Gateway for Cancer Research

What Gateway for Cancer Research does

Gateway for Cancer Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1991 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Its mission is the exclusive funding of Phase I and Phase II cancer clinical trials—research it describes as the stage where 'true innovation' occurs—spanning all cancer types and patient ages, including rare and pediatric cancers. Since founding, Gateway has invested over $126.5 million across 254 clinical trials at 29 institutions worldwide, with 58 active trials currently underway and 10,000+ patients impacted to date. Grant awards range up to $1.5 million per trial with an average of $500,000, typically over 2–5 year terms, and are deployed through a grant management portal (gatewaycr.smapply.org) using a distinctive patient-accrual funding methodology in which payments are tied to patients actually enrolled and treated rather than time-based milestones.

The organization's underlying technology platform centers on the Decentralized Clinical Trial Initiative (DCTI), which funds site-less trials leveraging telemedicine, remote monitoring, wearables, e-consent, and mobile clinician management to deliver investigational treatments directly to patients' homes. Gateway's product surface also includes joint programs with the National Cancer Institute (SPORE/P20), the Society for Integrative Oncology, and the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (a network of ~1,400 cancer centers), and an externally staffed Research and Grants Committee drawn from institutions including MD Anderson, Dana-Farber, St. Jude, City of Hope, and George Mason University.

Gateway's revenue model is donation- and philanthropy-based. It operates multiple donation channels—direct online giving, phone, mail, text-to-donate, stock gifts, planned giving/legacy bequests, corporate CSR partnerships, and signature events (Celebrity Fight Night, Cures Gala, Vino con Stelle)—as well as a peer-to-peer GateRaisers DIY fundraising program. A defining structural feature is Stephenson family underwriting of all organizational overhead, which allows Gateway to direct 100% of donations to clinical trial funding. Customer segments span individual donors and philanthropists, clinician-scientists and research institutions (grant recipients), and ultimately cancer patients as the end beneficiaries.

Name

Gateway for Cancer Research

Legal name

Gateway for Cancer Research

Website

https://gatewaycr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gateway for Cancer Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1991 that exclusively funds Phase I and II cancer clinical trials across 29 research institutions worldwide, having invested over $126.5 million in 254 trials and impacted 10,000+ patients, with all donations directed to research via Stephenson family underwriting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cancer Research Grant Funding

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA), Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

Keywords

• Cancer research funding
• Clinical trial grants
• Nonprofit philanthropy
• Early-phase oncology trials
• Cancer research donations

Headquarters

HQ city

Schaumburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Direct donations from individuals supporting cancer research. 100% of donations go directly to funding clinical trials thanks to underwriting by the Stephenson Family.
2. Signature Event Fundraising: Revenue from signature events including Celebrity Fight Night, Cures Gala, and Vino con Stelle. All ticket sales, sponsorships, and donations from these events support Gateway's mission.
3. Planned Giving: Legacy gifts including bequests in wills, life insurance beneficiary designations, retirement plan designations, and charitable trusts.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate Social Responsibility partnerships including sponsorships, company events, payroll deductions, and matching gift programs.
5. Stock Donations: Gifts of stock via electronic transfer or paper certificates, providing tax advantages to donors while supporting Gateway's mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Gateway for Cancer Research is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that exclusively funds Phase I and Phase II cancer clinical trials for patients of all ages and cancer types. It collects donations through events, planned giving, and peer-to-peer fundraising, then awards research grants (up to $1.5 million) to clinician-scientists at leading cancer institutions worldwide. 100% of donations directly fund clinical trials due to underwriting by the Stephenson Family.

Product overview

Gateway for Cancer Research is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that operates as a single, unified mission-driven platform centered on funding early-phase cancer clinical trials. The organization offers grant funding programs (Traditional Grant Program, DCTI, Joint NCI/SPORE Program, Joint SIO Program) through its grant management system portal, combined with fundraising initiatives including signature events (Cures Gala, Celebrity Fight Night, Vino) and peer-to-peer fundraising through the GateRaisers program. 100% of donations directly fund Phase I and II clinical trials. Since 1991, Gateway has supported over 254 clinical trials and funded over $126 million in breakthrough cancer research across 29 institutions worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 254 clinical trials funded worldwide since 1991
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Capital & Management Company (ICMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICMC delivers fully integrated strategic business solutions as a Mission Partner. They provide operational support enabling Gateway to focus on its core mission of funding cancer research.
• National Cancer Institute (NCI)/SPORE/P20 ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint NCI/SPORE/P20 Program collaboration allows funding for more patient-centric research. Gateway seeks proposals from SPORE and P20 awardees to expand clinical trials by adding arms, new patient cohorts, or generating correlative analysis.
• Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint SIO Program brings the most promising patient-centered integrative oncology research proposals forward. Supports integrative clinical trials conducted by SIO member principal investigators and institutions.
• ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint program with ECOG-ACRIN allows expansion of innovative phase II trials into the community. ECOG-ACRIN has a network of nearly 1,400 academic and community-based cancer centers and hospitals.
• Research and Grants Committee MemberscoreOthersExternal peer review committee including medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, clinician scientists from institutions including George Mason University, City of Hope, Boston Scientific, Norton Thoracic Institute, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and patient advocates from organizations like Research Advocacy Network and Fight Colorectal Cancer.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: Funds pancreatic cancer research including early-phase clinical trials, with strong patient services and advocacy components. Disease-specific, so narrower than Gateway, but a peer for trial funding partnerships.
• Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation: Funds pediatric cancer research including early-phase clinical trials, with strong peer-to-peer and community-led fundraising. Comparable in DIY/community fundraising (GateRaisers) but narrower in patient population.
• Lustgarten Foundation: Disease-specific (pancreatic cancer) research funder that supports early-phase clinical trials. Comparable in focus on patient-accrual and trial-funding model but narrower in cancer type.
• National Childhood Cancer Foundation (CureSearch): Funds clinical trials and research for childhood cancers. Similar mission overlap with Gateway's pediatric cancer focus and comparable scale, though more narrowly focused on children.

Direct peers

• Stand Up To Cancer: Funds collaborative, multi-institutional 'Dream Teams' for translational cancer research with heavy entertainment-industry ties (similar to Gateway's Celebrity Fight Night). Competes for high-profile, celebrity-driven donations.
• Conquer Cancer Foundation (ASCO Foundation): The research arm of ASCO, funding clinical oncology research and young investigators. Direct peer for grants to clinician-scientists and research institutions conducting early-phase cancer trials.
• Cancer Research Institute: Nonprofit funding immuno-oncology research from laboratory to clinical trials, with a similar focus on early-stage, high-risk cancer research. Direct peer in the translational and early-phase clinical trial funding niche.
• V Foundation for Cancer Research: Founded by Jim Valvano, this nonprofit funds translational and clinical cancer research with high brand recognition in sports-adjacent philanthropy. Direct competitor for donor mindshare in the cancer research funding space.
• Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation: Funds high-risk/high-reward cancer research by early-career scientists, including clinical investigators. Comparable in scale, mission focus on early-phase research, and reliance on major-gift and planned-giving revenue.

Broad incumbents

• American Cancer Society: The largest US cancer nonprofit, funding research, patient support, and advocacy across all cancer types. Gateway's new CEO came directly from ACS, and they compete for the same donor and corporate partnership pools, though ACS operates at vastly greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1-ASmpPTufXWz0j9pIv3Ag
• Facebookfacebook.com/GatewayCancerResearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/439580/admin
• Instagraminstagram.com/gatewayforcr
• Xx.com/DemandCures

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gateway for Cancer Research