AMERICAN INDIAN CANCER FOUNDATION
Healing with Culture. Reclaiming Indigenous Health.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We imagine a world where cancer is no longer the leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Through hard work, culturally appropriate community-based programs and policy change that affords Native people access to the best prevention and treatment strategies, we see a day where American Indian and Alaska Native communities are free of the burdens of cancer. The American Indian Cancer Foundation (AICAF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was established to address the tremendous cancer inequities faced by American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Community Cancer Conversations
Convenes community stakeholders in conversations to identify local cancer priorities and solutions with American Indian tribal and urban communities.
Powwow for Hope™: Dancing for Life, Love & Hope
This is an opportunity for everyone to offer love and support to the cancer survivors and caregivers in the community, to honor loved ones who have battled cancer, to learn more about cancer prevention and resources and to raise money to support the American Indian Cancer Foundation efforts.
Cancer Prevention Projects
Several programs produce, share and provide culturally relevant education materials and resources on cancer prevention and screening, nutrition and tobacco cessation. Supports partnerships with tribal nations in the development of policy, systems and environmental change strategies to promote health equity, cancer prevention and healthy norms within American Indian communities.
Cancer Screening Outreach
Provide strategies and resources for tribal community health programs to promote cancer screening with community members to overcome barriers and complete cancer screening. Engage clinical teams to progressively improve colorectal cancer screening rates by providing clinical systems support, educational materials and tools for patients and clinical teams.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
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?
Our mission is to eliminate the cancer burdens on American Indian and Alaska Native people through improved access to prevention, early detection, treatment and survivor support. We will achieve our mission by focusing our efforts on the following goals:
1. Bring Attention to American Indian Cancer Burdens and Solutions
2. Advance Capacity through Training, Technical Assistance and Resources
3. Increase Availability of Reliable American Indian Cancer Data and Solutions
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We will achieve our mission by focusing our efforts on the following goals and strategies.
1. Bring Attention to American Indian Cancer Burdens and Solutions
a. Plan and coordinate presentations, exhibits, media and social media
b. Disseminate AI specific information in reports and manuscripts
c. Build partnerships that leverage community interest, resources, and investments
d. Plan and host events for AI cancer awareness and fundraising
2. Advance Capacity through Training, Technical Assistance and Resources
a. Develop, share, and support model frameworks for sustainable American Indian cancer solutions
i. Community education and outreach
ii. Clinical systems innovations
iii. Survivor support
b. Develop resources for American Indians on cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and survivor support
3. Increase Availability of Reliable American Indian Cancer Data and Solutions
a. Support community conversations to determine priorities
b. Engage in community-based research to determine solutions
c. Provide evaluation resources and support for projects in AI communities
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The AICAF Board of Directors govern and direct all work of the organization. All members of the Board are American Indian or Alaska Native and are committed to the organizational mission.
The AICAF employees bring a wealth of expertise gained from a variety of academic, personal and professional experiences. More than half of the employees have earned a masters degree. More than half of the employees are American Indian. All employees have a great deal of passion and commitment to the organizational mission.
The AICAF funding portfolio is diverse and strong with a good track record among current and previous funders and donors.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our progress to date has been about establishing ourselves as a true operating foundation. We have developed organizational policies and procedures on all efforts. We have secured funding to operationalize programs that are critical to meeting our mission and are working toward doing more in regards to improving access to quality treatment and survivor support. We have successfully engaged thousands of individuals at hundreds of tribal nations and mainstream organizations as partners in our work. We have a strong presence among American Indians and Alaska Natives across the United States.
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 identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, 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 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 get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, 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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- 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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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
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
AMERICAN INDIAN CANCER FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 02/21/2022
Dr. Gary Ferguson, ND
Seattle, WA
Term: 2019 - 2023
Margo Gray
Margo Gray & Associates, OK
Deana Jackson
Zion Enterprises, AZ
Gary Ferguson
iREACH, WA
Nicole Hallingstead
A&A Solutions, Alaska
Frances Tiger
American Airlines Credit Union, OK
Donna-Marie Palakiko
University of Hawaii
Johnny Nelson
Las Vegas, NV
Lillian Sparks-Robinson
Wopila, LLC Baltimore, MD
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
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 12/03/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.