Mission
Stupid Cancer's mission is to empower adolescents and young adults (AYAs) ages 15-39 affected by cancer by ending isolation and building community.
Notes from the nonprofit
Each year, 72,000 young adults (ages 15-39) are diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone. That's one every eight minutes. This neglected group faces age-specific challenges - such as, infertility, loss of identity and independence, lack or loss of insurance, increased isolation, and stalled career development - with limited resources.
Stupid Cancer, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is the largest charity that makes cancer suck less for those touched by young adult cancer. Founded in 2007 by Matthew Zachary, the innovative, award-winning and evidence-based programs and services of this organization serve as a global bullhorn to propel the young adult cancer movement forward.
Comprehensively addressing young adult cancer through advocacy, research, support, outreach, awareness, mobile health, and social media, Stupid Cancer proudly supports a global network of patients, survivors, caregivers, providers, and advocates.
Ruling year
2005
Chief Executive Officer
Alison Silberman
Main address
40 Worth Street Suite 808
New York, NY 10013 USA
Formerly known as
Steps For Living
I2Y I'm Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation
EIN
20-2027782
NTEE code
Cancer (G30)
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (E01)
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (O01)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Each year, 89,500 adolescents and young adults (AYAs) ages 15-39 are diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone. Not only is cancer the number one cause of death by disease in AYAs, but the cancer incidence in AYAs has increased more than any other age group while survival rates have not improved at the same rate. Compounding this, the AYA community faces unique challenges due to their cancer occurring during a crucial stage of their personal and social development including delayed diagnosis, financial distress exacerbated by nonmedical costs such as student loans and raising children, concerns about fertility preservation and family planning, and even in survivorship, reports poorer health outcomes including higher rates of obesity, anxiety, depression and heart disease. Stupid Cancer addresses these unique, life-changing challenges by providing age-appropriate resources, information and connections so our community can face their survivorship with dignity and Get Busy Living.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
CancerCon
CancerCon® is a transformative weekend of education and connection. CancerCon Live provides the opportunity for all AYAs to build connections and community while gaining resources and information critical to their survivorship. By creating the space for our community to come together in person at CancerCon Live we are furthering our mission of ending isolation and responding to a growing need to reconnect. CancerCon is truly a unique experience for the adolescent and young adult cancer community to come together to Get Busy Living.
Meetups
Stupid Cancer Meetups are a space to have fun and connect with your peers that "get it" in a casual
environment. We don't shy away from heavy conversations, but there will definitely be laughs. Whether online or IRL, you will find your people here.
Stupid Cancer Stories
Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) affected by cancer can share their experiences and connect with peers
through the power of storytelling at intimate storytelling events or online. You can browse our Story Library to read about your peers’ experiences or contribute your own at one of our intimate Storytelling Open Mic events or on our website
Learn & Share Sessions
A month-long, topic-based Discussion Series allowing participants to engage in sustained, meaningful conversations with each other in a structured setting, led by trained professionals. We also host webinars as one-time programs that dive deep into big topics in a facilitated setting.
Health Disparities Town Hall
A strategic initiative to develop an action plan to address the needs of AYAs in historically marginalized groups relating to their experiences during diagnosis, treatment, and/or support. Our aim is to ensure their needs are visible and addressed within Stupid Cancer, the AYA nonprofit space, and the larger
AYA oncology community.
Where we work
Awards
Most Innovative Use Of Social Media 2011
Classy Awards
Game-Changer Award 2010
LIVESTRONG
Best 50 Website Of Year 2007
TIME Magazine
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Across programs & direct communications, we connected with nearly 3300 individuals in the AYA community in 2022.
Number of groups/individuals benefiting from tools/resources/education materials provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Social media is one of the ways in which we connect with the community. We have nearly 400K followers across our social media platforms.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Since 2007, Stupid Cancer has brought together thousands of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and health professionals through our in-person and online programming. AYAs are an underserved and underrepresented patient population who face additional and unique challenges due to their cancer occurring during a crucial stage of their personal and social development. These patients, who are often unfamiliar with the medical system and may lack health insurance, deal with providers who are less likely to take their concerns seriously or rule out cancer because of their young age.
Our programs are designed to help AYAs “get busy living” by connecting them with the support, peers, and critical resources needed to improve their quality of life after diagnosis. Our educational programs provide an opportunity to learn from experts trained in AYA care about the topics that matter most, like mental health, sex, survivorship, fertility, and more. And at our social programs AYAs can meet and hear from peers to normalize their experiences and cement deep friendships.
By providing information tailored specifically for the needs of the age group and creating safe spaces for people to come together, Stupid Cancer supports a diverse community in ways that are meaningful to the individual. Our programs challenge and encourage attendees to look at their treatment and survivorship through various lenses to find what works best for them. As one community member said, "The doctors saved my life. Stupid Cancer saved my soul."
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Working in the United States for over a decade, Stupid Cancer offers a menu of in-person and digital programming designed to build community and connect this population to age appropriate resources so they can GET BUSY LIVING. Since its founding in 2007, Stupid Cancer has succeeded in providing access to the life changing psychosocial support the AYA community needs and deserves. At present, Stupid Cancer has grown into an online community of nearly 400,000 cancer survivors, patients, caregivers, and AYA stakeholders.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Leadership, brand, community reputation and influence.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
When we look at the vibrant and growing community of AYA cancer advocates, we see that Stupid Cancer's approach works. By creating spaces for our community to come together while also providing age-approparite information in a confusing and crowded healthcare space, Stupid Cancer has successfully broken through the noise to make cancer suck less. We have a consistent following of nearly 400,000 community members on our social media and regularly see repeat program attendance across our menu of offerings.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Stupid Cancer, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 05/04/2023
David Richman
Raymond James
Term: 2026 - 2017
Barry Klein
Macquarie Group
Susan Moser
Wilton Re
David Richman
Raymond James
Joshua Rivera
Moffit Cancer Center
Shannon Wyant
Taconic Capital Advisors
Ana Kilambi
Adobe
Lisa Romano
JP Morgan
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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