Foundation in Action
Raising awareness for cancer prevention checkoff in 2007

Cancer care advocates plan to launch a public relations campaign to make new program more successful or risk losing it
By Sheila Riley

Cancer care advocates plan to launch a campaign early next year to encourage more people to donate money to the California Colorectal Cancer Prevention Fund by simply checking off a box on their state income tax forms. The cancer prevention fund was added to tax forms last year, making it one of 13 donation options tax payers’ can checkoff. Other options include important causes ranging from the preservation of endangered species to emergency food assistance. Money raised for the fund was mildly successful, but cancer advocates believe a public relations campaign will make the program even more successful. Erin Stennis, the co-founder and president of The Stennis Family Foundation, helped get the colorectal cancer prevention checkoff box on tax forms. Colorectal cancer killed Michael Stennis, Erin’s husband.

Assembymember Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), a friend of Michael Stennis authored the bill that placed the colorectal cancer donation box on the tax forms. The American Cancer Society backed the effort, and secured support from famous names, including “Magic” Johnson and actress Jasmine Guy.

Michael Stennis, who was black, received a diagnosis of stage four colorectal cancer at age 43, after discovering the disease was in his family history.

His death was the catalyst for the foundation, which provides education, mainly through churches, and funds colonoscopies for uninsured and underinsured individuals. The Los Angeles-based Stennis Family Foundation provides colorectal cancer education and prevention to minorities, especially in the black community. Colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of death nationwide in males, after lung and prostate cancer. In females, it ranks third after lung and breast cancer. Black men and women have the highest death rates from the disease of all ethnic groups. Nationally, over 148,000 new cases of colorectal cancer and over 55,000 deaths from the disease were expected in 2006, according to the American Cancer Society. In California, close to 15,000 new cases with 5,500 deaths were expected. Funds for the California Colorectal Cancer Prevention Fund go to the state Department of Health Services, which distributes them to various organizations. “The money generated will go to continue the work that’s being done to educate Californians about colon cancer prevention,” Stennis said. “It will go to fund existing programs.” The California Colorectal Cancer Prevention Fund is one of several “checkoffs” banding together to launch a public relations campaign in January to increase contributions. Stennis would like to see everyone in colon cancer prevention at the table. “It would be great if all the colon cancer organizations could come together and equally put this uppermost in taxpayers’ minds,” Stennis said. “Then when Californians look at their tax return checkoffs, they will immediately think of the California Colorectal Cancer Prevention Fund.” Income tax preparers Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. is sponsoring a campaign, “Checkoff California,” featuring radio ads encouraging tax payers to check the donation box on their returns. The effort is modeled after a similar program, “Checkoff Colorado,” said Jackie McGrath, state public policy director for the Alzheimer’s Association, another California participant. Most California funds are experiencing a decrease both in numbers and amounts of contributions, she said. “Less than 1 percent of California filers use the tax checkoff option as a means to make a contribution to one of the funds,” McGrath said.

The state requires funds to start with a minimum of $250,000 in donations during a calendar year to stay on tax forms. Newer funds such as colorectal cancer have two years to do this. Colorectal cancer funding received more than $100,000 this in donations made on taxpayers’ 2005 returns, Stennis said. Although a good idea, some in the cancer prevention and education field point out that the devil is in the details.

“Efforts such as the checkoff boxes are great, they allow people to have a very specific impact on important programs,” said Nancy Roach, president of national advocacy organization C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition. At the same time, the legalese needs to be crafted to ensure that programs actually have an impact, and there are always questions of oversight, Roach said. Despite concerns about how money eventually is distributed, California Colorectal Cancer Prevention Fund advocates are pleased with their efforts – and they expect the fund to reach its $250,000 goal in 2007.
Sheila Riley is a freelance writer in San Francisco.