2020 ANNUAL REPORT MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Friends and Cherished Supporters, Without question, 2020 was a year like no other that we’ve ever experienced. The COVID-19 virus truly upended all our lives, killed millions of people around the world including friends and family and forced organizations like Concern re-imagine our fund raising events and hands-on community outreach and activities. I am proud to say that the Concern Foundation Sponsors, donors and staff were able to rise to the occasion and successfully met the challenges head on. We are a truly extraordinary organization supported by individuals like you who understand that the words “you have cancer” still evoke a greater fear than the coronavirus in each of us every single day. Thanks to our driven board, tremendous volunteers and dedicated supporters, we pivoted our traditional in-person Block Party to a successful virtual format, fulfilled every single grant commitment while taking on 14 new research projects and ran our day to day operations remotely never missing a beat. In short, Concern Foundation continues to raise over $2 Million Dollars each year to fund cancer research across our country and around the world while maintaining a very low overhead so that practically every single cent of every dollar raised is being used to support our mission and importance in cancer community. I am so thankful to all of you and so proud of our organization. I hope that as you read this Annual Report you will be equally as proud of the dedication of our board & donors, professionalism of our staff and adaptability of our organization and community partners that enabled us to continue to touch the lives of so many patients and families dealing with cancer and grow our commitment to research to conquer cancer for every human being once and for all. On behalf of our board and especially the researchers we are funding, thank you. Sincerely, Derek Alpert President RAISING FUNDS & AWARENESS FOR CANCER RESEARCH On Saturday, December 5, FlowerTruckLA held a pop-up event benefiting Concern Foundation. Tons of gorgeous seasonal flowers – peonies, hydrangeas, roses, tulips, etc. – and a special DIY bundle were available for purchase with a portion of the sales going to Concern Foundation. The event brought in $1,500 and an additional $10,000 donation that was received at the event. Toys were also collected at the event for Concern’s holiday party for pediatric cancer patients and their families. December 3rd was Concern Foundation’s holiday drive-in movie for pediatric cancer patients and families. It was a huge success with over 110 families attending. Each family received a large bag of candy, Concern face masks and a favor bag of goodies donated by our friends at the Beauty Bus Foundation. RAISING FUNDS & AWARENESS FOR CANCER RESEARCH Over 2,000 people across America and around the world joined Concern Foundation’s “Block Party On Your Block” virtual event on Saturday, September 26. Thanks to the support of dedicated board members, sponsors and donors, over $1.4 million was raised for cancer research. For those who did not get to watch the virtual event and would like to, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F07ve8zG0rE&t=2s RAISING FUNDS & AWARENESS FOR CANCER RESEARCH Team Concern Raised over $225,000 for the LA Marathon and LA Big 5K! Concern Foundation joined the Los Angeles Marathon as an official charity for the tenth consecutive year, and is thrilled to announce a record-breaking $225,000 was raised! We’re so proud of Team Concern and all of the athletes who tirelessly trained and fundraised on our behalf. It was amazing to see over 90 Team Concern runners and walkers complete the LA Big 5K on March 23, and over 10 Team Concern runners participate at the LA Marathon and Charity Challenge on March 24. A special thank you to our partners, the Beauty Bus Foundation and the Kevin Cordasco: Something Yellow Foundation! We wouldn’t have been able to have such a successful event without their partnership and support. 2020-2022 GRANT RECIPIENTS Congratulations to the Concern Foundation 2020-2022 Conquer Cancer Now Grant Recipients Elena Piskounova: Weill Cornell Medicine: Melanoma Julia Maxson: Oregon University: Myeloid Leukemia Stephano Spano Mello: University of Rochester: Pancreatic Cancer Christian Badr: Mass General/Harvard: Glioblastoma/Brain Tumors Stavroula Hatzios: Yale University: Cancer Cell Signaling Irfan Asangani: University of Pennsylvania: Prostate Cancer Rui Lu: University of Alabama: Myeloid Leukemia/Stem Cells Remi Buisson: UC Irvine: Tumor Cell Mutations Taran Gujral: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center: Pancreatic Cancer Chao Lu: Columbia University: Squamous Cell Carcinoma Marjan Rafat: Vanderbuilt University: Triple Negative Breast Cancer Vu Ngo: City of Hope: Lymphoma Kyoung Eun Lee: University of Michigan: Pancreatic Evanthia Roussos Torres: University of Southern California: Breast Cancer MESSAGES FROM CONCERN FOUNDATION RESEARCHERS “I have benefitted tremendously from the support of the Concern Foundation through the Conquer Cancer Now Award. For any young scientist, competition for funding is challenging and can be particularly frustrating when your research program is still in its early development. The grant from the Concern Foundation on my research program and the trajectory of my scientific career has been impactful in many ways. The support from the Conquer Cancer Now Award allowed me to develop a new direction of our research program in cancer metabolism. Results from the supported studies have now been used as preliminary data for an R01 application to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In addition, receiving this highly competitive and prestigious award from the Concern Foundation was an honor, and as a result, provided the encouragement and confidence I needed to continue to pursue my professional career as a scientist. I am truly grateful for the funding provided by the Concern Foundation and the Conquer Cancer Award and the opportunities that it opened to continue my research.” – Dr. Yanzhong Yang Dr. Yanzhong Yang “Thank you for the generous grant from the Concern Foundation to the USC Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. With your support, Drs. Victoria Cortessis and James Hu are developing biomarkers that will help detect germ cell tumors in young people before symptoms arise, allowing early intervention when cancer treatment is most effective. Together, we will improve the prognosis of adolescents and young adults with this disease. You should feel so proud for the positive impact the Concern Foundation has had, and will continue to have, on so many families. Please accept my sincere gratitude for your steadfast support.” - Laura Mosqueda, M.D., Dean, Keck School of Medicine of USC Dr. Victoria Cortessis Dr. James Hu Concern Foundation mourns the loss of our dear longtime board members, sponsors and friends. Barbara Alpert David Alpert Don Alschuler Joseph Baim Bernard Briskin Mark Fisher Jack Gilardi Jerome Muchin Tom Nogradi Bernie Shapiro Marilyn and Don Waldman Stanley Zimmerman NEW WEBSITE Take a look at our new website: www.concernfoundation.org FINANCIALS: YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2020 2020 CONCERN FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE BOARD Lorene Goldman, Chair Derek Alpert, President Ilyse Teller, Vice Chair Michael Firestein, Secretary/Legal Counsel Marc Lauter, Chief Financial Officer Anne Barnett Bill Barnett Harvey Beesen Shelby Blecker Nancy Blecker Barry Brucker Sue Brucker John Carroll Lexy Carroll Nancy Eisenstadt David Entin Steve Fortner Lynne Fox Steve Freed Jim Freedman Robert Goldman Aliza Goldsmith Noah Goldsmith Jackie Gottlieb Caroline Hanasab Farhad Hanasab Ivan Kallick Allie Lehrman Max Liszt Eric Massi Michelle Massi Ian Metrose Lauri Metrose Frank Mottek Jessica Nicastro Wendy Schneider Nogradi Joyce Powell Rick Powell Debbie Powell Laurie Resch Dana Schwartz Courtney Teller Steve Teller Bettina Tendler O’Mara Steve Ullman Briana Vickers Scott Vickers Myrna Zimmerman GET INVOLVED WITH CONCERN FOUNDATION Concern Foundation has raised over $68 Million to fund cancer research through donations from individuals like yourself! Help us CONquer canCER Now. • Make a monetary donation today. • Become an Annual Sponsor and enjoy sponsorship benefits • Send a tribute in honor or in memory of someone special • Be a part of our signature Block Party fund raising event • Start your own fundraiser • Be a part of Team Concern by participating in the LA marathon or another athletic event or activity of your choice • Take steps to create a planned gift • Donate your time and expertise by volunteering • Get your place of business involved and become a community partner or corporate sponsor • Help spread the word about Concern Foundation Each year, 14 million men, women, and children worldwide are diagnosed with some type of cancer. Continued research to find better, smarter, more effective treatments is urgently needed. Only with your help can we continue to fund innovative research and bring breakthrough treatments and “cures” to more cancer patients. CONCERN FOUNDATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH 11111 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 214 Los Angeles, CA 90064 tel: 310.360.6100 fax: 310.473.8300 info@concernfoundation.org www.concernfoundation.org Please consider Concern Foundation in your estate plan.