So Much Potential. Not Enough Funding. 

Published on October 8, 2025.

With federal funding disruption, more researchers than ever are turning to organizations like Children’s Cancer Research Fund for help.

This year, we received more research proposals than ever before – an 86% increase across all funding areas. From hard-to-treat cancers like sarcomas and brain tumors to critical survivorship issues like heart health and fertility, researchers across the country are stepping up with bold ideas to move childhood cancer research forward.

But we can only fund a fraction of them.

Your generosity will directly determine how many of these promising therapies advance from a proposed idea – to lab – to lifeline for kids with cancer.

Every research grant we fund starts with a Letter of Intent (LOI), a brief summary of the project. Every application is peer-reviewed by multiple scientific experts, then the top-rated projects are invited to submit full proposals aligned with our funding priorities. Here’s what the need looked like this year alone:

Hard-to-Treat Cancers:
LOIs jumped by 88%, with especially high interest in sarcomas, brain tumors and leukemia. Out of 130 submissions, we were only able to invite 35 to submit full proposals.

Survivorship:
Applications nearly doubled – up 93% from last year. Researchers want to explore everything from cardiac health to fertility to mental health for childhood cancer survivors. Only 19 full proposals were selected to move forward.

Health Disparities:
We saw a 64% increase in applications focused on access to care, the impact of genetics and other barriers that make outcomes worse for some kids. Just 9 proposals were invited to take the next step.

Behind every proposal is a researcher ready to change the future. And behind every breakthrough is a donor who believed it was possible.

Whether you host a fundraiser, give monthly or make a one-time gift, your support can develop a new treatment, open a new clinical trial or connect a survivor to the care they need to thrive long after treatment ends.

We’ll award the next round of grants in December and early January. Your support today helps ensure no great idea is left on the table simply because there wasn’t enough funding.

Let’s not let potential breakthroughs go unfunded. Kids with cancer are counting on us.