The V Foundation for Cancer Research is a United States nonprofit organization that provides financial support for cancer research. It was founded in 1993 by

Jim Valvano James Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. Valvano had a successful coaching career with multiple schools, culminating at NC State. Whi ...

, a college basketball coach and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

broadcaster, with the aim of advancing

cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate ...

that may lead to improvements in treatment and outcomes. Announced during Valvano’s speech at the inaugural

ESPY Awards The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-r ...

, the foundation’s motto is "''Don’t Give Up… Don’t Ever Give Up!"'' Headquartered in

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...

, the foundation provides funding to early-stage researchers and established institutions across the United States. It raises funds through partnerships, donations, and events, including ESPN’s annual ''V Week'' and collaborations with corporations, sports organizations, and philanthropic groups. The V Foundation distributes research grants through a peer-reviewed process led by a Scientific Review Committee, which includes experts in

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

and related fields. In addition to general cancer research, the foundation has launched initiatives focused on addressing disparities in cancer research funding.

History and founding

In January 1993, ESPN executives Steve Bornstein and John Lack met with Jim and Pam Valvano, offering ESPN's support in creating a foundation for cancer research. Jim, who had been diagnosed with terminal metastatic

adenocarcinoma Adenocarcinoma (; plural adenocarcinomas or adenocarcinomata ; AC) is a type of cancerous tumor that can occur in several parts of the body. It is defined as neoplasia of epithelial tissue that has glandular origin, glandular characteristics, or ...

on June 15, 1992, developed the initial plan on a yellow pad. On March 4, 1993, at ESPN’s first

, Valvano announced the foundation’s launch while receiving the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. He declared its motto: “Don’t Give Up… Don’t Ever Give Up!” He passed away on April 28, 1993.

Organization

Headquartered in

, the foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.

John Saunders (journalist) John Peterson Saunders (February 2, 1955 – August 10, 2016) was a Canadian-American sports journalist. He worked for ESPN and ABC from 1986 until his death in 2016. Early life Saunders attended high school in Châteauguay, Quebec. He was an ...

was a founding board member of the V Foundation. Other notable people involved in the V Foundation have been

Dick Vitale Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...

Trey Wingo Hal Chapman "Trey" Wingo III (; born September 19, 1963) is an American former co-host of ESPN '' Golic and Wingo'', '' SportsCenter'', and '' NFL Live''. He has previously served as host of the Women's NCAA basketball tournament. Early life W ...

Dereck Whittenburg Dereck Whittenburg (born October 2, 1960) is an American basketball coach and former collegiate basketball player who played for North Carolina State University, where he was a member of the 1982–83 team that won the 1983 NCAA National Cham ...

, and others.

CEOs

Valvano's brother, Nicholas, served as CEO from 1999 until 2012. Susan Braun served in the role until 2021. Shane Jacobson currently serves as CEO. Valvano's daughter has been involved in the foundation.

Scientific Review Committee

Notable past members of the foundation's scientific review committee include: Edison Liu, Karen H. Antman, Robert C. Bast, Jr., Gerold Bepler, and Ronald Levy. Others include Nancy Davidson,

Carlos Arteaga Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D., was appointed Director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and Associate Dean of Oncology Programs at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas in September 2017. Previously, he was the Associate Director fo ...

Olivera Finn Olivera J. Finn is a Yugoslav-American immunologist who is a distinguished professor and former chair of the department of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh (2001–2013) and former director of the Cancer Immunology Program at the Univ ...

Susan Hilsenbeck Susan Galloway Hilsenbeck is an American biostatistician whose research interests include biomarkers and the applications of biostatistics in cancer research. She is a professor in the Baylor College of Medicine, where she directs the Quantitati ...

, and Michael B. Kastan.

Research grants

The foundation funds cancer research by awarding research grants to selected researchers, known as V Scholars, through a review process by its Scientific Review Committee. The foundation has also funded cancer research facilities.

Recipients

In 2024, two

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA or UT San Antonio) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Established in 1969,University of Pittsburgh Medical Center UPMC is an American integrated delivery system, integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 100,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and doctors' offices, a ...

UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP), popularly known simply as Children's, is part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the only hospital in Greater Pittsburgh dedicated solely to the care of infants, children, Adolescen ...

. Two researchers at the

Wistar Institute The Wistar Institute () is an independent, nonprofit research institution in biomedical science with special focuses in oncology, immunology, infectious disease, and vaccine research. Located on Spruce Street in the University City section of P ...

received grants in 2025.

Gender disparity grants

In 2024, The V Foundation selected 15 scientists nationwide for funding through its "A Grant of Her Own: The Women Scientists Innovation Award for Cancer Research" program, aimed at addressing gender disparities in cancer research.

Fundraising

Initiatives and events

The foundation conducts fundraising through a variety of initiatives and events, such as "Run For Team V" and "Fundraise for the V."

Bristol Myers Squibb The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Trade name, doing business as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies ...

employees and others have participated in the Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer Ride to raise funds for the foundation. They host an annual wine celebration. The foundation hosts an annual Boo-Yah! event to honor the legacy of

Stuart Scott Stuart Orlando Scott (July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015) was an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and anchor on ESPN, including on ''SportsCenter''. Known for his hip-hop style and use of catchphrases, Scott was also a regular for the ...

hosts an annual event to raise money and awareness for

Childhood cancer Childhood cancer is cancer in a child. About 80% of childhood cancer cases in high-income countries are being able to treat with modern treatments and good medical care. Yet, only 10% of children with cancer live in high-income countries where pro ...

. The

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC) has collaborated with ESPN to fundraise.

Jimmy V Classic

The Jimmy V Classic is an annual basketball game organized by

ESPN Events ESPN Events is an American multinational sporting event promoter owned by ESPN Inc. It is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and shares its operations with SEC Network and formerly with ESPNU. The corporation organizes sporting events ...

to raise money for the V Foundation and awareness for cancer research.

Corporate and media support

ESPN has supported the V Foundation through initiatives like the Tournament Challenge Marathon, a 24- to 25-hour programming event promoting bracketology during

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

while raising awareness and funds for cancer research. In March 2016,

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

partnered with The V Foundation. Corporations, including

Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with Tr ...

, have partnered with the foundation to raise money.

Public figures and athletes

It has received support from public figures and sports professionals. NHL captain

Alex Ovechkin Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin (, ; born 17September 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger and Captain (ice hockey), captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "the ...

launched the “GR8 Chase for Victory Over Cancer” campaign, which ties his goal-scoring achievements to monetary donations for

pediatric cancer Childhood cancer is cancer in a child. About 80% of childhood cancer cases in high-income countries are being able to treat with modern treatments and good medical care. Yet, only 10% of children with cancer live in high-income countries where pro ...

research. ESPN holds an annual V Week and has helped raise millions of dollars for the foundation. In March 2021, Mat Ishbia donated $1 million to foundation.

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

has donated $100,000. In 2024, the foundation and the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Cancer Challenge (DCC) announced a fundraising partnership to support cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, with

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

joining the collaboration.

Fraternal and organizational

In 2005, the Orange Krush Foundation presented the Jimmy V Foundation with a check for $50,000. The money represented the one-millionth dollar donated in the Orange Krush Foundation's eight-year existence. In 2006, the fraternity

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international collegiate social fraternity. It was formed in 1890 at Cornell University as a professional fraternity for law students, becoming a social fraternity in 1922. In 1929. Delta Chi became one of the first internat ...

named the V Foundation as its official philanthropic organization. Delta Chi has raised over one million dollars for the V foundation.

Awards and recognition

The V Foundation recognizes different people for their courage and roles in cancer research.The foundation recognized Tylee Craft, a college football player, who inspired his football team and community after his diagnosis with cancer. André Hoelz was awarded the Albert Wyrick V Scholar Award.

Jimmy V Award

The Jimmy V Award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, is presented at the annual

ceremony in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

by The V Foundation.{{cite web , title=V Foundation , url=http://www.espn.com/espys/vfoundation , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218192208/http://www.espn.com/espys/vfoundation , archive-date=December 18, 2016 , access-date=January 21, 2018 , publisher=

References

Cancer charities in the United States Non-profit organizations based in North Carolina Medical and health organizations based in North Carolina 1993 establishments in North Carolina Sports charities ESPN Health charities in the United States