Pan-Mass Challenge Donates Record-Breaking $64 Million to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, Bringing Two-Year Fundraising to $114 Million Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

BOSTON, Nov. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), the two-day bikeathon that pioneered the athletic fundraising industry, announced a record-breaking $64 million donation to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber), a world leader in adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research, and its Jimmy Fund. This impressive gift raised by the PMC community far surpassed fundraising expectations this year, topping the organization's pre-pandemic record $63 million donation in 2019. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the PMC has raised more than $114 million for Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund, bucking industry-wide trends of decreased fundraising and engagement stemming from public health crisis.

"The PMC community knows 'there's a lot riding on us' and certainly rose to the occasion with this year's record-breaking gift," said PMC founder and executive director Billy Starr, a Dana-Farber Trustee. "To not only drastically exceed our fundraising goal, but to top our pre-pandemic fundraising record is an incredible feat. The $64 million our community raised this year – in addition to the $50 million our riders raised virtually in 2020 – makes an unparalleled impact on the fight against cancer at Dana-Farber."

The PMC donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar to support the lifesaving mission of Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund, including immediate patient care needs and breakthrough cancer discoveries. The PMC, which has contributed $831 million to the fight against cancer since 1980, is the nation's most successful single-event athletic fundraiser and Dana-Farber's largest single contributor, accounting for more than 55 percent of its Jimmy Fund's annual revenue.

Thanks in part to PMC funding, Dana-Farber was not forced to suspend clinical trials during the pandemic, ensuring the advancement of critical oncology research. For example, in 2021, Dana-Farber research help garner FDA approval for a novel immunotherapy combination as a first-line treatment for advanced kidney cancer. This success was made possible with PMC support. 

"I am in awe of the steadfast commitment by PMC riders, volunteers, sponsors and donors to our shared mission to defy cancer. PMC has once again exceeded expectations, raising a record amount to continue as our largest single contributor," said Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, president and CEO of Dana-Farber. "This unmatched and generous gift, raised during an ongoing pandemic that has presented unique challenges to the cancer community as a whole, will provide integral funding for the innovation that takes place with our patient care and the cutting-edge research conducted at Dana-Farber."

In August, the PMC brought together more than 6,000 riders hailing from 47 states and 11 countries to cycle up to 211 miles across Massachusetts for the first time since 2019. In 2020, the PMC raised an impressive $50 million through its summer-long Reimagined campaign, which kept participants engaged and fundraising, on and off the bike, through the pandemic to support lifesaving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber.

The PMC is presented by the Red Sox Foundation^®. To learn more or to make a financial contribution to the cause, visit www.pmc.org, or call (800) WE-CYCLE. Connect with #PMC2021 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the world's leading centers of cancer research and treatment. Dana-Farber's mission is to reduce the burden of cancer through scientific inquiry, clinical care, education, community engagement, and advocacy. Dana-Farber is a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

We provide the latest treatments in cancer for adults through Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center and for children through Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dana-Farber is the only hospital nationwide with a top 5 U.S. News & World Report Best Cancer Hospital ranking in both adult and pediatric care.

As a global leader in oncology, Dana-Farber is dedicated to a unique and equal balance between cancer research and care, translating the results of discovery into new treatments for patients locally and around the world, offering more than 1,100 clinical trials. 

About the Jimmy Fund
The Jimmy Fund, established in Boston in 1948, is comprised of community-based fundraising events and other programs that, solely and directly, benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's lifesaving mission to provide compassionate patient care and groundbreaking cancer research for children and adults. The Jimmy Fund is an official charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Pan-Mass Challenge, and the Variety Children's Charity of New England. Since 1948, the generosity of millions of people has helped the Jimmy Fund save countless lives and reduce the burden of cancer for patients and families worldwide. Follow the Jimmy Fund on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @TheJimmyFund.

About the Pan-Mass Challenge
The Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) is a bike-a-thon that today raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the world. The PMC was founded in 1980 by Billy Starr, who remains the event's executive director, an annual cyclist and a fundraiser. The PMC has since raised $831 million for adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. The event donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the cause, generating 55 percent of the Jimmy Fund's annual revenue as Dana-Farber's single largest contributor. The PMC has successfully melded support from committed cyclists, volunteers, corporate sponsors and individual contributors, all of which are essential to the PMC's goal and model: to attain maximum fundraising efficiency while increasing its annual gift. The PMC's hope and aspiration is to provide Dana-Farber's doctors and researchers with the necessary resources to discover cures for all cancers. For more information on the Pan-Mass Challenge, visit www.pmc.org.

SOURCE Pan-Mass Challenge