User:Acdixon/Jimmy V Foundation

The V Foundation for Cancer Research (also known as the Jimmy V Foundation) is an American non-profit organization that funds cancer research. It is named for former college basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died of metastatic adenocarcinoma in 1993. The Foundation's motto is "Don't give up. Don't ever give up."

History
In June 1992, ESPN broadcaster and former basketball coach Jim Valvano was diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma; his doctor's prognosis gave him no more than a year to live. While accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the inaugural ESPY Awards on March 4, 1993, Valvano announced that he, in partnership with ESPN, was starting The V Foundation for Cancer Research. Valvano told the ESPY audience, "It may not save my life, but let`s get the money to the doctors in the research hospitals so my daughter doesn`t get it, so your child doesn`t get it, so we can find cures." He added that the Foundation's motto would be, "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." Less than two months later, Valvano died.

On the day of Valvano's death, ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein announced that viewers had already donated $100,000 to the Foundation. One year later, the Foundation announced it had surpassed $1 million in donations. In August 1994, the Foundation made its first grants, totalling $450,000. The announcement came just after a report critical of the Foundation for failing to file required federal and state paperwork related to its tax-exempt status and its ability to solicit charitable donations.

In 1995, the Foundation moved its headquarters from New York City to Cary, North Carolina.

Events
Proceeds from many high profile sporting events benefit the foundation. Following the inaugural ESPYs in 1993, proceeds from all subsequent ESPY programs have benefited the Foundation. The Foundation organized the inaugural Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic, an annual fundraising event, in North Carolina in August 1994. In December 1995, ESPN announced an annual college basketball event, the Jimmy V Classic.