LIVESTRONG Receives Top Honors for Governance, Transparency and Efficacy

AUSTIN, Texas – June 3, 2016 /3BL Media/ – LIVESTRONG has received a four out of four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation's largest and most-utilized evaluator of charity excellence based on financial heath, accountability and transparency. The Foundation adds this accolade to its teeming list of achievements, which include the highest ratings from the Better Business Bureau, the National Health Council and the American Institute of Philanthropy, among others.

Since 2002, using objective, data-driven analysis, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a four-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology.  These “Accountability & Transparency” metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities have “best practices” that minimize the chance of unethical activities and whether they freely share basic information about their organization with their donors and other stakeholders.

“We pride ourselves as an organization on maintaining the highest standards of transparency and accountability in order to improve the lives of people affected by cancer,” said LIVESTRONG President Greg Lee. “It is a tremendous honor to be recognized for our work and will only motivate us further to wake up each day to assist cancer survivors, caregivers and health care practitioners in their time of need.”  

LIVESTRONG was given a rating of 91.09 out of 100 overall and a score of 100.00 on accountability and transparency. In total, LIVESTRONG spends 84.7 cents of every dollar on programs that directly serve people affected by cancer, an amount far above the industry standard.

LIVESTRONG’s navigation services have become more critical than ever as the burden of cancer continually rises in the U.S. to more than 15.5 million people living with a history of the disease. In 2015, LIVESTRONG’s free, bilingual navigation services aided nearly 8,000 new clients and is well on its way to surpassing that number in 2016. Overall, those clients saved $10 million in fertility preservation, debt crisis, cost of living and other cancer-related costs. Through the first quarter of 2016, cancer survivors and caregivers have saved $2.4 million more.

In the communities, LIVESTRONG has maintained its strong presence, having just served its 38,000^th client through one of more than 500 LIVESTRONG at the YMCA locations around the country. This free, or low cost, program helps survivors regain their physical and emotional well-being following what is often debilitating treatment.

The cancer foundation is also in the midst of creating a large-scale model to radically improve cancer treatment and quality of life, revolutionize how we treat and cure cancer and reinvent the way cancer patients and survivors are cared for at the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes with The University of Texas’ Dell Medical School.

“LIVESTRONG’s coveted four-star rating puts it in a very select group of high-performing charities,” according to Michael Thatcher, president & CEO of Charity Navigator. “Out of the thousands of nonprofits Charity Navigator evaluates, only one out of four earns four stars -- a rating that demands rigor, responsibility and commitment to openness. LIVESTRONG’s supporters should feel much more confident that their hard-earned dollars are being used efficiently and responsibly when it acquires such a high rating.”

About the LIVESTRONG Foundation
The LIVESTRONG Foundation fights to improve the lives of people affected by cancer now. For 19 years, LIVESTRONG has been a voice for cancer survivors and has directly served more than 3.5 million people. A pioneer in the field of survivorship, LIVESTRONG remains a world leader in providing direct services to cancer patients and survivors, advocating for policies that enhance survivors’ quality of life and developing partnerships that create access to cancer programs across the country. Since 2007, the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program has made a return to fitness and well-being possible for more than 38,000 survivors in more than 500 YMCA locations. Working with The University of Texas’ Dell Medical School, LIVESTRONG is building the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes to reinvent and redesign cancer care for and with people affected by cancer.

If anyone you know needs cancer support, please visit LIVESTRONG.org/WeCanHelp. For more information about our programs and services, please visit LIVESTRONG.org.