The Belfer Center is powered by the dedication and support of visionary donors. Your investment will provide our world-class scientists with access to the tools and technology they need to collaborate and develop the next generation of cancer treatments. We offer many ways for families, individuals, foundations, and corporations to give:

  • Give now: Make a gift today to support novel drug development at the Belfer Center
  • Named funds: Make a gift that links your name, or that of a friend or loved one, with the Belfer Center’s cutting-edge research. Create a named current-use fund to address immediate critical needs, or an endowed fund to last forever
  • Foundations: Public and private foundations provide critical funding for high-risk/high-reward research at the Belfer Center
  • Bequests and planned giving: Leave a lasting legacy to the Belfer Center with a planned gift tailored to fit your financial goals while helping cancer patients worldwide

The support of generous donors enables the Belfer Center to integrate its scientific teams, produce innovative cancer models, partner with industry leaders, and accelerate the development of revolutionary therapies to treat cancer.

The following donors have generously supported the Belfer Center:

  • Robert and Renée Belfer
  • Expect Miracles Foundation
  • The Huber-Francis Memorial Fund

The Belfers’ legacy

In 1999, with generous support from the Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Foundation, the Belfer Center for Cancer Genomics was founded. The Center initially focused on developing high-resolution platforms and computational tools for global genomic profiling of DNA abnormalities in human cancers. The center also established a robust pipeline for high-throughput genomic analyses of human and mouse tumors, and became one of The Cancer Genome Atlas’ select Cancer Genome Characterization Centers during its Pilot Phase (2006-2009).

In 2004, the Center for Applied Cancer Science at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute was established, designed to bring together the best attributes of academia and industry to rapidly translate cancer genomics knowledge into more effective cancer therapies. In 2006, with a visionary commitment from the Robert A. and Renée E. Belfer Foundation, the Belfer Center for Cancer Genomics and the Center for Applied Cancer Science became the Robert A. and Renée E. Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science.

In 2015, thanks to another transformational gift from the Belfers, the Belfer Center moved into the Longwood Center, a new state-of-the-art research facility. There, Belfer Center scientists are working alongside renowned Dana-Farber chemists and biologists to accelerate the pace of novel drug discovery and deliver new treatments to cancer patients faster.

This most recent gift brings the Belfers’ total giving to Dana-Farber to more than $25 million.

Expect Miracles Foundation

Since 2007, Expect Miracles Foundation has raised more than $7.8 million for the Belfer Center, enabling our scientists to work with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to efficiently translate Dana-Farber science into the next generation of cancer treatments.

Expect Miracles Foundation started as a way for a group of caring financial industry professionals to give back while investing in the future. Its mission is to rally the financial services industry to invest in life-saving cancer research and advance patient care programs nationwide.