Komen Columbus Facts and Impact

Your support for Komen Columbus and the local Race for the Cure accomplishes a lot right here in our community. Please read the following about the local and global impact you make with every donation and Race for the Cure registration.



Where do my donations to Komen Columbus and the Race for the Cure go?


75% of every donation supports our community grants program that serves 30 counties in Central and Southeastern Ohio by providing breast health education, screening and treatment services.



The remaining 25% funds global research grants seeking the causes, improved treatments and cures for breast cancer. Since 2000, nearly $3 million has come back to Columbus in the form of research grants made to the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital at the Ohio State University to support 16 different research projects. All scientific grants are evaluated by a scientific advisory board and highly structured peer review process through Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Komen has invested nearly $685 million in research since 1982 and is the largest non-government funder of breast cancer research in the world.



Who benefits from Komen Columbus’ grant funding?


Women and men in the following counties, and particularly those who are uninsured or medically under-served, may be eligible to benefit from Komen Columbus grantee programs: Athens, Champaign, Clark, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Guernsey, Hocking, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Licking, Madison, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Union, Vinton and Washington.

Thanks to your generosity, in 2012, Komen Columbus was proud to award $1.9 million to fund 34 programs that will provide thousands of women with vital breast health services throughout the next year. This is the most funding and the largest number of grants that Komen Columbus has awarded in its 19-year history.

Check out a complete list of Komen Columbus 2012-2013 grant recipients and the services they provide to their communities.



What services are provided with grant funding?


Your donations fund screenings (clinical breast exams and mammograms), diagnostics (MRIs, biopsies, ultrasounds), treatment assistance, health care navigation, medication assistance and support services such as transportation, child care, wigs and prosthetics.

 Komen Columbus’ grantees currently include direct medical providers – like hospitals that have the ability to provide screenings and treatment – and cancer agencies that can screen and provide support services through diagnosis.

How does Komen Columbus decide which breast health programs to fund?


All Komen affiliate grant applications are solicited through an open request for proposals and are reviewed by a grants committee comprised of local physicians, community health professionals and breast health advocates. Any nonprofit organization may apply for a grant from Komen Columbus to provide services specific to our mission. This committee evaluates proposals using five criteria: impact, feasibility, organizational capacity, collaboration and sustainability. The grants committee uses these criteria and recommends to our board of directors those grant applications that should be approved for funding in context of our funding priorities.

How are Komen Columbus grantees held accountable for the services they provide?
Grantees account for each service provided and grant funds utilized through semi-annual reporting. We also ask our grantees to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of their programs on an ongoing basis.



How are our local needs assessed and met?


Komen Columbus does a local community needs assessment every two years to make sure grant funds are making the biggest impact where they’re needed most. To see the breast health statistics in our 30-county service area – including areas with highest incidence and mortality rates or the lowest employment or insurance rates –view our 2011 Community Profile.

This profile is used to determine our highest areas of need and priorities for funding. Currently our priorities as identified by the community profile are:
1: Increase and improve delivery of early detection services, including (re)screening and diagnostics that will improve mortality rates.
2: Improve survivorship support that is evidence-based and/or represents an innovative approach.

If you have comments or concerns about granting policies, you can call or write Komen National at 972.701.2168 or news@komen.org.



If you have additional questions for us about our local granting, education materials, speakers or anything else, contact us.