Editorial independence
How we’re funded — and why funders can’t buy a word of this site
Someone reading this site at 2 a.m. after a diagnosis deserves to know that no funder shaped what they’re reading. This page explains where our money comes from, the firewall between funding and content, which gifts we’ll refuse, and exactly what we’ll disclose — in plain language, like everything else here.
Where our money comes from
Today: individual donations
So far, our funding comes from individual readers — one-time and monthly gifts made through our secure Stripe checkout. We have not received grants, sponsorships, advertising money, or industry funding.
Planned: grants & mission-aligned licensing
As the organization grows, we plan to apply for foundation and public grants, and to explore licensing our educational content and tools to mission-aligned organizations. Both are plans, not yet realized — and both will follow the rules on this page.
The firewall: funders never influence content
Money and editorial decisions live on opposite sides of a wall. These rules apply to every donor, every grant, and every future licensing partner — no exceptions for size.
No sponsored content
No article, listing, or tool on this site is sponsored. Nothing we publish exists because someone paid for it to exist.
No pay-for-placement
No one can pay to be mentioned, recommended, ranked higher, or included in our Support & Assistance Finder or anywhere else on the site.
No advertising relationships
We run no ads and have no advertiser relationships, so there is no advertiser to please — and never a reason to write for one.
Funders never see content early
No donor or grantmaker reviews, previews, or approves content before publication. Funders read our pages the same way you do: after they're live.
No funder logos on educational pages
Acknowledgments belong on this page — not next to health information, where a logo could look like an endorsement or an influence.
Editorial standards decide, not revenue
What we publish is governed by our editorial process and sources — never by what would attract or keep a funder.
Which gifts we accept — and which we don’t
We decline gifts that come with editorial strings attached — a request to cover a topic a certain way, soften a finding, mention a product, or avoid a subject.
Educational grants from pharmaceutical or other industry sources are accepted only if they are fully unrestricted, disclosed on this page, and firewalled from all content decisions. As of today, we have not accepted any.
We may decline any gift — from anyone — if accepting it could reasonably undermine readers' trust in what they find here.
Our disclosure commitment
Any funder — foundation, company, or institution — whose giving exceeds $5,000 in a calendar year will be listed on this page, updated at least annually. Individual donors are different: we do not publish individual donors’ names without their permission, because supporting a cancer education site can itself be private health information.
Current list (as of July 2026): none. No institutional funder has yet given above the disclosure threshold. When one does, they will appear here.
What donations actually fund
Donations pay for the unglamorous things that keep a free library alive: hosting, source-checking, support-listing verification, translations, accessibility work, and building new plain-language explanations. We keep a public changelog of what gets built, so you can see your support at work.
Earned income, honestly
If we license our content or tools in the future, that revenue will support the free library — it will never put educational pages behind a paywall, and licensing partners get no more editorial influence than any donor (which is to say: none). We will account for any earned income under applicable tax rules, including unrelated business income tax where it applies, and we’ll say plainly on this page when licensing revenue becomes real rather than planned.
Our tax status, plainly
Cancer Explained is a project of National Cancer Information Foundation, a Wyoming public benefit nonprofit corporation. National Cancer Information Foundation has applied for recognition as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS determination is pending.
Full organizational details are on our Transparency & Governance page.
Questions about funding
Questions about a gift or this policy? Email [email protected]. Grantmakers and organizations interested in supporting or licensing the work of National Cancer Information Foundation can reach us at [email protected].