10/12/15 - PINK October Is Back - Shame on Komen



It's been some time since I've posted. Here we are again - PINK October. I've recently found Susan G. Komen's  financial statement on their website. The numbers were shocking. This is what I found.
Per Susan G. Komen's 2013 - 2014 Final Audited Financial Statement. I welcome anyone to check these numbers against SGK's financial statement on their website. See attached link: 




I'm going to focus on SGK's marketing campaign - Susan G. Komen for the CURE. We are all "aware" of this marketing campaign. It's been SGK's platform for as long as I can remember. First, I'll start with the money that was donated for the CURE through races, donations, etc.

March 31, 2013 - March 31, 2014 - One year - Accrual Basis

Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses are matched with the related revenues and/or are reported when the expense occurs, not when the cash is paid. The result of accrual accounting is an income statement that better measures the profitability of a company during a specific time period.

$203,190,915     Contributions, sponsorships, race entry fees, contributed goals
 $ 48,288,225     Contributed goods and services
($27,396,500)     Less direct benefits to donors and sponsors
$224,082,640     Total
    $4,034,803      Interest & dividends
    $8,897,279      Net realized gains on investments
    $8,177,885      Net unrealized gains on investments
       $436,777      Other
  $48,491,634      Net assets realized from restrictions
$294,121,018      Total net public support and revenue

Yes, you all read that correctly. SGK brought in two hundred three million, one hundred ninety thousand, nine hundred and fifteen dollars - $203,190,915. A staggering amount that should be well commended. I applaud their marketing campaign. I will use this number for my calculations, but you can see above, that number doesn't reflect the total net public support and revenue of  $294,121,018.

Below are the numbers that were reported on SGK's financial statement for Awards and Grants.

$32,911,550        RESEARCH
$10,691,018        Public health education
$32,765,005        Health screening
$11,115,718        Treatment services
         0                 Race for the cure
         0                 Other fundraising
         0                 Affiliate relations
         0                 Other
$87,483,291        Total Awards and Grants

As you can see, even though eighty seven million, four hundred eighty three thousand,  two hundred ninety one dollars - $87,483,291 went to Awards and Grants, only $32,911,550 of that money went to RESEARCH.

Now let's break down their research number. In the interest of making this short, I will consolidate the expenses of research into one figure. You can check the website for a breakdown of the expenses.

$32,911,550        RESEARCH - Portion that actually goes to research.
$10,485,423        Expenses: i.e. Salaries, marketing, supplies, etc.
$43,396,973        Total spent on "RESEARCH"

$32,911,550 actual RESEARCH dollars divided by $203,190,915 of donations = 16% that actually went to RESEARCH after expenses.

Please remember $203,190,915 didn't include interest, dividends, gains, etc. So let's look at it that way and add back in the expenses for research. So just for fun, I will add that back in.

Research with expenses ($43,396,973), divided by total net public support and revenue ($294,121,018), which would equal a dismal  14.75% to research.

The international affiliates (Italy, Germany, Puerto Rico) are not included in any of these numbers. This is only for SGK's USA headquarters and USA affiliates, as seen in their financial report.

The breakdown tells a whole different story, and puts all those donation dollars into perspective.  Can you see where "Komen for the Cure" could anger a whole lot of women and men with breast cancer? The donation dollars are huge. The lives we are losing are sobering. My metastatic sisters and brothers are dying - one, by one.

I guarantee you that a large majority of the participants running for the cure have no idea that 16% is the true number going to RESEARCH for the CURE. Or, if you read my other calculation, as little as 14.75%. How many of us read and understand financial statements??

Now that it's PINK October, men and women are out there running, sweating, and celebrating everything PINK - clueless of the REAL numbers - running for the CURE. I type it often because we've seen and heard it often - running for a cure. If you slapped a sticker on the forehead of a runner or donor that says 16% of $203,190,915 or 14.75% of $$294,121,018, I bet they wouldn't be so quick to run, or donate. But Komen has known this - the reason the "for the CURE" marketing campaign was so crucial.

Recently, SGK has come under fire for the running for the CURE marketing campaign. Runners and donors are starting to realize what a small portion actually goes to the CURE. Is that the reason SGK has removed for the CURE from their logo?

SGK has also come under fire for the salary of the former CEO, sister of Susan G. Komen (Nancy Brinker) - so SGK hired a new CEO.  People are becoming "aware." A much different awareness than I'm sure SGK wanted.

I wish Nancy Brinker would remember why SGK was founded in the first place. Brinker made a promise to her sister that she would do everything she could to help eradicate the disease. I don't think 14.75% or 16% is a realistic goal to fulfill that promise. I believe SGK can do better, I believe breast cancer patients deserve better.

I apologize for the angry tone today. My friends are dying - I may follow in their footsteps. We are long overdue for the eradication. It's time for that CURE so many have been running for all these years. This WILL NOT happen without more research dollars.


Yesterday SGK had an open Twitter session for metastatic breast cancer. I signed up for Twitter yesterday so I could help bring Komen's lack of research dollars out in the open. I had no idea how to use Twitter, but I was able to tweet a few things within a ten minute span. Why just 10 minutes? Because once I started tweeting, SGK suddenly ended the session. Mine wasn't the only tweet regarding research dollars. I was able to capture a screen shot of one of the tweets I responded to.

  
Keep in mind, they didn't give a time frame on that previous $130M. Look at their financial statements. It tells the true story.

I guess we are supposed to throw ourselves at Susan G. Komen's  feet and thank them for the crumbs they are offering today. I'm guessing the bad press and decline in donations is starting to get to them. So generous of them to let the donors chose where their donations can go THIS month. There are actually people celebrating this offering. See link below:


I guess it's one baby step to more research dollars. I can't help but thinking what incentive SGK would have to donate more to research. If a CURE for BC is found, wouldn't Komen cease to exist??? Something to ponder.

Thanks for reading. Once again, I apologize for the angry tone. If you're going to donate to a non-profit, please consider METAvivor. See link below:


Much love,

Beppy ツ