Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Receives Historic $50 Million Yawkey Foundation Grant

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dana-Farber Cancer Institute today announced that the Yawkey Foundation made a generous $50 million grant to support Dana-Farber's planned cancer hospital and the Future of Cancer Care Fund. The gift commemorates an eight-decade partnership and will help support construction of Dana-Farber's future cancer hospital and other critical priorities including accelerating cancer research, and advancing early detection, survivorship, psychosocial services, and patient assistance.

"We’re profoundly grateful for the Yawkey Foundation’s visionary generosity," said Dr. Benjamin L. Ebert, president and CEO of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "This grant exemplifies the Yawkey Foundation’s enduring legacy that has made an incredible impact on cancer care and research. Their transformational grant will advance groundbreaking research, innovative treatments and patient-centered care, while supporting the future cancer hospital at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute."

A new bridge, spanning across Brookline Avenue and connecting Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Yawkey Center for Cancer Care to the planned cancer hospital, will be named in honor of Jean and Tom Yawkey. The bridge will provide a crucial access point for patients, families, faculty and staff between the Yawkey Center and the new cancer hospital, linking inpatient and outpatient facilities to ensure patients receive integrated care in a medical environment focused exclusively on cancer.

The planned 14-floor facilities, owned and operated by Dana-Farber, will span 450,000 square feet, include 300 private inpatient rooms and be the only dedicated adult cancer hospital in New England.

"The Yawkey Foundation grant embodies the Yawkey family’s long-standing commitment to Dana-Farber's revolutionary science and innovation," said Dana-Farber board chair Josh Bekenstein. "Their generous support will enhance Dana-Farber's vision for delivering seamless, comprehensive and specialized care."

"Tom Yawkey's devotion to Dr. Sidney Farber and his pioneering vision was absolute and personal — he believed from the very beginning that the Children's Cancer Research Foundation [now known as Dana-Farber] represented one of the most important endeavors of his lifetime," said John L. Harrington, Yawkey Foundation chairman. "It is that enduring conviction, carried forward by Jean Yawkey and now by the Foundation that bears their name, that compels us to make our largest grant in eight decades. There is no more fitting place for this investment than the institution Tom Yawkey helped lead."

"Yawkey Foundation is proud to make this historic contribution and to continue our partnership with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in ensuring that its facilities provide the best possible experience for patients and families," said Alicia Verity, Yawkey Foundation CEO. "Cancer touches virtually every family in some way, and the urgency of that reality is precisely why this grant matters so deeply. With this investment, Dana-Farber can continue to lead New England and the world in transforming the future of cancer research and care — and there is no more meaningful way to honor the Yawkey legacy than by helping make that possible."

This grant builds on a partnership that began more than 75 years ago, when Jean and Tom Yawkey joined Dana-Farber founder, Dr. Sidney Farber, in envisioning a future without the fear and burden of cancer. They were among the first to support Dr. Farber’s pioneering work. Their initial private funding would ultimately help revolutionize oncology research — delivering new treatments and cures — and change the way cancer is treated around the world.

In 1953, the Yawkeys helped forge what was among the first partnerships between a professional sports team and a cancer research institution — a landmark relationship between the Jimmy Fund and the Boston Red Sox that raised millions of dollars for cancer care and research while bringing the cause to the attention of fans and communities across New England. Tom Yawkey served on Dana-Farber's Board of Trustees beginning in 1954, serving terms as president and chairman until his death in 1976. Jean Yawkey served as trustee beginning in 1976 and as Chair from 1976–79. That spirit of partnership endures to this day: the Yawkey Foundation is proud to serve as the presenting sponsor of the Jimmy Fund Little League program, carrying forward Jean and Tom Yawkey's belief in the power of baseball and community to advance the fight against cancer.

The Yawkey Foundation has continued the Yawkey’s charitable legacy, making significant contributions to Dana-Farber that include a $30 million grant for the construction of the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2007.

About the Yawkey Foundation

The Yawkey Foundation is dedicated to perpetuating Tom Yawkey’s and Jean Yawkey’s philanthropic legacy, who for eight decades quietly supported individuals and families in the communities closest to their hearts – Massachusetts and Georgetown County, South Carolina.

Having awarded more than $620 million to date in charitable grants to organizations focused on health care, education, human services, youth and amateur athletics, arts and culture, and conservation and wildlife, the Yawkey Foundation is committed to preserving and sustaining the Yawkeys’ charitable values by investing in nonprofits that provide resources, opportunity, and dignity to vulnerable and underserved individuals and communities.

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.

Dana-Farber is the only hospital named among the top 3 U.S. News & World Report Best Cancer Hospital ranking in both adult and pediatric oncology 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 1,200 clinical trials.