activities edit use of funds edit komen s 2009 2010 expenses research 20.9 % public health education 39.1 % health screening services 13.0 % treatment 5.6 % fund raising costs 10.0 % administrative costs 11.3 % in the 2009 2010 fiscal year ending march 31 2010 komen reported approximately us 400 million in earnings . of this 365 million 91.3 percent came from contributions from the public including donations sponsorships race entry fees and contributed goods and services . approximately 35 million 8.8 percent came from interest and dividends and gains on investments . 32 that same fiscal year komen reported approximately us 360 million in expenses . 283.2 million of this went towards program services 75.4 million 20.9 percent of total expenditure went to research 140.8 million 39.1 percent went to public health education 46.9 million 13 percent went to health screening services and 20.1 million 5.6 percent went to treatment services . the other 76.8 million went to supporting services including 36.1 million 10 percent of total expenditure toward fund raising costs and 40.6 million 11.3 percent toward general and administrative costs . 32 the komen ceo salary in 2010 was 459 406 a year . 33 komen paid founder and ceo nancy brinker 417 712 in 2011 . 34 after the planned parenthood controversy donations dropped and the foundation canceled half of its fundraising race for the cure events but brinkler received a 64 % increase to 684 000 annually which drew fire and was considered extremely high according to charity navigator s ceo . 35 grants and awards edit since its foundation in 1982 komen has provided funding for basic clinical and translational breast cancer research and for innovative projects in the areas of breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment . the organization has awarded more than 1 000 breast cancer research grants totaling more than 180 million . 36 komen adheres to a peer review process that is recognized by the us national cancer institute . as of 2007 update research grants are available for basic clinical and translational research ; postdoctoral fellowships ; and breast cancer disparities research . 37 komen awards three year postdoctoral fellowships to individuals working under the guidance of experienced cancer researchers in order to recruit and retain young scientists in the field of breast cancer research . in addition to funding research komen and its affiliates fund non duplicative community based breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment projects for the medically under served . 36 since 1992 komen has also annually awarded work in the field of cancer research with the komen brinker award for scientific distinction . in recent years komen has cut by nearly half the proportion of fund raising dollars it spends on research grants according to a 2012 reuters analysis . in 2011 the foundation spent 63 million 15 percent of its donations on research grants and awards . 38 39 40 global activities edit around 458 000 people worldwide die from breast cancer every year . 41 komen for the cure states that its aim is to reduce the burden of breast cancer on a global level . believing that no single approach to breast health will prove effective around the world komen works with local communities and organizations to develop programs for particular groups or cultures . 42 in 2006 susan g. komen for the cure announced their involvement with the us middle east partnership for breast cancer awareness and research a middle east partnership initiative program that unites leading breast cancer advocates in the u.s. and the middle east with the goal increasing early detection of breast cancer and reduce mortality through improved awareness increased clinical resources and research . 43 today susan g. komen for the cure is active in over 50 countries with its largest affiliates in italy and germany . 44 on october 28 2010 jerusalem held its first susan g. komen race for the cure . over 5 000 christian muslim and jewish people walked and ran to show solidarity in what was described as an historic event . 45 the main goal of the race was to raise awareness of breast cancer and establish the organization as a permanent fixture in israel . prior to the race the old city walls of jerusalem were illuminated pink by komen founder nancy g. brinker jerusalem s israeli mayor nir barkat and the prime minister of israel s wife sara netanyahu . fundraising edit cause marketing edit the organization raises over 36 million a year from over 60 cause marketing partnerships . these include prominent campaigns such as those with yoplait which runs the save lids to save lives program and a partnership with delta air lines . 46 cause marketing allows komen to associate the breast cancer brand with its organization . by promoting the fear hope and goodness associated with the breast cancer brand komen is able to promote itself breast cancer awareness its sponsoring corporations and conscientious consumption . 47 events edit the susan g. komen race for the cure is the world s largest fundraising event for breast cancer . 48 it consists of a series of 5k runs and fitness walks to raise money for breast cancer to raise awareness of the disease to celebrate those who have survived breast cancer and memorialize those who have not . the first race was run in dallas texas in 1983 with 800 participants . 49 the 25th anniversary of the race was celebrated in 2008 . in 2009 it was renamed as susan g. komen race for the cure . 50 in 2010 there were about 130 races worldwide . 51 additionally in 2010 over 1.6 million people participated in the race which utilized over 100 000 volunteers . 52 the primary source of revenue for the event is donations collected by the participants in the race . three quarters of the net proceeds from the event are used locally to pay for community outreach programs breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment projects run by the komen affiliate . the remaining quarter is sent to the central organization . 51 komen s other nationwide events include a group participating in a komen race for the cure event susan g. komen 3 day for the cure a 60 mile walk for women and men participants walk 60 miles 96.6 km in three days to help raise millions of dollars for breast cancer research and patient support programs susan g. komen marathon for the cure a grassroots fundraising program offering fitness enthusiasts the chance to join in the fight against breast cancer by running or walking a full 26.2 mi or half 13.1 mi marathon . susan g. komen passionately pink for