Programs and results
What we aim to solve
One in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. There are roughly 3.8 million women living with a history of breast cancer, and as of 2017, it was estimated that nearly 155,000 women were living with metastatic breast cancer. It is estimated that in 2019, in the U.S., 271,270 new cases of invasive breast cancer (2,670 in males and 268,600 in females), and an additional 62,930 cases of carcinoma in situ of the female breast will be diagnosed. Worse yet, 41,760 women and 500 men are estimated to die in 2019 from the disease, with breast cancer being the second leading cause of cancer deaths for U.S. women. Worldwide, there are more than 627,000 deaths from breast cancer. These numbers are not merely statistics; they represent millions of lives.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Center for Advocacy Training
Center for Advocacy Training, NBCC’s umbrella program for our science and advocacy education and training curriculum, provides the tools for advocates and others to understand and translate complex medical information; partner with scientists in designing and conducting research; participate in scientific and regulatory decisions; promote truthful media coverage; push for quality health care and access; actively impact the global landscape to end breast cancer; and improve their own health outcomes. This program also supports broader education of the general public on the basics of breast cancer and the current treatment landscape, equipping them with the skills and confidence needed to become community breast cancer leaders and advocates for their own health.
The Artemis Project®
The Artemis Project® is an innovative, advocate-led, mission-driven research model, designed to challenge scientists to look at breast cancer in new ways and work collaboratively with advocates to develop strategic research plans that could have a significant impact on prevention and saving lives. The Artemis Project®, is a 10-year collaboration of researchers, advocates, and other key stakeholders who are prioritizing, designing and implementing research that focuses on two areas: Primary Prevention and Prevention of Metastasis (the spread of breast cancer). Our efforts have brought about new research models, and are now in talks with the Food and Drug Administration about a preventative vaccine.
Project LEAD®
Project LEAD® programs continue to be the cornerstone of our advocacy education. Over 2,500 Project LEAD graduates have changed the world of breast cancer and have a significant impact on health policy and research. Project LEAD®, NBCC’s premier science training program, is recognized and respected nationally and internationally for the depth and rigor of its training, its science-based curriculum, and the significant influence graduates have on breast cancer research. Project LEAD® has revolutionized the research process by infusing it with an informed consumer perspective, so much so that most graduates go on to play a critical role in programs, such as the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (DOD BCRP), NBCC’s Artemis Project®, clinical trials and local research programs around the country and the world.
Advocate Leadership Summit
Advocate Leadership Summit is the highest quality training available to breast cancer advocates anywhere. This premier breast cancer advocacy event offers discussion sessions with top researchers and advocates, as well as skill-building, message training, and strategic planning activities needed to energize advocates for the important work in ending breast cancer.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Better Business Bureau
Combined Federal Campaign
External reviews

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?
Founded in 1991, the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund’s (NBCCF) mission is to end breast cancer through powerful action, education and advocacy. Our goals are to make certain scientists have sufficient funding for meaningful and transparent research that will save lives, that all individuals have access to the health care they need, and that trained and educated advocates influence all decisions that affect breast cancer. We believe we are stronger together, and that real progress can be made if we use our collective power to end breast cancer. We invite all those who share our passion for the cause to join us as we push ourselves to ask the tough questions, challenge scientists, tell the truth, lobby for research funding and access to care, and push for what will save lives. All for the greater good.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
NBCCF is a dynamic, diverse association with more than ten thousand individuals and hundreds of organizations (local to national) who give breast cancer a meaningful voice in Washington, DC and state capitals, in laboratories and health care institutions, and local communities everywhere. Our constituents come together under NBCCF’s umbrella in support of education and training, new models of science, research, and public policy, all to end breast cancer.
For nearly 30 years, NBCC has led the way in creating and facilitating collaborations; formulating and implementing plans of action; and identifying and pushing for patients and other advocates to play a meaningful role in research, healthcare and public policy. Our strategic plan of action seeks to harness the energy, resources and leadership around the world to achieve three goals:
1. research needed to end breast cancer;
2. global access to necessary information and life-saving interventions; and
3. the influence of leaders everywhere in the strategies to end breast cancer.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
NBCCF has been transforming the breast cancer landscape and working to fulfill its mission to end breast cancer, since its inception. Our unrelenting focus on our mission, our determination to make breast cancer a priority for our government and the public, our courage to ask hard questions, our thoughtfulness as we reject popular thinking, our integrity to stand up and challenge the status quo, and our sense of urgency is what drives us to end to breast cancer.
NBCCF has been a leader in supplying the education, tools and training that enable breast cancer survivors and other advocates to take leadership roles in decision making that affects breast cancer research, healthcare and public policy. NBCCF works tirelessly to educate advocates in breast cancer science to better collaborate with leading breast cancer scientists; speak out on breast cancer research and quality care issues; and push for quality care and health care access to better serve all communities. We also educate our advocates, so they can work with researchers to help set the research agenda, understand how research dollars are allocated, and know what questions are being asked and how best to answer them. In addition, we bring together advocates, scientists and researchers from many institutions and disciplines to work on breast cancer research priorities. This has been developed through the Artemis Project®, our research program, which focuses on prevention of breast cancer and prevention of metastasis.
Finally, NBCCF is often the go-to source for responses to emerging breast cancer research and controversies. Our executive team, board members, National Action Network, grassroots leaders, and key advocates are active on national and international committees; present at or attend national meetings; participate in grant reviews; maintain an active presence on social media about NBCC’s education campaigns; and comment in local and national publications, resulting in NBCC having extensive connections with breast cancer advocates and scientists across the nation.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
NBCCF has educated tens of thousands of advocates, leaders and the public about evidence-based decision making in breast cancer science and policy. We have developed and implemented a number of beginner and advanced training programs in science that aim to empower patient and consumer advocates. Through these programs, NBCCF and its advocates launched and generated more than 3.6 billion dollars for breast cancer research from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. Our training programs also guide our advocates in influencing and participating in key efforts affecting breast cancer, such as patient-centered research, clinical trials, and federal and state laws.
The Artemis Project® is an innovative, advocate-led, research model, where scientists and advocates collaboratively develop strategic research plans to significantly impact prevention and saving lives. The Artemis Project® is a 10-year collaboration of researchers, advocates, and other key stakeholders who are prioritizing, designing and implementing research that focuses on two areas: Primary Prevention and Prevention of Metastasis (the spread of breast cancer). Our efforts have brought about new research models, and we are now in talks with the Food and Drug Administration about a preventative vaccine.
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
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National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Ms. Liane Lindner
Linda Rothweiler
Dentist and Breast Cancer Advocate
Alec Call
Co-founder, Executive Vice President and COO for Science of Skincare LLC, and INNOVATIVE SKINCARE®
Sherry Goldman
Nurse Practitioner at Cedars Sinai Breast Center in Los Angeles
Ira Hillman
Director Parenting and Early Childhood Portfolio, Einhorn Family Charitable Trust
Judi Hirshfield-Bartek
Breast Cancer Advocate
Bryan Johns
Co-founder, President and CEO for Science of Skincare, LLC, and INNOVATIVE SKINCARE®
Christine Norton
Co-founder, Minnesota Breast Cancer Coalition and advocate reviewer for HealthNewsReview.org
Michele Rakoff
Executive Director of Breast Cancer Care & Research Fund and Vice President of CABCO CA Teacher’s Study and the Love/Avon Army of Women Scientific Advisory Board
Dennis Slamon
Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology; Executive Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine at UCLA; Director Clinical/Translational Research at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center; Director of Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program.
Frances Visco
President, National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC)
Carol Vance Wall
Director, Vance Wall Foundation
Ann Yahner
Retired Administrative Law Judge, District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings
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? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data