City of Hope Announces Landmark $1 Billion Fundraising Campaign

DUARTE, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--City of Hope, one of the nation’s leading cancer research and treatment centers, is announcing the most ambitious fundraising effort in its history. The “Power of Hope” is an eight-year, $1 billion campaign to raise private dollars to advance research and treatment in cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.

“To fully realize our mission of conducting innovative research to improve therapies and save lives, we must recommit ourselves to ensure promising research continues and that we secure a future without cancer.”

The Power of Hope campaign will help attract and retain accomplished faculty, expand opportunities for basic and translational research, advance graduate education in the biological sciences, support scientific collaborations and strengthen the institution’s mission of outstanding, compassionate patient care.

More than $550 million of the $1 billion already has been raised in gifts and pledges since the quiet phase of the campaign began in 2005. The campaign will culminate in 2013 to help commemorate and celebrate City of Hope’s 100^th anniversary.

“This campaign represents one of the most exciting opportunities for growth and comes at an important time in City of Hope’s history,” said Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president and chief executive officer, City of Hope. "Our institution is stronger than it has ever been. We are seeing tremendous promise and opportunities in research. We continue to strengthen our medical and research teams. Through this ambitious fundraising effort, our plans for programmatic and physical expansion will secure our position at the forefront of science – where we need to be to conquer cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.”

Approximately $200 million of the $1 billion will help build City of Hope’s endowment. This includes support for faculty and key institutional programs including:

• Developmental cancer therapeutics, which focuses on treatments designed specifically for a patient’s distinctive molecular makeup
• Diabetes research, including advancing islet cell transplantation, a novel therapy for Type 1 diabetes
• Gastrointestinal cancers, including improving understanding of the molecular pathways that give rise to gastrointestinal tumors to improve therapies
• Hematology, City of Hope’s largest and most successful program that has helped transform treatment for numerous hematological malignancies, including leukemia and lymphoma. City of Hope maintains the largest hematology program in the state of California and has performed more than 9,800 bone marrow transplantations since launching its groundbreaking program in 1976. City of Hope also operates one of the nation’s leading clinical trial programs for new drugs against blood cancers.
• Population sciences, an integrated program that seeks to identify environmental and genetic risks associated with cancer as well as interventions to help prevent onset
• Stem cell research, a promising area in which scientists hope to use stem cells as replacement cells to treat a variety of cancers as well as diabetes and HIV/AIDS
• Supportive care, including the Sheri & Les Biller Patient and Family Resource Center, a novel program that supports City of Hope’s tradition of caring for the emotional, spiritual and psychological needs of patients and their families
• Women’s cancers, a multidisciplinary effort to assess risk, improve prevention and leverage new therapies to treat breast and gynecological cancers

Approximately $550 million will support promising research to accelerate the discovery of cures, including molecular targeting and radioimmunotherapy for breast cancer, improved treatments for prostate cancer and advancing bone marrow transplantation to improve outcomes. In addition, $250 million will go toward building or improving facilities on City of Hope’s 110-acre campus, with the goal of supporting and enhancing research and treatment programs.

The Power of Hope campaign is nationally chaired by Anthony Markel, vice chair of the Markel Corporation, one of the largest property and casualty insurance companies in the United States. A longtime supporter of City of Hope, Markel established the Markel/Friedman Peritoneal Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at City of Hope in 2008 in memory of his late wife, Susan. Honorary committee chairs include Ambassador George L. Argyros, chairman of the board of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation; Irwin Helford, founder and former chairman of Viking Office Products; and Bernard Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot, Inc. They lead a 20+-member cabinet comprised of prominent figures from the entertainment, real estate, insurance and legal fields.

“As supporters of City of Hope, we feel a tremendous sense of pride in this institution's legacy,” said Markel. “To fully realize our mission of conducting innovative research to improve therapies and save lives, we must recommit ourselves to ensure promising research continues and that we secure a future without cancer.”

The size and scope of the campaign reflect the growth of City of Hope during the last five years. City of Hope provided treatment for more than 6,300 in-patients in 2009 compared to 4,662 in 2005, and currently manages more than 136,000 outpatient appointments. Strategic recruitment efforts have added 40 researchers and more than 120 clinicians to the distinguished faculty at City of Hope. In addition, the institution added 15 endowed chairs since 2005.

City of Hope has a rich history of turning promising research into lifesaving treatments for patients with cancer. Numerous breakthrough cancer drugs, including Herceptin, Rituxan, Avastin and Erbitux are based on technology pioneered by City of Hope. Millions of people with diabetes worldwide benefit from synthetic human insulin developed through research conducted at City of Hope. And at any given time, City of Hope conducts more than 300 clinical studies involving more than 40 percent of eligible patients. The national average is approximately five percent.

This year, more than 560,000 people will die from cancer – more than 1,500 a day. Cancer accounts for nearly one in four deaths in the United States. Currently, more than 23.6 million people have diabetes, with an additional 5.7 million people who have not yet been diagnosed. Increasingly, scientists at City of Hope are investigating the many connections between the two diseases.

Campaign cabinet member Kathleen McNamara, a City of Hope board member and patient who underwent a lifesaving bone marrow transplant, stated, “The Power of Hope campaign is an investment in the quality and public impact of a world-class biomedical research and treatment center. This campaign will make a vital contribution by investing in the distinguished faculty and staff of City of Hope to ensure that patients benefit from new discoveries.” McNamara, along with her husband, Francis, established the Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope in 2006.

City of Hope will host a series off kick-off celebrations throughout the country, beginning at the historical Signature Grand in Miami on April 16 to thank volunteers who have helped support the institution’s mission.

About City of Hope

City of Hope is a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as a comprehensive cancer center, the highest honor bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope's research and treatment protocols advance care throughout the nation. City of Hope is located in Duarte, Calif., just northeast of Los Angeles, and is ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” in cancer and urology by U.S.News & World Report. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation and genetics. For more information, visit www.cityofhope.org.