Israel Cancer Research Fund

What Israel Cancer Research Fund does

Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) is a U.S.-headquartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1975 by Dr. Daniel G. Miller and a coalition of American and Canadian physicians, scientists, and philanthropists. ICRF is the largest nongovernmental source of cancer research funding in Israel, having awarded more than $100 million across approximately 3,000 grants at every leading Israeli research institution, including the Weizmann Institute of Science, Technion, Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, and major medical centers. Its core products are grant programs rather than technology products: Research Professorship Grants ($550,000 over 5 years), Project Grants ($198,000 over 3 years), Career Development Awards ($148,500 over 3 years), Acceleration Grants ($154,000 over 2 years), Collaborative Funding Awards ($495,000 over 3 years), and Special Funding Initiatives (minimum $550,000 over 3 years). Applications are administered through ProposalCentral, and grants are reviewed by a Scientific Review Panel of 40-60 volunteer U.S. and Canadian scientists contributing ~2,000 hours annually using an NIH-modeled process. Two ICRF grantees — Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover — are Israeli Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, and ICRF-supported work contributed to three FDA-approved cancer drugs (Gleevec, Doxil, Velcade).

ICRF operates from a 1-10 person international staff headquartered at 52 Vanderbilt Avenue in New York, supported by nine active chapters across the United States (New York, Chicago, Connecticut, Los Angeles, Coachella Valley, Florida), Canada (Montreal, Toronto), and Israel. Its go-to-market is community- and event-led, anchored by signature events (Tower of Hope Gala, Night of Games, Drive Fore Research Golf Classic, Cocktails for a Cure, running events tied to the NYC, Philadelphia, and Marine Corps Marathons) and a growing digital program including the Brilliant Minds Webinar Series and a Visions young leadership track in New York and Chicago. ICRF also runs the Circle of Inspiration storytelling initiative and a personal fundraising pages platform, while leveraging DAFpay for Donor Advised Fund giving and Double the Donation for employer matching gifts. Revenue is generated entirely through philanthropic streams: individual donations, planned giving/Heritage Society legacy gifts, corporate matching, DAF grants, event proceeds, and high-touch named scientific grants cultivated by development staff.

Name

Israel Cancer Research Fund

Legal name

Israel Cancer Research Fund

Website

https://icrfonline.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Israel Cancer Research Fund is a U.S.-headquartered nonprofit that funds Israeli cancer researchers through peer-reviewed grants across six program tiers. It has awarded over $100 million across nearly 3,000 grants since 1975 and operates chapters in the U.S., Canada, and Israel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Cancer Research Funding

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Cancer research grants
• Nonprofit research funding
• Philanthropic grant administration
• Medical research grants
• Cancer research philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: ICRF raises funds from individual donors through its website, event registrations, personal fundraising pages, and chapter activities. Donors can make one-time or recurring gifts, with preset amounts ranging from $100 to $5,000 or custom amounts. The organization also accepts donations via mail.
2. Planned Giving / Legacy Gifts: ICRF encourages donors to include the organization in their estate plans through bequests, IRA charitable rollovers, charitable gift annuities, and beneficiary designations. Donors in the Heritage Society receive recognition for legacy gifts.
3. Corporate Matching Gifts: ICRF promotes employer matching gift programs to double the impact of individual donations, partnering with Double the Donation to help donors identify matching employers.
4. Donor Advised Fund Grants: ICRF receives grants from Donor Advised Funds (DAFs), allowing donors to recommend grants from their DAF accounts to support ICRF's research mission over time while receiving immediate tax deductions.
5. Named Scientific Grants: Donors can fund specific grant categories (Research Professorships, Project Grants, CDAs, Acceleration Grants, Collaborative Funding Awards) at defined funding levels, with the grant bearing the donor's name or honoree's name.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Israel Cancer Research Fund is a nonprofit grant-making organization that funds cancer research conducted by Israeli scientists at leading Israeli institutions. The organization raises charitable donations from individual donors, planned giving contributors, corporate matching gift programs, and Donor Advised Funds, then disburses those funds through a peer-reviewed portfolio of named grant programs covering research professorships, project grants, career development awards, acceleration grants, and collaborative funding awards.

Product overview

Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) is a non-profit cancer research funding organization, not a traditional product company. The organization's primary offerings are cancer research grant programs that provide funding to Israeli scientists. The core product portfolio consists of Research Professorship Grants ($550,000 over 5 years) as the flagship senior scientist award, Project Grants ($198,000 over 3 years) for established investigators, Career Development Awards ($148,500 over 3 years) for emerging researchers, Acceleration Grants ($154,000 over 2 years) for innovative approaches, Collaborative Funding Awards ($495,000 over 3 years) for North American-Israel partnerships, and Special Funding Initiatives (minimum $550,000 over 3 years) for donor-designated cancer areas. Supporting programs include the Circle of Inspiration storytelling/fundraising initiative and Personal Fundraising Campaigns platform enabling individual fundraising efforts. All grants are administered through integrated platforms including ProposalCentral for applications and Qgiv for donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ICRF: Primary brand name/abbreviation for Israel Cancer Research Fund

Products and services

• Research Professorship Grants
• Project Grants
• Career Development Awards (CDAs)
• Acceleration Grants
• Collaborative Funding Awards
• Special Funding Initiatives
• Circle of Inspiration
• Personal Fundraising Campaigns

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $100 million in total lifetime funding provided to Israeli cancer researchers since 1975
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cancer Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2026ICRF and the Cancer Research Institute co-funded a $180,000 three-year grant to Dr. Asaf Madi of Tel Aviv University for research on improving tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy to overcome immunotherapy resistance in melanoma. The partnership combines ICRF's funding of Israeli cancer researchers with CRI's expertise in immunotherapy to address a key limitation in cancer treatment.
• Lung Cancer Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 January 2026ICRF partnered with the Lung Cancer Research Foundation on a three-year collaborative project grant. LCRF awarded over $5.2 million across 21 grants in 2025, with its active portfolio exceeding $21 million. The ICRF-LCRF collaboration supports Israeli researchers working on lung cancer research.
• Redhill FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRedhill Foundation partners with ICRF to co-fund cancer research grants. Multiple ICRF grants are designated 'Funded in Partnership with the Redhill Foundation,' including Project Grants and Professorship Grants supporting Israeli cancer researchers at institutions including Tel Aviv University.
• The Mark Foundation for Cancer ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRF partners with The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research on the ICRF-Mark Foundation Collaborative Project Grant, supporting Israeli cancer researchers through joint funding. This partnership provides enhanced funding capacity for high-impact cancer research projects.
• Conquer Cancer (The ASCO Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRF and Conquer Cancer co-fund the ICRF–Conquer Cancer Collaborative Career Development Award, supporting Israeli researchers at the early career stage to develop expertise in clinical cancer research.
• City of HopecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ICRF-City of Hope Jacki & Bruce Barron Cancer Research Scholars' Program supports collaborative cancer research between Israeli and U.S. researchers. City of Hope, a leading U.S. cancer center, co-funds grants with ICRF as part of this program named in honor of Jacki and Bruce Barron.
• Israel Ministry of Science and TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRF co-funds the ICRF-Israel Ministry of Science and Technology Gesher Award for Academic Excellence in the Field of Cancer Research, supporting Israeli cancer researchers through a joint funding initiative.
• Alan B. Slifka Foundation / Samuel Waxman Cancer Research FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRF co-funds the ICRF-Alan B. Slifka Foundation-Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation Max Ritvo, Alan Slifka & Desiree Dato Fund for Fusion-Oncoprotein Cancers and Metastasis, supporting research into fusion oncoprotein cancers.
• Double the DonationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerICRF partners with Double the Donation to provide a matching gift search tool on its donation page, enabling donors to identify whether their employer will match their charitable contribution and facilitating doubled donations.
• DAFpayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerICRF partners with DAFpay to facilitate easy, secure giving through Donor Advised Funds, allowing donors to recommend grants from their DAF accounts directly to ICRF.
• Shalom Israel BondsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerICRF partners with Israel Bonds on the Shalom Israel Bonds initiative, allowing supporters to purchase Israel Bonds as a way to simultaneously support Israel and cancer research, with Israel Bonds donating a portion to ICRF.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Cancer Society: One of the largest US cancer-focused nonprofits, funding research, patient support, and advocacy. Comparable to ICRF as a major cancer research grantmaker but with broader scope (US-based research, patient services) and a much larger operational footprint.
• National Cancer Institute: The largest public funder of cancer research in the US, supporting Israeli and global investigators via R01 and other mechanisms. Functions as a broad incumbent — ICRF explicitly models its SRP after NIH review standards.

Direct peers

• V Foundation for Cancer Research: Founded by Jim Valvano, the V Foundation is a leading cancer research grantmaking nonprofit funding research across US institutions through a peer-reviewed grant process. Directly comparable in model — peer-reviewed cancer research grants funded by donations — but US-only.
• Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation: Funds early-career cancer researchers through peer-reviewed awards, with a strong focus on high-risk/high-reward science. Directly comparable to ICRF in mission and grantmaking model, with overlapping SRP-style review rigor.
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Major US nonprofit funding blood cancer research through peer-reviewed grants while also providing patient services. Comparable grantmaking model, with some funded research at Israeli institutions — overlapping in disease focus (Velcade/grantees).
• Cancer Research Institute: Global nonprofit dedicated to immunotherapy research funding, with a peer-reviewed grant program. Direct peer and active co-funding partner of ICRF (joint $180K TIL therapy grant), with overlapping scientific review process.
• Lung Cancer Research Foundation: Funds lung cancer research worldwide through peer-reviewed grants. Direct peer to ICRF and active co-funding partner (joint three-year collaborative project grant). Comparable disease-specific research funding model.
• Conquer Cancer (The ASCO Foundation): The ASCO Foundation funds clinical oncology research worldwide through career development and project grants. Active co-funder of ICRF's CDA program; closely aligned in supporting clinical cancer researchers via peer-reviewed mechanisms.
• Stand Up To Cancer: Funds collaborative, high-risk cancer research through "Dream Teams" and team-based grants. Comparable peer-reviewed, large-scale cancer grantmaking model with entertainment-industry-driven fundraising approach.
• Susan G. Komen: Large breast cancer-focused nonprofit funding peer-reviewed research grants alongside awareness and patient support. Comparable grantmaking model to ICRF, though disease-specific and US-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/icrfny
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAvYNSzjyj-fMOCMCjHfmvA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ICRFNY
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/israel-cancer-research-fund
• Instagraminstagram.com/icrfonline

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Israel Cancer Research Fund