The V Foundation
"Don't give up ... don't ever give up!" The late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator, echoed those famous words while accepting the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the 1993 ESPYS. With that speech, he not only inspired a Foundation that would raise millions of dollars for cancer research, but countless number of people who are motivated by his passion and conviction.
ESPN is committed to achieving victory over cancer, and supports the V Foundation for Cancer Research, which has funded more than $290 million in cancer research grants nationwide. It awards 100 percent of all direct cash donations to cancer research and related programs. Due to generous donors, the Foundation has an endowment that covers administrative expenses. The V Foundation awards peer-reviewed grants through a competitive awards process strictly supervised by a Scientific Advisory Board.
Through two primary fundraisers - V Week in December and ESPY Week in July - ESPN has raised more than $100 million for the V Foundation.
V Week
V Week is a weeklong initiative across multiple ESPN platforms and programs to help raise funds for the V Foundation. V Week includes a simulcast of Jim Valvano's famous ESPYs speech on all ESPN domestic media networks, includes fundraising messaging in programming throughout the week, and the Jimmy V Women's and Men's College Basketball Classics.
ESPY Week
ESPY Week engages viewers in the fight against cancer through fundraising initiatives across multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN's Sports Humanitarian Awards.
Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund
Seven years ago, ESPN commentator Stuart Scott passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. ESPN and the V Foundation created the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Fund to fund minority researchers and research exploring the biology behind why some cancers are more likely to occur, more aggressive, or harder to treat in some minority populations. The V Foundation has awarded nearly $15 million in grants from the Stuart Scott Fund, which includes 46 grants to 31 cancer centers since the fund's inception in 2015.
The Stuart Scott Fund is featured prominently during V Week, and for the second consecutive year, ESPN aligned with the African American fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha as we kicked off the "Give and Go" Campaign to encourage people to donate and visit their doctor to get checked for cancer.
