AMERICAN INDIAN CANCER FOUNDATION

Healing with Culture. Reclaiming Indigenous Health.

aka AICAF   |   Minneapolis, MN   |  www.americanindiancancer.org

Mission

Eliminate the cancer burdens on American Indian and Alaska Native people through improved access to prevention, early detection, treatment and survivor support.

Notes from the nonprofit

We believe Native communities have the wisdom to find the solutions to cancer inequities, but are often seeking the organizational capacity, expert input, and resources to do so. We support innovative, community-based interventions that engage Native populations in the discovery of their own cancer best practices. We strive to be a partner trusted by tribal and urban community members, leaders, health care providers, and others working toward effective and sustainable cancer solutions.

Ruling year info

2010

Chief Executive Officer

Melissa Buffalo

Main address

3001 Broadway St. NE Suite 185

Minneapolis, MN 55413 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

27-0300026

NTEE code info

Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (G01)

Management & Technical Assistance (E02)

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (E12)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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.

Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples

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.

Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples

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.

Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples

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.

Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples

Where we work

Videos

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

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

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

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.

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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    American Indian, Alaskan Native, Tribal Communities. Organizations that partner to address cancer burdens in Indian Country.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls,

  • 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,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Working more directly with clients and serving clinics. We have also identified new regions of reach on the east cost and Oklahoma/texas as areas that need more in depth TA assistance and outreach.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    This feedback is used to address and have open discussions about the capacity of the clinics, communities, and organizations that we partner with especially during the pandemic/sansdemic and how the various burdens are affectong our communities and what additional tools are needed to suport that capacity. We also use the feedback to address the need for additional training, open discussions on systemic changes and the process that it will take with realisitc steps that are acheivable. We see this feedback as opportunities for growth and change and how to adapt initiatives for complete engagement, increased screening, and education on cancer burdens.

  • 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,

  • 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

AMERICAN INDIAN CANCER FOUNDATION
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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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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AMERICAN INDIAN CANCER FOUNDATION

Board of directors
as of 02/21/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/21/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Native American/American Indian/Indigenous
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 12/03/2020

GuideStar 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

Data
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • 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.