Kuni Foundation Donates $5 Million to OHSU’s Knight Cancer Challenge
Good Friday Everyone,I’m pleased to share some thrilling news.Yesterday, the Wayne D. Kuni & Joan E. Kuni Foundation contributed $5 million to Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute.The gift is dedicated to OHSU’s Knight Cancer Challenge to transform early detection and treatment of cancer and save countless lives, which completed its $1 billion fundraising campaign on Thursday June 25th.
The gift from the Kuni Foundation was one of a handful of major gifts in recent weeks that allowed the Knight Cancer Institute to meet the Challenge in record time.
The Challenge included a matching pledge from Nike co-founder Phil Knight, and his wife, Penny – a pledge contingent on OHSU’s ability to raise $500 million in two years. Over 10,000 donors from all 50 states contributed toward meeting The Challenge.The gift is a fitting tribute to the long-standing relationship between the two organizations, and a reflection of Kuni’s commitment to supporting OHSU’s work to find smarter, foolproof ways to detect cancer in the early stages.The Kuni Foundation is Kuni Automotive’s largest shareholder. Since its founding in 2005, the Kuni Foundation has made grants totaling several million dollars to support the research of a number of “Kuni Scholars” working in leading cancer research hospitals in the Northwest, including OHSU.Kuni Scholars are carefully chosen by a scientific review panel, which works on behalf of the Foundation. One of OHSU’s most prolific cancer researchers, Dr. Joshi Alumkal, is a Kuni Scholar who is credited with making great strides in prostate cancer research.Join me in congratulating OHSU on meeting this historic challenge. We’re pleased to play a small role in their success.Best regards,Greg GoodwinKuni Automotive - Vancouver, WA