Lung Cancer Foundation of America

What Lung Cancer Foundation of America does

Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2007 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with 11-50 employees. Its mission is to improve survivorship of lung cancer patients by funding transformative scientific research and providing patient and caregiver education. LCFA operates the Hope With Answers podcast series (including The First 7 Days and Spanish-language Los Primeros Siete Días), a Speakers Bureau (Voices of Hope) of trained survivor advocates, the Breath of Honor veterans awareness program, the LiveLung small cell lung cancer initiative, and patient tools such as a clinical trial finder, screening finder, and biomarker testing education resources covering PD-L1, EGFR, ALK, KRAS, and ROS1.

The foundation's core scientific activity is its Research Grants Program, which funds early-career investigators through co-funded partnerships with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), Bristol Myers Squibb, and academic medical centers including the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Kimmel Institute, Mount Sinai, and Ohio State University. LCFA operates with a lean operating model and maintains Charity Navigator 4-star and Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency accreditations. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Co-Founder and President Kim Norris, with four new board members appointed in October 2025.

LCFA's revenue model is donor-driven, combining individual contributions from supporters, survivors, and families with research grants from pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations. Its go-to-market motion is community-led: awareness and fundraising are built around authentic survivor storytelling, peer support networks, podcast audiences, and an active social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn. Distribution of educational content and program enrollment is anchored on the lcfamerica.org website and extends through healthcare institution partnerships nationally in the United States.

Name

Lung Cancer Foundation of America

Legal name

Lung Cancer Foundation of America, Inc.

Website

https://lcfamerica.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lung Cancer Foundation of America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds early-career lung cancer research and delivers patient and caregiver education through podcasts, survivor advocacy, and online tools, serving patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Health Foundation

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Health, Health Promotion & Behavior Change (SBCC) (BPADAIAL), Medical & Clinical Reference (Physicians, Nursing, Allied Health) (EDAGAGAA)

Keywords

• Lung cancer research funding
• Cancer patient education
• Translational research grants
• Nonprofit health advocacy
• Biomarker testing resources

Headquarters

HQ city

New Ulm

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations: LCFA operates primarily through individual donations from supporters, survivors, family members, and the general public who contribute to fund transformative lung cancer research.
2. Research Grants: LCFA receives grants from pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations to fund lung cancer research grants, young investigator awards, and translational research programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

LCFA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that funds transformative lung cancer research through grants to early-career investigators and delivers lung cancer patient and caregiver education via podcast series, biomarker and clinical trial resources, a survivor Speakers Bureau, and awareness programs such as Breath of Honor for veterans. The foundation does not sell products or services; it directs donor contributions toward research grants and free educational content.

Product overview

Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA) is a non-profit patient advocacy and research funding organization that provides educational resources and programs for lung cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. The organization's offerings include the Hope With Answers Podcast series (including The First 7 Days sub-series and Spanish-language Los Primeros Siete Días), a Speakers Bureau connecting survivor advocates with media, a Research Grants Program funding early-career lung cancer researchers, and patient resources including clinical trial finder, screening finder, and biomarker testing education. LCFA also operates the Breath of Honor veterans awareness program. These programs work together to fulfill LCFA's mission of funding transformative lung cancer research, raising awareness, and providing patient education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hope With Answers: LCFA's patient education podcast series providing information and support for lung cancer patients and caregivers
• Voices of Hope
• Breath of Honor
• LiveLung

Products and services

• Hope With Answers Podcast A podcast series featuring conversations between lung cancer patients, survivors, and medical experts covering topics such as diagnosis, treatment options, biomarker testing, clinical trials, and living with lung cancer. Distributed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and iHeart for patients, caregivers, and the broader lung cancer community.
• Research Grants Program LCFA's research grant funding program for early-career lung cancer investigators, including the LCFA/IASLC Translational Research Grants, LCFA/BMS/ILCF Disparities in Clinical Research Grants, and Young Investigator Grants that support immunotherapy and biomarker research. Grants are awarded to academic researchers pursuing innovative lung cancer science.
• Speakers Bureau (Voices of Hope) A program connecting lung cancer survivors and advocates with media opportunities to share their personal stories and raise awareness about lung cancer research and treatment advances. Survivor advocates participate in national media tours, broadcast interviews, and educational video content.
• Breath of Honor Veterans Program A program raising awareness about lung cancer screening and early detection among U.S. military veterans, addressing the 25% higher lung cancer risk in veterans and promoting PACT Act healthcare benefits. Targets veterans, their families, and veteran-serving organizations.
• The First 7 Days Podcast Series A three-part podcast series helping newly diagnosed lung cancer patients navigate their initial steps, covering how to find the right medical team, understanding testing, and creating a personalized treatment plan. Available in English and Spanish.

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IASLC (International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLCFA partners with IASLC on the LCFA/IASLC Translational Research Grant program and the Lori Monroe Scholarships in Translational Lung Cancer Research. This collaboration funds early-career investigators pursuing innovative lung cancer research and ensures grants meet high scientific standards.
• Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer ImmunotherapycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine through the Bloomberg Kimmel Institute, where LCFA-funded researchers like Dr. Kellie Smith conduct immunotherapy research.
• M&C CommunicationsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPR and media support partner providing public relations and media coordination services for LCFA's awareness campaigns and newsroom activities.
• Mount SinaiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Mount Sinai's Thoracic Oncology department for Spanish-language podcast content and expert medical perspectives.
• The Ohio State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Dr. David Carbone, Thoracic Oncologist at Ohio State University, who appears on LCFA's Hope With Answers podcast series.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LUNGevity Foundation: The largest lung cancer-focused nonprofit in the US, funding research and providing patient education. Directly comparable in mission, grantmaking model, and patient resource offerings, and a formal co-funder with LCFA on the BMS/ILCF disparities program.
• GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer: Formed from the merger of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and the Lung Cancer Alliance. Operates the same disease-specific research-funding-plus-patient-advocacy model and competes directly with LCFA for lung cancer donations and grants.
• Lung Cancer Research Foundation: National nonprofit singularly focused on funding lung cancer research grants to investigators. Closely comparable as a grantmaking foundation with a narrower patient-education footprint than LCFA.
• International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC): Global scientific society for lung cancer research and a co-funding partner on LCFA's translational research grants. Directly comparable in focus and a key collaborator as well as a competitor for researcher engagement.
• LIVESTRONG Foundation: Cancer survivorship and patient advocacy nonprofit with similar educational content, survivor community, and awareness campaign models. Comparable as a peer nonprofit in the cancer patient support space.
• Prevent Cancer Foundation: Nonprofit funding cancer prevention and early detection research, including lung cancer screening initiatives that overlap with LCFA's screening education and Breath of Honor veteran program.

Broad incumbents

• American Lung Association: Large, century-old health organization with broad lung disease mission including lung cancer research funding, advocacy, and patient education. Competes for the same lung cancer donor dollars but with significantly larger scale and brand recognition.
• American Cancer Society: The largest US cancer nonprofit with a multi-billion-dollar research grant portfolio. Competes broadly for cancer-related donations and dwarf's LCFA's grantmaking scale.
• Cancer Research Institute: Nonprofit focused on immunology and immunotherapy research funding. Comparable as a peer grantmaker with overlapping research priorities with LCFA's immunotherapy-funded investigators.
• National Cancer Institute: Federal government agency that is the largest funder of lung cancer research in the US. Not a competitor for donations but a major force shaping the research funding landscape LCFA operates within.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lcfamerica
• YouTubeyoutube.com/LCFAmerica
• Facebookfacebook.com/lungcancerfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lung-cancer-foundation-of-america
• Instagraminstagram.com/LCFAmerica
• TikToktiktok.com/@lungcancerfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Lung Cancer Foundation of America