The FARIS FOUNDATION
Bringing brighter days and better treatments to children with cancer
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death for children in the US, more than all other childhood diseases combined. We aim to address the following: - Deep inequities in funding for childhood cancer research - Lack of access to creative arts therapies as part of the treatment plan for children with cancer - Lack of public awareness around childhood cancer
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Childhood Cancer Research
We carefully vet and fund original and transformative research in areas where there is high need and a high potential for impact – as if our child’s life depends on it. Our focus is on rare cancers where the mortality rate has not changed in decades.
Art is My Life
We believe every child should have access to art as a part of their plan of care. The Faris Foundation works to embed highly qualified, Masters-trained Art Therapists and Music Therapists within children’s cancer centers across the country.
Let there be GOLD
Let There Be GOLD is our annual childhood cancer awareness and public engagement campaign. Every September we hold gold celebrations in children's cancer centers and galvanize communities around the cause.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of advocates and donors galvanized around childhood cancer awareness campaign
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, People with diseases and illnesses
Related Program
Let there be GOLD
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of children , family members and volunteers involved in art encounters at children's cancer centers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Art is My Life
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
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?
The Faris Foundation seeks to bring brighter days and better treatments to children with cancer through our work in three key areas:
1. Childhood Cancer Research: We carefully vet and fund original and transformative research in areas where there is high need and a high potential for impact – as if our child’s life depends on it. Our focus is on rare cancers where the mortality rate has not changed in decades. Our goal is to bring less toxic, targeted therapy options where there are none.
2. Art Is My Life: We believe every child with cancer should have access to art as a part of their plan of care. The Faris Foundation works to embed Masters-trained Art Therapists and Music Therapists within children’s cancer centers across the country. Our goal is to demonstrate the importance of creative art therapies as an integral aspect of pediatric cancer care.
3. Let There Be GOLD is our annual childhood cancer awareness and public engagement campaign. Every September we hold gold celebrations in children's cancer centers and galvanize communities around the cause. Our goal is to shift the public understanding of childhood cancer so that there is a broader community advocating on behalf children with cancer, and therein, increased public support for research.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
1. Childhood Cancer Research: We invest in bold and transformative scientific research in rare pediatric cancer, through multi-year grants in the areas of immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and precision medicine.
2. Art Is My Life: We partner with children's cancer centers to embed Creative Arts Therapists to directly serve children and families. We measure, evaluate, and share our programs to demonstrate the transformative and healing power of the arts in a patient's medical care.
3. Let There Be GOLD: Through community partnerships with schools, museums, retail, and civic organizations, we reach broad and diverse audiences throughout the country. We integrate the arts into our campaign with a robust public art program.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Through our stakeholder relationships, we are well poised to meet our goals. Our key hospital partners include: MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital, Texas Children's Cancer Center (the nation's largest pediatric cancer center), Mount Sinai Hospital, and Ronald McDonald House Houston. We have a longstanding relationship with Prime, AT&T's largest authorized retailer, which brings Let There Be GOLD to over 2,000 stores nationwide. Additional partners include Houston Independent School District and Asia Society Texas Center, among others. Our partnerships expand our programmatic reach and enhance our capacity to meet our goals.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Progress as of February 2022:
1. In the area of research, our deep investment in the HEROS 3.0 project is now a Phase I clinical trial – the first of its kind, harnessing the power of personalized medicine and immunotherapy for children. This trial is now recruiting patients from around the world, delivering with it hope.
2. Our arts program has expanded from one cancer center to four, bringing the healing power of art to MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital, Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, and Ronald McDonald House Houston, in addition to Texas Children’s Cancer Center.
3. In the area of childhood cancer awareness, our community has grown with new partners: Wendy’s restaurants, hotels, school districts, museums, artists – like artist Roni Cabrera of HTX Art Bus, who brought the GOLD Art Bus with magical art-making opportunities to over 2000 families throughout the month of September.
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?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
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.
The FARIS FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 02/23/2023
Asha Virani
Dr. Susan Blaney
Texas Children's Cancer Center
Krista Babine
Kinkaid School
Naushad Kermally
City of Sugar Land
Bonna Kol
Asia Society Texas Center
Lori Vetters
Sun Coast Resources, Inc.
Farid Virani
Prime Communications
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? No