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American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society reported $724.2 million in revenue and $791.9 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $79.81 went to program services, $4.38 to management and general costs and $15.81 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 95.2% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $2,242,645 (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOING). 835 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 1% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, FY2025 (3 mo.).
Where $100 of spending went
The 3-month short period ending March 31, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $792MFor context, the median across 314 covered diseases, disorders & medical disciplines charities: $88.73 programs, $10.89 management, $0.38 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
The 3-month short period ending March 31, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $724M- Contributions & grants (non-government)$94.40 $686M
- Government grants$0.45 $3.2M
- Program service revenue$0.11 $777K
- Investment income$5.04 $37M
Other revenue was negative: −$3.0M. The bar shows the positive sources only.
The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | 2024 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 79.8% | 86.7% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 4.4% | 10.6% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 15.8% | 0.4% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.18 | $0.03 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 95.2% | 24.7% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.4% | 0.6% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 0.1% | 59.5% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $2,242,645 | $391,657 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 0.28% | 1.45% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 835 | 10 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 19.6 | 7.6 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 19 of 19 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
FY2025 (3 mo.) · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expensePatient support: the American Cancer Society, inc. (acs) offers programs and services to help individuals during and after cancer treatment. We provide the latest, evidence-based cancer information and are available 24/7 to help people facing cancer find services and resources, whether they want to understand their diagnosis and treatment options, learn how to cope with side effects, find transportation, or need lodging when treatment is far from home. We provide information and support to people with cancer, caregivers, and survivors through online communities and one-on-one support
Research: acs launches innovative, high-impact research to find more - and better - treatments, uncover factors that may cause cancer, and improve quality of life for people facing cancer. We fund research grants and conduct cancer research studies to help accelerate the pace of progress. We conduct research to identify and understand issues related to cancer disparities in an effort to advance health equity among all communities
Advocacy: acs promotes policies that build healthier communities, create safer workplaces, and provide greater, more equitable access to quality medical care. Advocacy efforts include, but are not limited to, grants to affiliates. As acs' nonprofit, nonpartisan affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer action network, inc. (acs can) advocates for evidence-based public policies to reduce the cancer burden for everyone. Acs can is making cancer a top priority for public officials at the federal, state, and local levels. By engaging advocates across the country to make their voices heard…
Highest reported compensation
FY2025 (3 mo.) · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOING Officer, 55.0 hrs/week | $2,015,611 | $173,760 | $53,274 | $2,242,645 |
| CHIEF FINANCIAL & STRATEGY OFFICER Officer, 55.0 hrs/week | $1,150,466 | $123,264 | $48,911 | $1,322,641 |
| CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER Key employee, 55.0 hrs/week | $1,011,912 | $0 | $61,544 | $1,073,456 |
| CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER Highest compensated employee, 55.0 hrs/week | $950,673 | $0 | $69,801 | $1,020,474 |
| CHIEF OF ORGANIZATIONAL ADVANCEMENT Key employee, 55.0 hrs/week | $977,147 | $0 | $43,185 | $1,020,332 |
| CHIEF PATIENT OFFICER Key employee, 55.0 hrs/week | $868,358 | $0 | $24,053 | $892,411 |
| SENIOR EVP, FIELD OPERATIONS Highest compensated employee, 55.0 hrs/week | $641,450 | $0 | $67,657 | $709,107 |
| CHIEF LEGAL AND RISK OFFICER, OUTGOING Highest compensated employee, 55.0 hrs/week | $677,507 | $0 | $15,644 | $693,151 |
835 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from American Cancer Society (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $6.9M (Part IX, line 5).
7 filings since 2019
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked| Filing | Revenue | Expenses | Programs | Net assets | Top pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 (3 mo.) ⓘ | $137M | $167M | 77.0% | $1.23B | — |
| 2024 ⓘ | $724M | $792M | 79.8% | $1.30B | $2,242,645 |
| 2023 ⓘ | $657M | $756M | 79.4% | $1.28B | $1,520,301 |
| 2022 ⓘ | $674M | $669M | 81.1% | $1.26B | $1,118,608 |
| 2021 ⓘ | $734M | $578M | 79.6% | $1.39B | $984,898 |
| 2020 ⓘ | $576M | $564M | 75.8% | $1.19B | $730,765 |
| 2019 ⓘ | $720M | $731M | 77.4% | $1.11B | $1,091,029 |
Governance answers, as filed
FY2025 (3 mo.) · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b19 · 19 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18Yes
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
- Employees Part I, line 53,348
- Volunteers Part I, line 61,175,711
Largest outside contractors
FY2025 (3 mo.) · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| Acara Solutions Inc Contract Labor Services | $4,777,449 |
| Community Counseling Service Co LLC Consulting and professional fundraising | $4,704,835 |
| JE Dunn Construction Construction | $4,584,634 |
| TechAspect Solutions LLC dba TA Digital Information Technology Professional Services | $3,347,176 |
| Salesforce CRM Technology Professional Services | $3,164,117 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 140 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
2,079 private foundations reported grants to American Cancer Society totaling $41M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from American Cancer Society's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for American Cancer Society, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
Share or embed this breakdown
Of every $100 American Cancer Society spent in 2024, $79.81 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Similar-sized charities in this cause
- Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy InstituteLittle Rock, AR · revenue $621M · programs 89.5% · FY2025
- University Medical Center Management CorporationNew Orleans, LA · revenue $793M · programs 84.1% · 2024
- Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer HospitalDetroit, MI · revenue $607M · programs 90.7% · FY2025
- American Heart AssociationDallas, TX · revenue $1.07B · programs 78.8% · FY2025
- The Devereux FoundationVillanova, PA · revenue $508M · programs 90.6% · FY2025
All diseases, disorders & medical disciplines charities · Largest charities in Georgia
Questions people ask
How much of American Cancer Society's spending goes to programs?
In calendar year 2024, American Cancer Society reported that 79.8% of its $791.9 million in expenses went to program services, 4.4% to management and general and 15.8% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does American Cancer Society pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation American Cancer Society reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $2,242,645, for the role of CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOING (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does American Cancer Society get its money?
Of $724.2 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 95.2% came from contributions and grants (including 0.4% from government grants) and 0.1% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is American Cancer Society a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 13-1788491 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- FY2025 (3 mo.): Form 990 for the 3-month short period ending March 31, 2025, object 202640419349300039 · read the filing · XML
- 2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202502879349300245 · read the filing
- 2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202422639349300912 · read the filing
- 2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202302829349301020 · read the filing
- 2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202243199349307979 · read the filing
- 2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202123089349303327 · read the filing
- 2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202033179349307518 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 13-1788491: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.