Relay for Life: Where do your donations go?

The thousands of purple shirt-donning volunteers who walked for hours at Relay for Life charity events in Harrison and Oakmont on Saturday represent a piece of the largest fundraising arm of one of the biggest nonprofit organizations, the American Cancer Society.

Each year, more than 4 million volunteers in 5,200 communities across 20 countries participate in versions of the event, in which teams raise money in advance and then set up tents and spend hours walking laps and taking part in social festivities.

Together, Relay for Lifers typically raise more than $400 million annually.

So just what does the American Cancer Society do with the windfall of money?

The Atlanta-based organization's mission is “to save lives, celebrate lives and lead the fight for a world without cancer.” It claims to serve more than 80 million people in more than 5,000 communities through research, education, advocacy and service.

The global organization took in $778.8 million in contributions and grants in 2016, about $7 million less than the previous year, the latest Internal Revenue Service records show. The society ended 2016 with nearly $1.1 billion in net assets but took a $54.2 million loss in revenue after expenses.

The nonprofit says it spends about 37 percent on research programs and other activities; 22 percent on prevention and detection through advocacy and events, including the Great American Smokeout; and 22 percent on patient services and support, including recovery programs and summer camps for kids who have cancer. Since 1976, it has invested more than $4 billion in cancer research, and 42 American Cancer Society-backed researchers have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.

About 16 percent gets spent on fundraising and 3 percent goes toward management and overhead costs, the society says in promotional materials.

Among annual achievements the nonprofit attributes specifically to Relay for Life funding:

• Helped answer 1 million requests for cancer information.

• Saved cancer patients $38 million on lodging.

• Provided 380,000 rides to and from cancer treatments.

Independent nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator provides slightly different breakdowns in spending. It gives the cancer society an overall charity effectiveness score of 71.48 out of 100, giving it high marks (94) for its accountability and transparency.

The watchdog gave the nonprofit a lower score (60.12) for its financial efficiency.

According to Charity Navigator's calculations, about 59.2 percent of the American Cancer Society's funding goes toward programs and services it delivers and about 5.7 percent toward administrative costs.

The watchdog says that, on average, the organization spends 37 cents to raise $1 in charitable contributions.

In addition to donor-driven events like Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society has a history of hiring professional fundraisers, a method used by many large charities. A 2012 Bloomberg report found that in 2010, the American Cancer Society spent $5.3 million on telemarketing.

The society has been criticized by some for the salaries of its top executives.

CEO Gary Reedy took home $820,777 in salary and related compensation in 2016, records show. In the same fiscal year, former Chief Operating Officer Gregory P. Bontrager made $2.34 million.

Organizationwide, the American Cancer Society paid 368 people $100,000 or more in 2016. At least a dozen executives made more than $400,000.

The nonprofit says that its executive pay is set using best practices and in line with organizations its size.

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@tribweb.com or via Twitter @NewsNatasha.