Canary Fund
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Canary Foundation is a public charity exempt from U.S. federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in the United States. Canary Foundation of Canada is a Public Foundation registered with the Canada Revenue Agency; Business Number 82906 8550 RROOO1.The Canary Foundation has assembled teams of cancer researchers recognized by their peers as leaders in their disciplines from across multiple institutions and disciplines to attack the problem of early detection in a new, collaborative, action-oriented manner with the foremost objective of translating research into clinical applications. Canary differentiators include: * Dedication to early detection * Leaders in collaborative science * Focused and managed research * Best-in-class talent * 100% of donations goes to researchOne of the first decisions the Science Team made was to choose ovarian cancer as a prototype for creating an early detection blood test to detect trace amounts of proteins called biomarkers pro
- Income
- $2.2 million
- Spending
- $2.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 92%
- Reserves
- 4.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 98%
- Employees
- 3
- Highest pay
- $201,750, program manager
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 41% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.5 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 29% of what it owns.
Living within its means
12 of 15Income exceeded spending by 1% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 23% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1592% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 255 of 5 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $2.0 million spent. The goal of the Canary Scientific Programs is to develop blood tests and imaging tests that can together be used to detect lethal cancers at a curable stage. Our plan for early and accurate cancer detection involves first screening patients with a blood test and then moving those patients who tested positive to a high-resolution imaging test to further isolate cancer so that it can be removed. Chances of survival are highest when cancer is detected before it spreads. Thus, accurate detection of cancer that would otherwise be lethal at its earliest stage promises to dramatically improve survival after diagnosis. Canary has supported research programs focused on solid tumor cancer types including ovarian, lung, pancreas and prostate cancers, as well as a Collaborations Program with collaborating early detection programs and centers that include the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection.
- Canary Ovarian Cancer Program: The goal of our ovarian research program is to develop a strategy to accurately identify ovarian cancers that would otherwise be lethal at a stage when they are readily curable. The program focuses on high grade serous ovarian cancer, which is the most common and lethal subtype, in order to have the highest impact on reducing ovarian cancer mortality. Our aims include understanding the earliest stages of cancer development in the fallopian tube, identifying molecular markers for early detection or prevention, and developing advanced imaging techniques for early detection of the disease. Development of blood and imaging tests follows a similar roadmap; both include biomarker discovery followed by validation, but they also involve different techniques and challenges.
- Canary Lung Cancer Program:Canary is focused on developing diagnostics with high sensitivity and specificity to detect otherwise lethal lung cancers at a stage when they are readily curable. To this end, Canary has assembled a team of experts who are collaborating to discover and validate biomarkers for blood and imaging tests that together will identify individuals harboring lethal lung cancers so that they can be removed. The Canary Lung Cancer Program has supported the development and maintenance of critical biospecimen resources, blood biomarker discovery and validation, molecular imaging projects for early detection of lethal lung cancer, and epidemiology and modeling for effective lung cancer screening.(continued Sch O)
- Canary Prostate Cancer Program:The specific goals of the Canary Foundation Prostate program are to develop tests that can: 1) Identify lethal prostate cancers at an early (curable) stage; 2) Classify prostate cancers as either 1) potentially lethal; best treated with aggressive therapy b) non-lethal: suitable for continued monitoring without aggressive treatment. Given the large body of published but invalidated candidate markers for prostate cancer, we are focusing our initial efforts on evaluating the performance of a selected set of promising biomarkers. Candidate biomarkers are evaluated based on their ability to detect lethal prostate cancers at an early (curable) stage and to discriminate lethal from non-lethal prostate cancer. We are considering both fluid-based and tissue-based biomarkers for prognostic applications. The Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS) enrolls men who opt for active surveillance of their early stage prostate cancer. Men are followed closely for signs of cancer progression, donating biospecimens and clinical data for a minimum of 5 years or until receiving treatment for their disease. The biospecimens and clinical data provide a valuable resource to test promising biomarkers and predictive tools for their use in the active surveillance setting.Canary Pancreatic Cancer Program:Canary is focused on developing diagnostics with high sensitivity and specificity to detect otherwise lethal pancreatic cancers at an early stage when they can be cured through surgical resection. We anticipate that no single biomarker will be sufficient to create a test with the required sensitivity and specificity to detect pancreatic cancer early. Instead, a definitive diagnosis will rely upon combinations of biomarkers and upon blood and imaging tests used together. To this end, the Canary pancreatic cancer researchers have collaborated to discover and validate biomarkers that will provide the basis for blood and imaging tests for the early detection of pancreatic cancer. Canary Collaborations Program:Canary Foundation believes that a collaborative, coordinated approach is necessary to achieve our goals. Our multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional Early Detection Program provides a great example of this philosophy in action. Our foundation partnerships link mutual scientific expertise and entrepreneurial spirit in the hopes of advancing research in the diagnostic arena of early cancer detection. We partner with research institutions, foundations, industry and government organizations. Collaborating programs include the Canary Center at Stanford and the CRUK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme at the University of Cambridge in England. We provide scientific program management to make sure that all funded research activities among the scientists and clinicians at the various partner institutions are on track and that any obstacles are rapidly addressed and overcome.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 2005.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.