Prostate Cancer Foundation

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: ~$29.8 million (2023 Form 990)
• Success Rate: 25-28% (Young Investigator Awards)
• Decision Time: 60-90 days (venture philanthropy model)
• Grant Range: $75,000 - $10,000,000
• Geographic Focus: International (28+ countries)
• Total Raised Since 1993: More than $1 billion

Contact Details

Website: www.pcf.org

Address: 1250 Fourth Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Phone: 1.800.757.CURE (2873)

General Email: info@pcf.org

Grant Programme Contacts:

• Challenge Awards: awards@pcf.org
• Young Investigator Awards: awards@pcf.org
• TACTICAL Awards: awards@pcf.org

Overview

Founded in 1993 by Mike Milken after his own advanced prostate cancer diagnosis, the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world's leading philanthropic organisation dedicated to funding life-saving prostate cancer research. Since its inception, PCF has raised more than $1 billion in support of cutting-edge research, funding more than 2,250 research projects at 245+ leading cancer centres across 28+ countries. PCF pioneered the "venture philanthropy" model in medical research funding, making award decisions within 60 days and funding researchers within 90 days—dramatically faster than traditional funding mechanisms. The foundation has played a crucial role in every FDA-approved life-prolonging therapy for advanced prostate cancer, prioritising high-risk, high-reward projects with the greatest potential to improve survival and quality of life for men with prostate cancer.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programmes

Young Investigator Awards: $75,000/year for 3 years ($225,000 total)

• Three-year awards for early-career researchers (generally age 35 and younger or equivalent career stage)
• Does not support institutional overhead/indirect costs
• Requires 1-3 mentors at applicant's institution
• Mandatory attendance at annual Scientific Retreat (travel covered)
• Applicants should not have received more than $500,000 in direct research funding from all sources
• Rolling deadlines (typically in early spring)
• Success rate: approximately 25-28% (30 awards from 116 applications in 2024; 29 awards from 103 applications in 2018)

Challenge Awards: Variable amounts, typically $1,000,000 over 2-3 years

• Supports teams of at least three investigators from nonprofit academic research centres, including one young investigator
• Focuses on large-scale research projects concerning metastatic, lethal prostate cancer
• Two-stage application process: Letter of Intent (LOI) followed by full application upon invitation
• 15 awards granted from 64 team applications in 2024 (23% success rate); 12 awards in 2025
• Application deadlines typically in late spring

Creativity Awards: $300,000 over 2 years

• Supports exceptionally novel projects with great potential to produce breakthroughs
• Designed for creative research investigations of new ideas with high probability of near-term patient benefit

TACTICAL Awards (Therapy ACceleration To Intercept CAncer Lethality): $5,000,000 - $10,000,000 over 3-5 years

• PCF's largest grants supporting multi-institutional team research
• Addresses development of 21st-century therapies for lethal forms of prostate cancer
• Three-stage application process: LOI, full application upon invitation, then Zoom-based interview for top applicants
• 2-3 awards granted per cycle
• For-profit and government institution researchers are not eligible
• Multidisciplinary, diverse, and inclusive team structures are favoured

Priority Areas

PCF prioritises research in:

• Theranostics: Combining diagnostics and therapeutics
• Novel drug targets: Drugging currently undruggable oncology targets
• Prevention of disease progression: Preventing progression to lethal disease
• Precision medicine: Improved biotechnologies for precision medicine
• Immunotherapy: First-in-field immunotherapies for prostate cancer
• AI/Machine learning: Better informing patient outcomes
• Metabolism and microbiome: Host microbiome and tumour metabolism
• Molecular heterogeneity: Understanding prostate cancer as molecularly distinct subclasses
• Health disparities: Especially encouraging research on prostate cancer health disparities
• Treatment-resistant cancer: New therapies for treatment-resistant prostate cancer

What They Don't Fund

• For-profit institutions (for TACTICAL Awards)
• Government institutions (for TACTICAL Awards)
• Institutional overhead/indirect costs (Young Investigator Awards)
• Researchers who have already received substantial funding (Young Investigators should not exceed $500,000 in direct research funding; young investigators on TACTICAL teams should not exceed $2 million)

Governance and Leadership

President & CEO: Gina B. Carithers

• Appointed President and CEO in 2024, advancing from her previous role as executive vice president and chief communications officer
• Leverages decades of innovation in the genitourinary disease community to expand PCF's reach across research, education, communication, and patient support
• Founded UroToday, which she built into a global resource serving 3 million urologists, clinical oncologists, and patients across 206 countries; sold to PCF and joined the foundation in 2022
• Previously held executive leadership positions at DuPont Pharmaceuticals during a distinguished 20-year tenure

Executive Vice President & Chief Science Officer: Howard R. Soule, PhD

• Announced retirement as PCF's Chief Science Officer, Executive Vice President, and Lori and Michael Milken Chair effective end of March 2026
• Has served as an executive leader of PCF since 1997
• Coordinates global academic and biopharmaceutical sector research activity
• Responsible for implementation of PCF's global research strategies
• For nearly three decades, his visionary leadership helped drive the work behind 14 new life-extending therapies
• PhD from Baylor College of Medicine in Virology and Epidemiology; Post-Doctoral Fellow in Immunology and Vascular Biology at Scripps Research Institute

Founder: Mike Milken

• Founded PCF in 1993 after his own advanced prostate cancer diagnosis
• Pioneered the venture philanthropy model in medical research

Scientific Advisory Board: Comprises leading researchers and clinicians from institutions including Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Weill Cornell Medicine, UCLA, Institute of Cancer Research, and Thomas Jefferson University

Board of Directors: Includes accomplished CEOs, leaders in entertainment and marketing, financiers, and distinguished academic medical researchers

Special Recognition: In 2025, PCF announced Maha Hussain, MD, FACP, FASCO, as the first-ever recipient of the PCF Women in Science Lifetime Achievement Award

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Application Method: Varies by programme

• Most programmes use a two- or three-stage application process
• Challenge Awards: Letter of Intent (LOI) followed by full application upon invitation
• TACTICAL Awards: LOI, full application upon invitation, then Zoom-based interview for finalists
• Young Investigator Awards: Direct application
• Applications typically require 10 pages instead of traditional 100-page proposals

Online Portals:

• Check pcf.org/science-impact/for-researchers/open-rfas/ for current opportunities
• Specific programme portals provided upon invitation or in RFA

Pre-Application Requirements:

• Letter of Intent for Challenge and TACTICAL Awards
• Applicants encouraged to solicit advice from patients, patient support groups, or advocates (especially for health disparity-focused grants)

Key Deadlines:

• Young Investigator Awards: Typically early spring
• Challenge Awards: Typically late spring
• TACTICAL Awards LOI: Varies by cycle

Decision Timeline

PCF's venture philanthropy model ensures rapid decisions:

• Award decisions made within 60 days of application deadline
• Researchers funded within 90 days of application
• This is dramatically faster than traditional funding mechanisms (NIH, etc.)

Notification Methods: Email notification to applicants; public announcements on PCF website and through press releases

Success Rates

Young Investigator Awards: 25-28%

• 2024: 30 awards from 116 applications (25.9%)
• 2018: 29 awards from 103 applications (28.2%)

Challenge Awards: ~23%

• 2024: 15 awards from 64 team applications

Review Process: More than 150 experts in the prostate cancer field review Young Investigator applications. Expert Review Panels (ERP) led by PCF evaluate other programmes.

Reapplication Policy

Reapplication is allowed and encouraged for unsuccessful applicants. PCF does not specify waiting periods between applications, though applicants should address feedback from previous reviews when reapplying.

Application Success Factors

Institutional Environment and Support:

• Successful applicants should be working in an academic research environment capable of supporting transformational prostate cancer research
• Access to and real-time interaction with a clinical environment and translational prostate cancer physician-scientists is highly desired
• Applicants don't necessarily need prior prostate cancer research experience to be competitive, but must demonstrate the right institutional support and clinical connections

Research Focus:

• PCF seeks "high-risk, currently unfunded projects" from academic institutions worldwide
• Priority given to "high-risk, high-return projects with the greatest potential to improve survival and quality of life"
• Exceptionally novel projects with great potential for breakthroughs are favoured
• Research should address metastatic, lethal prostate cancer (especially for Challenge and TACTICAL Awards)
• Applicants may be working in basic, translational, computational, or clinical research

Team Structure (for Challenge and TACTICAL Awards):

• Multidisciplinary, diverse, and inclusive team structures are strongly favoured
• Teams must include at least three investigators, including one young investigator
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration is essential

Application Quality:

• Keep applications concise: PCF requires "precisely 10 pages instead of the typical 100"
• Focus on innovation and potential for breakthrough discoveries
• Demonstrate capacity to conduct transformational research
• For health disparity research, integrate advice from patients, patient support groups, or advocates

Strategic Advice from PCF:

• "Every single FDA-approved life-prolonging or -improving therapy for advanced prostate cancer has PCF fingerprints all over it" - this demonstrates PCF's commitment to translational research with real-world impact
• The foundation supports "groundbreaking, out of the box ideas to help accelerate discovery"
• PCF looks for projects traditional funding agencies might consider "too radical"

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• Speed is key: PCF makes decisions in 60 days and funds within 90 days—prepare complete applications to take advantage of this rapid timeline
• Don't fear being too bold: PCF actively seeks "high-risk, high-return" projects that traditional funders might reject as too radical
• Clinical connections matter: Strong access to clinical environments and physician-scientists significantly strengthens applications
• Prior prostate cancer experience not required: Researchers from other fields with innovative approaches are competitive if they have appropriate institutional support
• Team diversity strengthens applications: Multidisciplinary, diverse, and inclusive teams are explicitly favoured for collaborative awards
• Focus on lethal disease: Research addressing metastatic, lethal prostate cancer receives highest priority, especially for larger awards
• Success rates are relatively favourable: At 25-28% for Young Investigators and 23% for Challenge Awards, PCF's success rates are higher than many federal funding mechanisms
• Concise applications: 10-page applications allow researchers to "focus on discovery, not paperwork"—be clear and compelling without unnecessary detail
• Reapplication is encouraged: No waiting periods exist; address previous feedback and reapply if initially unsuccessful
• Young investigators are a priority: Long-standing commitment to early-career researchers with substantial funding ($75,000/year for 3 years) and mandatory networking at Scientific Retreat

References

1. Charity Navigator - Rating for Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/954418411 (Accessed December 2024)

2. "The Work We Fund." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/science-impact/the-work-we-fund/ (Accessed December 2024)

3. "Open RFA/RFPs." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/our-work/open-rfas-rfps/ (Accessed December 2024)

4. "Prostate Cancer Foundation invites applications for 2025 PCF Challenge Awards." Philanthropy News Digest. Available at: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rfps/rfp17692-prostate-cancer-foundation-invites-applications-for-2025-pcf-challenge-awards (Accessed December 2024)

5. "The Prostate Cancer Foundation Awards More Than $6 Million to Promising Young Investigators to Advance Prostate Cancer Research." Prostate Cancer Foundation, 2024. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/2024-yi-award-announcement/ (Accessed December 2024)

6. "Prostate Cancer Foundation Provides Over $16 Million to Fund Innovative Prostate Cancer Research Through Annual Challenge Awards Program." Business Wire, May 21, 2025. Available at: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250521980741/en/ (Accessed December 2024)

7. "PCF Goals and Resources." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/c/pcf-goals-and-resources/ (Accessed December 2024)

8. "Prostate Cancer Foundation." Philanthropy Roundtable. Available at: https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/prostate-cancer-foundation/ (Accessed December 2024)

9. "Young Investigator Awards." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/our-work/the-work-we-fund/young-investigator-awards/ (Accessed December 2024)

10. "Challenge Awards." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/science-impact/the-work-we-fund/challenge-awards/ (Accessed December 2024)

11. "Creativity Awards." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/science-impact/the-work-we-fund/creativity-awards/ (Accessed December 2024)

12. "TACTICAL Awards." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/our-work/the-work-we-fund/tactical-awards/ (Accessed December 2024)

13. "The Prostate Cancer Foundation Announces Inaugural $30 Million TACTICAL Awards Program for Innovative Prostate Cancer Research." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/the-prostate-cancer-foundation-announces-inaugural-30-million-tactical-awards-program-for-innovative-prostate-cancer-research/ (Accessed December 2024)

14. "Howard R. Soule, PhD." Prostate Cancer Foundation Leadership Team. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/our-work/leadership/howard-soule/ (Accessed December 2024)

15. "Leadership Team." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/our-work/leadership/ (Accessed December 2024)

16. "Scientific Advisory Board." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/our-work/scientific-leadership/scientific-advisory-board/ (Accessed December 2024)

17. "Michael Milken." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/our-work/leadership/mike-milken/ (Accessed December 2024)

18. "Timeline." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/our-work/our-history-and-impact/ (Accessed December 2024)

19. "Contact Us." Prostate Cancer Foundation. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/contact-us/ (Accessed December 2024)

20. "Prostate Cancer Foundation Honors Maha Hussain, MD, FACP, FASCO, Recipient of the First PCF Women in Science Lifetime Achievement Award." Prostate Cancer Foundation, October 2025. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/pcf-honors-dr-maha-hussain-women-in-science/ (Accessed December 2024)

21. "Howard R. Soule, Ph.D., to Retire as Chief Science Officer of the Prostate Cancer Foundation." Prostate Cancer Foundation, January 2026. Available at: https://www.pcf.org/howard-soule-pcf-retirement/ (Accessed January 2026)

22. "Prostate Cancer Foundation - Nonprofit Explorer." ProPublica. Available at: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/954418411 (Accessed December 2024)