Why Komen?

The reason behind the ribbon

“Why Komen?” is an awareness program that employs five areas to educate volunteers, donors, grantees and the general public by providing in-depth, honest and useful information regarding how your donation of time, talents and dollars are a worthwhile investment into our community and the promise to end breast cancer forever.
 
Much of the public believes that all pink ribbons are the same, but this is not true.   Please read below to learn how Komen is different and how your donation, no matter how large or small can be a part of big change. 

• Transparency
• Local Grant Programs
• Grassroots Volunteerism
• Four-Star Rated Charity
• Dedicated to Breast Cancer Only

Transparency

For the 2010 - 2011 Greater Kansas City Affiliate annual budget of $1.6 million, over $900,000 went to local breast health education and breast cancer screening programs and over $315,000 went to national breast cancer research. Thus $1.2 of the $1.6 million budget was distributed back into greater Kansas City.

Local Grant Programs

75% of grant funds stay in the greater Kansas City community for local breast health education and breast cancer screening programs.
Komen Kansas City grant funds are restricted to breast cancer programs to not-for-profit organizations. For a list of all Komen Kansas City grantees since 1994, please visit our current grant reciptent page.
Every two years, we assess our community needs in regards to breast cancer.  In 2009, our three gaps were access, education and disparities.  For additional  information, please review our complete community profile.

Grassroots Volunteerism

• Our affiliate operates daily through grassroots volunteers with a limited paid staff of 7.
• 15 board members, who create and follow a strategic plan based on our mission. 
• 11 Committee Chairs (Finance, Board Development, Strategic Mission, Governance, Race, Survivor Luncheon, Grants, Education, Public Policy, Human Resources, PR Communications)
• 100+ Committee Members serving on one or more of the affiliates 11 committees.
• 500+ grassroots volunteers who assist onsite at events, secure donations of goods or services, and help “do whatever is needed”!
  Interested in general volunteering or being a leader, volunteer TODAY!

Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Earns Top Ratings for Financial Stewardship and Donor Recognition

Charity Navigator is the premier independent charity evaluator who rates charities by evaluating two broad areas of financial health, their organizational efficiency and their organizational capacity. Charity Navigator ratings show givers how efficiently they believe a charity will use a donor’s support today, and to what extent the charities are growing their programs and services over time. They provide these ratings so that givers can make intelligent giving decisions, and so that the philanthropic community can more effectively monitor itself.

In April 2011, Charity Navigator reported Susan G. Komen for the Cure® had earned a prestigious four-star rating for the fifth consecutive year, a feat accomplished by only 5 percent of the nation's nonprofit organizations. For more information on Susan G. Komen's Charity Navigator's rating, please visit their website.

This distinction follows a national Harris Interactive poll that ranked Komen for the Cure among the top two most valuable nonprofit brands and as a charity people are most likely to donate to. Komen also ranked in the top 10 of the nation's most trusted nonprofits. To learn more about these distinctions, click here.  

Dedicated to Breast Cancer only

• As a predominately grassroots volunteer organization, we know we can’t be all things to all people. Our organizational success is based on volunteers giving their time and talent to be leaders. Thus, we address one cancer…….breast cancer. We take one cause and fight it to the best of our ability. Our volunteers are united and passionate because breast cancer has touched their lives at some point to someone they care about.
• Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest private funder of breast cancer research and community health programs. With more than $1.3 billion invested to date, Komen for the Cure is moving ahead with its commitment to invest $2 billion by the year 2017.
• Every major advance in the fight against breast cancer has been touched by Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
  Susan G. Komen has helped train more than 400 breast cancer researchers and funded more than 1,800 research projects over the past 26 years.
• Susan G. Komen for the Cure's goal is to "energize science to find the cures."