Breastcancer.org: Fundraising Challenges of a Social Enterprise in a Crowded Market

Breastcancer.org (BCO), a small, Pennsylvania-based non-profit organization with a $5.4 million annual budget in 2020, was looking ahead several months to the start of Pink October (also known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month). Unlike the many non-profits that focused on medical research to find a cure for breast cancer, BCO was dedicated to helping patients and their caregivers make sense of complex information, and it had established a digital community that became a trusted source of information and stories. BCO’s vice-president of partnerships and development was preparing for the 2019–2020 fiscal year-end review with the chief executive officer and the board of directors. While BCO was not at risk of closing, it had to find ways to increase revenue beyond individual donations and corporate sponsorships. The organization needed funding from additional revenue streams to expand its program offering, and the vice-president had just a few weeks to complete her assessment of BCO’s assets and revenue strategy, which she would present to the board.