American Cancer Society

Legal name: American Cancer Society Inc

Overview

Mission

Improving the lives of people with cancer and their families as the only organization combating cancer through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.

What it reported doing in 2024

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, acs can influences legislative and regulatory solutions that will end cancer as we know it, for everyone.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131788491
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
800-227-2345
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Health

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.2%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.7%; rating input score 97; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.92; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.5% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 96.2% of revenue deployed · 77% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $128.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 21 people listed
  • Consistency: 51 of 53 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 509 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 526 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.