Alberta Cancer Foundation is a 3-star charity. It has below average disclosure with a B results reporting grade. It holds reserves outside of Ci’s reasonable range. For every dollar donated to Alberta Cancer Foundation, 79 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1985, the Alberta Cancer Foundation (ACF) is the fundraising partner for all 17 of Alberta's cancer centres, raising money to support cancer research and patient care across the province.

The charity reports that every year, more than 24,000 Albertans are diagnosed with cancer. One in two Albertans will develop the disease in their lifetime, and one in five will die from it. Diagnosis rates are projected to rise by 29% by 2030 and 56% by 2040

ACF runs two main programs: Research and Clinical Trials, and Patient Support.

The charity distributed $55.5m in grants in F2025 ($27.6m in F2024). In F2025, the three largest grants (accounting for 70% of total grants) were to Alberta Health Services ($24.2m), University of Alberta ($10.0m), and University of Calgary ($4.8m).

Research and Clinical Trials is ACF’s largest program, accounting for 64% of total grant disbursements in F2025. ACF funds cancer research and clinical trials across Alberta, supporting investigator-led studies and emerging treatment technologies. In F2025, 72 new clinical trials launched, bringing active trials to 221 provincewide. Last year, 972 Albertans participated in a cancer clinical trial. Notable funded research includes a made-in-Alberta CAR T-cell therapy trial, which treated 27 Albertans, and radiopharmaceutical work that produced new cancer-targeting isotopes including Lead-203.

Patient Support accounted for 36% of total grant disbursements in F2025. This program consists of 4 subprograms: Cancer Centre Infrastructure and Patient Care; Cancer Patient Navigation Program; Patient Financial Assistance Program; and Patient Experience. In F2025, over 63,000 patients were cared for at Alberta's cancer centres. ACF's navigation program connected 7,619 patients with support services through 25,410 navigator visits. Of these patients, 43% lived in rural communities. Through the Patient Financial Assistance Program, Albertans from 141 communities received help covering treatment-related costs. ACF's mobile breast screening program has delivered over 500,000 mammograms since inception, reaching more than 120 rural and Indigenous communities.

In F2025, ACF earned $124.8m in revenue. It received $86.5m in donations (69% of total revenue), $35.3m in investment income (28% of total revenue), and $3.0m in net lottery revenue (2% of total revenue). Donations increased 79% from F2023 and 292% from F2022. This growth is partly driven by the OWN.CANCER campaign, which aims to raise $250m for a comprehensive cancer care centre in Calgary.

Administrative costs are 7% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 14% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 21%. For every dollar donated to ACF, 79 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

ACF's audited financial statements do not report grants separate from in-house program spending. As such, Ci reported all mission spending as grants. In F2025, ACF spent $55.5m on its grants, which is 44% of its revenue. This is a 101% increase from F2024.

ACF recorded a $50.7m surplus and spent $1.1m on capital projects.

Alberta Cancer Foundation has $303.8m in reserve funds. Excluding $89.4m in donor-endowed funds, the net funding reserves can cover 420%, or roughly four years and two months of program costs.

ACF has total investments of $287.4m. 40% is in cash and cash equivalents, 40% in equities, and 20% in bonds. In F2025, the annual return on investment for ACF was 13%. Its four-year annual return on investment is 14%.

ACF’s multi-year research grant commitments total to $58.4m over the next five years: $28.3m in F2026, $9.9m in F2027, $6.1m in F2028, $3.8m in F2029, and $10.3m in F2030.

In F2025, ACF reports $12.3m in total fundraising costs. Its T3010 lists $118.8m paid to external fundraisers, which exceeds total fundraising spend. We assume this is a typo.

This charity update has been sent to Alberta Cancer Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. Updated by Nick Reszetnik on June 25, 2026.