January 20, 2023 • 29 mins
Shane Jacobson is the CEO of the V Foundation which was started by Jim Valvano and ESPN in 1993. Jim V is a former coach who had won a national championship for NC State and later became a broadcaster on ESPN calling basketball games. He got a brain tumor and in his last speech, echoed those words, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.”
Today, Shane is carrying on his legacy to raise money and awareness to eventually defeat all forms of cancer. Shane talks about how they are doing this and his association with Dick Vitale.
Today, Shane is carrying on his legacy to raise money and awareness to eventually defeat all forms of cancer. Shane talks about how they are doing this and his association with Dick Vitale.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:12):
Hey everybody, it's Mark Pattison.I'm back again with another great episode of
Finding Your Summit, all about peopleovercome an adversity and finding their way.
Before we get to today's rockstar guests, that I want to draw quick attention
to my website www dot Mark PattisonNFL dot com. There you can find
many different things, one of whichour podcasts, a lot of inspirational people
(00:33):
doing amazing things. Will get moreinto that today in a few minutes here
about love. If you went inand gave the show a ratings and review
on Apple, it helps elevate thepopularity. Not that I need to be
popular, but the show needs tobe out there inspiring everybody. I need
to be inspired as well. Also, there is a link to the Searching
(00:56):
for the Summit, the amazing filmthat won Emmy for Best Picture that the
NFL shot on my journey up andback down Mount Everest. And finally,
we continue to raise money for amillions Everest. My daughter is epilepsy,
So if you want to go anddonate to Higher Ground through a millions Everest,
please go do that. Okay,Now on to today's wonderful guest.
(01:17):
His name is Shane Jacobson. Heis the CEO of the V Foundation.
Shane, how you doing great?Mark? Thank you. It's an honor
V with you and the Finding yourSummit audience here today. Thank you.
Yeah, No, it's great,it's it's it's really wonderful. You know,
like a lot of people, theV Foundation, I'm sure has had
an evolution and it's grown from itsinception way back in nine ninety three.
(01:44):
And you know, I was reallycaptivated. I saw you on the podcast
somewhere else and it's such an importantclause trying to fight cancer, not just
one cancer, but a lot ofdifferent cancers. And you've got this tagline
that says, to find game changingresearch to concert a conqueror cancer and save
lives. And that's why you're outconstantly trying to fund raise. What has
(02:05):
this journey been like for you?You know, I'm sure you weren't there
in nineteen ninety three. This iswhere Jim Valvano. A lot of people
have seen that speech now where hegets up and he can never quit,
never quit, all that stuff andvery emotional. The night at the SPS
where they really launched this whole thing. An amount of money three hundred million
plus that you guys have raised sinceyou know, it's an incredible journey,
(02:27):
but unfortunately, with cancer, itjust seems like it doesn't go away.
And you, you know, thisneed to be up there, creating more
awareness, creating more money, creatingmore research, and ultimately finding cures.
I'm sure is a daily journey foryou. It is Mark, It's deeply
personal for me as it is ourteam, and it's hard to find a
household I think in this country,let alone around the world that hasn't been
(02:50):
impacted by cancer in one way,shape or form, whether it be family,
friends, colleagues. Still one andtwo men and one in three women
in their lifetime will be diagnosed withcancer and that's not okay. But thankfully
there are places like the V Foundationthat's doing something about that. And you're
right, thirty years ago, it'shard to believe Jimmy V's now iconic sp
(03:12):
speech nineteen ninety three, thirty yearsago. This coming March fourth will be
our thirtieth anniversary, and since sincethe launch of the V Foundation, we
raise three hundred and ten million dollarsfor cancer research, and we fundamentally believe
that it will be research, cancerresearch that brings solutions to arguably humanities.
(03:34):
Among our greatest challenges, that beingcancer. But there are more people surviving
today than ever before, and sowe're making great, great progress thanks to
Yeah. Yeah, that's what wasthe great names you talked about. It's
deeply personal to you. So whatdoes that mean? Yeah? Not,
Unlike likely many people listening to this. Cancer has impacted our family directly.
(03:57):
My wife was diagnosed with cancer inthe last year, melanoma. A little
spot just above her left knee lookedlike a birthmark to most of us wouldn't
have seemed like a big deal,but luckily taught it extremely early, and
I've now been at the V Foundationfor two years as CEO. Luckily we
have a network of researchers and doctorsin our universe at Duke University right up
(04:23):
the road from us here in Durham, that that we could turn to.
My mother's a breast cancer survivor.My wife's family has have lost several members
of her family to cancer. I'velost colleagues to cancer, and again,
sadly, we each can tell thesethese stories. But but when we think
about the V Foundation and the workof the V Foundation, what has become
(04:45):
crystal clear. And I think thishas been part of who we are in
our DNA from day one, andit starts with Jim and that is that
don't ever give up, don't giveup, don't ever give up spirit,
and that a lot of a lotof what we're in is in a framework
of mind, a mindset that cantackle the challenges that is cancer and a
chief victory, whether that means becomea cancer free or if even succumbing to
(05:09):
cancer itself, there's still victory andall of that. The journey, in
fact, in many ways is thevictory. Yeah, that's amazing. And
I want to go back on astep that you that you just spit out
a few minutes ago. It's kindof skipped over that, but it's really
important. You said, one inthree women get cancer at some point in
time in their lives. One andtwo men, that's correct, get cancer.
(05:32):
Which is this an insane like ifyou're walking down the street, you
know, chances are good chance eithera third or half that you're going to
have kind of some kind of issueat some point in time in your life.
That's right, that's right, Andthose statistics largely haven't changed over the
decades, even though what has changedis cancer survivorship. So in the in
(05:54):
the thirty years that the V Foundationhas been in existence, we've seen in
this country at thirty two percentage pointimprovement in survivorship. So that would mean
and equate to three and a halfmillion more people alive today because they have
beaten cancer. And that is duein large part to research, the oncologists,
(06:16):
the caregivers, the families and supportsystems that don't give up mentality that
we talk about all really yielding positiveoutcomes. But as it relates to the
statistics, as you repeated back thosethose still are very accurate and unfortunate certainly
in today's will. I think oneof the things that you guys have a
like a supercharger boost in terms ofawareness and wareness always comes with money coming
(06:41):
back to you, is that youhave a partner. I would assume with
ESPN, right, they've they've reallyplanted a stake in the ground that the
V Foundation is one of the thingsthat they want to not only support,
but promote. And the chorus ESPNis number one. I work for Sports
Illustrated. It said, we're numberthree. We understand like the men in
the two and the size and theaudience that ESPN has, which is which
(07:02):
is incredible. I want to askyou really quickly about I can only imagine
you've been there two years now.And another dynamic guy who's actually also I
believe been affected by cancers, DickVitel, and he's been a big advocate
for what you guys are doing anda voice out there. I'm sure you
(07:23):
know, Dick. What has thatrelationship been like for you? Yeah,
Dick, Dick is uh, he'ssecond to none. Would I would call
him the most prolific fundraiser I haveever worked with in my career. Dick
was on stage with Jim when Jimgave that spe speech. Dick helped introduce
coach Belvano and so Dick, forDick, this is deeply meaningful, very
(07:46):
personal commitment that he made to Jimthat he would do everything you possibly can
to help raise money for cancer research. Is Jim Vano gave that speech and
unfortunately succumbed to cancer two months laterand of nineteen ninety three, and so
Dick actually has refined his focus overthe years to pediatric cancer. He's had
a number of really moving experiences andunfortunate and sad experiences with kids battling cancer,
(08:11):
and so he has made it largelyhis life, his life's work,
to lean into the v Foundation toraise as much money as possible. He's
helped us secure now over sixty milliondollars for pediatric cancer research. That equals
a true one fourth more than afourth of our research portfolio on now an
annual basis. The federal government alsofunds a lot of cancer research as a
(08:35):
proportion of their cancer funding. Theyfund out of the cancer budget about four
cents on every dollar towards pediatric cancerresearch, and ours is more than twenty
five percent, and that's due inlarge part to Dick. And it's frankly
an area that needs more resources.A lot of the treatments that are applied
to kids nowadays who are fighting cancerare based on decades old drugs, decades
(08:58):
old treatment plans, and even somedrugs that are meant for adults just lower
doses and versions and so more work, more time, more attention needed in
this space, and Dick thankfully canbring a lot of attention to it.
And you mentioned ESPN marking your rightESPN. The v Foundation is in their
DNA one of the most impressive thingsI've experienced since i've I've been in the
(09:22):
seat is watching a company, afamily like ESPN really rally around the v
Foundation as part of its core uhin DNA and who they are, and
they really do a great job.We consider ourselves very privileged to be in
a relationship with ESPN to help tellour story. One of the things that's
(09:43):
really interesting to me is is,you know, it's hard enough to go
out in fundraise and you need tohave a personality that's got that energy to
really go out. I can't imaginelike the first guy again sadly back in
nineteen ninety three with Jim Valvano,and he was a magnetetic personality matched by
(10:03):
Dick Vitell, who's always been knowncalling it, calling these college games,
and he's got such energy on theon the basketball um court when he's announcing
these different these different games, that'sright. And I can only imagine like
when he gets in, like whenhe goes around and you guys are having
a fundraiser somewhere and Dick comes inand he gets at the mic, and
(10:24):
I don't know if he's a longwin a guy or not. Probably is,
but it just seems like, youknow, it's it's hard not to
get caught up in his enthusiasm orwhat you guys are trying to do.
Now. Dick is infectious and andyou know, for for all the viewers
and listeners out there, what yousee on TV is in fact Dick Vitel
off camera, I mean his hisheart, his soul, his energy,
(10:46):
his enthusiasm. He brings his wholeself, not just the calling games,
but he brings his whole self offoff camera, certainly to the work that
we do at the v Foundation.He's he loves his family to death.
The celebrates his family and the intersectionfrankly of that family with the v Foundation
and the work through his social mediaaccounts. Many of us follow him on
(11:07):
social media. But yeah, himas a as a fundraiser again, he
is as prolific as I have everseen. His enthusiasm I think is a
big driver to drive the compelling narrativethat he delivers, which is kids need
support. We every single day,every single day in this country, have
(11:28):
forty five families, forty five parents, forty five children. That hear those
dreaded words your child has cancer everyday and that's not okay. And I
think with that as a driver Dickas he's fundraising not just from stage one
nine a year or at a coupleof events, it's twenty four seven,
three sixty five, and we credithim with a lot of the success we've
(11:50):
seen over our first thirty years.So there's so many amazing, wonderful causes
that are out there in your oneof other you know, if the number
is just let's just contain this tothe us, Let's say there's two thousand
causes. I don't know, itdoesn't matter. But but when it comes
to yours, what is your pitchwhen you're out there? And I'm really
(12:13):
looking like, like, what isyour challenge When you go in and you're
talking to a corporation, you're talkingto PEPSI, your Microsoft, or somebody
else who's got a giving norm Andand now at the end of the day,
your main job is to raise aboatload of funds. I know you
probably have other people who work withyou, but you know, raising funds
again ties right back into awareness andresearch and research helps cure and cure helps
(12:37):
solve, right, So it's thatwhole trajectory and and so you know,
it's the challenge of when you gointo how do you separate yourself and not
that you're better than somebody else.I know that's not what it's about.
But why why does somebody decide togive money towards the V Foundation versus another
choice that they might have. Yeah, Mark, we believe we are are
(13:01):
the nation's preeminent cancer research funding charitythrough the lens of finding and fueling the
best research. Okay, there fightingcancer. This is one team. We
are all on one team. Thosecharities raising money for cancer research outside of
the V Foundation. It's great,we need more of it. I think
(13:22):
our distinctiveness is embedded in the how. We have a scientific Advisory Committee that
is comprised of twenty five leading cancercenter directors and researchers from twenty five different
cancer centers around the country. Andas we raise dollars, these experts source
(13:46):
research projects from seventy one cancer centersaround the country that are designated as National
Cancer Institute. I'll put air quotesdesignated cancer centers. Through a evaluation,
they have been identified as the bestof the best, the cream of the
crop and cancer research, and itis from those cancer centers that we request
(14:09):
one research project, the best ofthe best research project, and often they
come from young scientists who have newideas, cutting edge ways that they want
to advance the ball. We'll usea sports analogy there, advance the ball
in cancer research. And so it'sthat early stage investment with radical, new,
cutting edge move the needle ideas thateach institution submits to us, and
(14:35):
from those projects, our review teamspick not the cream of the crop,
but the cream of the cream ofthe cream of the crop. Right.
And so for donors, for businesspartners, for sponsors, we can do
two things. One, we placeone hundred cents on every dollar. We
have a one hundred percent giving pledgemarks, so our endowment covers overhead my
(14:58):
salary, keeping the lights on.Hundred cents of every dollar goes to cancer
research. Almost no charity in thecountry can say that. Second one hundred
cents on every dollar then flows tothe very best cancer research in this country
by experts who identify and choose whatwe fund. Which is not to say
there's not cancer. Wonderful cancer researchhappening in all corners of the country at
(15:18):
many many institutions. But we thinkour model increases the likelihood that we will
more quickly deliver heres and save livesand can confidently with our donors and business
partners with a straight face, suggeststhat every cent is going to the very
best research and we're going to sourceit for you and fuel that research.
Yeah, which you talked about tome at least is a point of difference.
(15:41):
Right. Again, you're not tryingto say you're better than somebody else,
but you seem to be the windowfor people to give of which then
you turn around and find the bestof the best, the best, the
best place to part that money toget the best results and the quickest results
towards some cure on one of thesecancers. And there's a whole list,
unfortunately, there's a whole list ofcancers that are out there. And I
(16:04):
may have this wrong, but Ibelieve that you your last job prior to
this, you were fundraising for acollege in Vermont somewhere, right, Yeah,
so previously was the CEO of theUniversity of Vermont Foundation. Yeah,
which is wonderful. So what andthis may be all tied into the same
answer that you just gave about thepoint of difference, But I was interested
(16:25):
in the leap, Like you know, everything's going along and You've had a
bunch of accomplishments at Vermont, andnow you get this opportunity to jump to
the V Foundation, right, Andthere's a lot of different choices you can
make. That you can stay whatwas comfortable and that you know you've had
a lot of wins, or youcan go into this new challenge. What
was the driving factor that wanted thatallowed you to move from point A to
(16:48):
point B, meaning Vermont to theV Foundation market was the chance to divertically
deep into the space of cancer research. University of Vermont is a very very
special place, have a lot offriends still their former colleagues. We had
a record setting campaign at the Universityof Vermont and in that campaign did a
(17:12):
lot of work to fund research atthe Academic Medical Center, and fundraising for
research and healthcare has been a partof my background for most of my career
in one way, shape or form, so it's always been important to me.
Managing a university foundation enterprise is areally extraordinary opportunity. I'm a first
(17:36):
generation college student myself, so supportingstudents is a really important thing to our
family, and I really appreciated thechance to touch all corners of campus,
including athletics, including academic health sciences, and when this opportunity presented itself again,
the chance to go really narrow anddeep in one area really gave me
(18:00):
a pass and a chance to askmyself, is that something that I think
I could do? And could Icould I add could I add value?
And uplift a team because it reallyit is a team effort to do what
we do, and getting to knowthe V Foundation during the process really for
me uplift to the fact that theV Foundation is a category of one given
(18:23):
some of the things we've already talkedabout, right Jim Valvano and the starting
point with ESPN and being a sportsguide myself have been well aware of the
V Foundation and it's connection to ESPNfor many years. So that chance to
die vertical and try to make adifference was a deciding factor. Shane.
So it's my assumption that you havebeen to the SPS a couple of times.
(18:45):
It's a car about with the VFoundation always included as part of that
ceremony. My assumption you've been therea few times, and what is that
ceremony? Like, I mean,again, we've talked about the V Foundation
already and We've talked about Jim Valvanov'sspeech, but I am so inspired by
all these other athletes, not justthe Peyton Mannings that get up there and
(19:07):
win an award or Tom Brady andbeing that great and as being in the
presence of all that greatness, butalso these other awards of maybe some athletes
that have overcome some tremendous amount ofphysical disabilities, that have that have done
some amazing accomplishments, accomplished months wherethey're now being awarded an sp But it
(19:33):
just seems like the whole night isso inspirational, trickles right down into ultimately
this whole v Foundation. Yeah,the Spies. I've I've really enjoyed the
experience. It is much like thetitle of I suppose of this podcast,
Finding Your Summit. It's the summitof excellence in sport in many respects,
and a celebration of those at thesummit, if not the climb to that
(19:55):
point. But it's also a diversityof stories and experiences because not every person
who celebrated per se won the SuperBowl or the MVP, And there are
those stories of perseverance, those storiesthat inspire because of the ways in which
people have overcome challenges that too manymight seem insurmountable, and so it is
(20:18):
a remarkably inspirational experience in person thatcertainly is of course watching at home.
And you're right, ESPN does havea portion of the SPS from a fundraising
standpoint that benefits the v Foundation.Kevin Martinez who's the vice president for a
Citizenship at ESPN, and he andhis team throughout the year helped the v
Foundation raise money through various programming opportunities, one of which is is the SPS.
(20:42):
They do an incredible, incredible joband so a number of the partners
Capital one is the presenting sponsor forexample, and the partners around that support
the v Foundation through through the SPSand the chance too. I think in
the way they uplift the excellence insport, it really connects to the fact
that we're uplifting the excellence in cancerresearch. So there is a nice marriage
(21:03):
too because of the fact that weare, like they celebrate the best of
the best in sports, we investin the best of the best in cancer
research. You know, it mighthave been two years ago and actually I
climbed a mountain down in Argentina calledat Concagua and I'm about twenty one thousand
feet. The mountain was twenty threethousand feet. Half of our team had
been knocked out. We started withtwelve, we were down to six people
(21:27):
and I'm up. This is onsummer day and I'm sitting on this rock,
refueling and having a bar and I'mlooking down the mountain. All of
a sudden, I see something comingtowards me, and it comes closer and
closer and closer, and it turnsout to be this guy named Kyle Minard,
and Kyle was a two time spwinner. He had no arms or
legs, was crawling up the mountain. If you can imagine this, a
(21:49):
guy crawled up the mountain and Iwas just again, half of our team,
fully able people did not make twoto the summit, and this guy
made it all the way up andback down the other side. And he
came on the podcast when we talked, and you know, obviously a very
inspirational guy because of what he's hadto overcome it. He doesn't see himself
as anything less than anybody else.It's just about effort and desire, commitment,
(22:12):
and he's done a lot of thosedifferent things and So just a side
story, did ask me he's onyou know a guy that I was able
to, you know, touch handswith. So as you go forward,
what are your expectations? I guessyou know, one day one hundred percent,
you know, cancer free in theworld. But but I don't know
if that will happen or not happen. But you know, you're is it
(22:33):
event planning? Is that all partof it? You know X amount of
events, money raised like that?When you put your goals of twenty twenty
three. We're in January. Youknow, it's a new year of new
opportunities that are out there. Whatare you trying to shoot for? Yeah,
well I could choose to boil itdown to the dollars, right.
We're trying to raise as much aswe possibly can for cancer research. Last
(22:55):
year, we generated fifty eight anda half million dollars of support for cancer
research. It was an all timehigh that shattered our previous record. That
tot total team effort. Really alot of teammates and volunteers that that stepped
up. We look to the yearahead, we want to replicate that and
we want to grow eventually becoming aone hundred million dollars per year cancer fighting
(23:15):
charity. But you know those arenumbers on paper, and we talk about
cancer statistics on paper. You know. I think what drives me, what
drives us, Mark, is isthat that vision that we have, which
is to achieve victory over cancer,and victory over cancer takes many shapes and
forms. I think if we imaginea future that is cancer free, that's
(23:37):
that's a ways off. But we'respeeding more quickly to that because of the
rapid advances in technology and diagnostics anddrugs, and the ways in which people
are Frankie trying to take care ofthemselves in a more healthy fashion. Preventative
measures included us. It's probably movingcancer to a place where there are cure.
(24:00):
There's not one cure uh. Andand to that end, our our
our mission is to fund all starscientists and game changing research that accelerates cures
and saves lives. And it's likelyto land in a place that's that's navigating
cancer um I would suggest as asa chronic disease. Uh. And it's
(24:21):
probably not all cancer to all.At the same time of writing, at
that place, some cancers we aremuch better at at identifying, diagnosing,
treating curing uh and others such aspancreatic cancer. UH. It's it's still
a long ways off, but butwe're here every day. The FEW Foundation
is here every day, and ourour vision is to play a central more
(24:42):
role to as efficiently as possible,be the conduit to move those who care
about cancer and are willing to investin cancer research to the very best researchers
and ideas that are out there inthis in this country. You know,
I think one of the things goingout to the SPS really quickly. You
know, they do such a nominaljob of storytelling right and and now jumping
(25:06):
directly into your world with all thethings that you're trying to accomplish, I
can only imagine some of the happystories. You know, maybe it's coming
from Dick vital you directly yourself,where you know there's there's been a correlation
of funds that you were able toto to sen there was some research that
was done and whether it's a kidor a guy or a girl, at
(25:26):
whatever age they are, they're ableto overcome that issue that they were having
and tell and live to tell thatstory. And you know that's uplifting for
anybody. It really is and uh, you know Dick. You mentioned Dick.
Dick has the All Courageous Kids teamthat he celebrates every year at his
(25:48):
annual Dick Vital Gala. I mentionedDick raising money three hundred and sixty five
days a year. It points totallytowards an event that we do in May
in Sarasota, Florida, and atthat he has kids who have been part
of the All Courageous Team that havehave beaten cancer and are living their lives
fully, kids who are still battlingcancer and an a very active cancer diagnosis.
(26:11):
Unfortunately, children who are diagnosed withcancer even if they beat it,
and the chances of them beating itnow are are significantly better than it was
twenty and thirty years ago by afactor of about twenty five point percentage points.
But yet there's still an increased likelihoodthat they have secondary challenges including cancer
again later later in life. Butthese stories all end up coming together in
(26:34):
a really powerful way, and Dickis just one of the ways that we
celebrate those those children, those thosestories. We have a number of people
who've been part of clinical trials thathave been impacted by v Foundation research and
they had access to those experiences,and I'll say, as much as the
(26:55):
stories have been powerful as shared bythe cancer patients themselves, elves nearly as
impactful as also the caregivers themselves,the family or if not the friends or
colleagues that are in that ride withthe cancer patient themselves. And I guess
it reinforces that the journey itself isabout the team and the team effort that
(27:21):
often goes into the cancer journey.We believe it is one team, one
team for victory over cancer. What'soutstanding, so work and people, if
they're so compelled to do so,uh send money to the V Foundation.
So the easiest way is through ouronline website, which is V dot Org's
(27:44):
probably the simplest website a person couldever imagine. So www dot v dot
org you'll find more stories of inspiration. You'll learn more about the research that
we're doing. Of course, there'sa there's an option to click online and
give if you can give an unrestrictedgift to our research portfolio. If you
we're so compelled to want to supportpediatrics. We mentioned Dick a few times,
(28:07):
you can support the pediatrics fund thatwe have. You can also get
involved with the V Foundation. Markso we have a very active what we
call do it Yourself program. There'sa lot of people out there that would
like to try to raise some moneyand help with cancer research. So we
have a platform that would allow youto turn on a website web page for
yourself. It could be you wantto run a marathon. It could be
(28:29):
you're wanting to write in a bikerace. It could be you want to
want to climb on a mountain.It could be you want to throw a
birthday party or celebrate somebody through anhonorific or memorial gift opportunity. We've got
a place where you can do that, and all of those dollars will flow
right into our research portfolio, intothe very best research we can find.
I can see myself checking all thoseboxes that you just named right there to
(28:52):
create something great. I'll put I'llput golf in there too. I like
the golf, so I'll throw ita little golf too. You can do
golf outing for cancer. I'm agolf I'm a golfer too, So it's
all good, it's all good,good, good. Well, listen,
Shane. I appreciate you coming onthe show. VD Foundation is such an
important cause, you know, asyou said before, it affects everybody,
either yourself or somebody who you know, and if it hasn't happened, it's
(29:15):
going to happen. And so foryou to come on, explain what you
guys are up to, the tiein with these different people, Dick Vitel
originally from Jim Valvano, and ofcourse this support from ESPN, it's just
incredible. So I really appreciate youcoming on the show. Thanks Mark,
I really appreciate the opportunity. Allright, everybody there is the one,
the only, Shane Jacobson. Thankyou so much. Thank you
Hey everybody, it's Mark Pattison.I'm back again with another great episode of
Finding Your Summit, all about peopleovercome an adversity and finding their way.
Before we get to today's rockstar guests, that I want to draw quick attention
to my website www dot Mark PattisonNFL dot com. There you can find
many different things, one of whichour podcasts, a lot of inspirational people
(00:33):
doing amazing things. Will get moreinto that today in a few minutes here
about love. If you went inand gave the show a ratings and review
on Apple, it helps elevate thepopularity. Not that I need to be
popular, but the show needs tobe out there inspiring everybody. I need
to be inspired as well. Also, there is a link to the Searching
(00:56):
for the Summit, the amazing filmthat won Emmy for Best Picture that the
NFL shot on my journey up andback down Mount Everest. And finally,
we continue to raise money for amillions Everest. My daughter is epilepsy,
So if you want to go anddonate to Higher Ground through a millions Everest,
please go do that. Okay,Now on to today's wonderful guest.
(01:17):
His name is Shane Jacobson. Heis the CEO of the V Foundation.
Shane, how you doing great?Mark? Thank you. It's an honor
V with you and the Finding yourSummit audience here today. Thank you.
Yeah, No, it's great,it's it's it's really wonderful. You know,
like a lot of people, theV Foundation, I'm sure has had
an evolution and it's grown from itsinception way back in nine ninety three.
(01:44):
And you know, I was reallycaptivated. I saw you on the podcast
somewhere else and it's such an importantclause trying to fight cancer, not just
one cancer, but a lot ofdifferent cancers. And you've got this tagline
that says, to find game changingresearch to concert a conqueror cancer and save
lives. And that's why you're outconstantly trying to fund raise. What has
(02:05):
this journey been like for you?You know, I'm sure you weren't there
in nineteen ninety three. This iswhere Jim Valvano. A lot of people
have seen that speech now where hegets up and he can never quit,
never quit, all that stuff andvery emotional. The night at the SPS
where they really launched this whole thing. An amount of money three hundred million
plus that you guys have raised sinceyou know, it's an incredible journey,
(02:27):
but unfortunately, with cancer, itjust seems like it doesn't go away.
And you, you know, thisneed to be up there, creating more
awareness, creating more money, creatingmore research, and ultimately finding cures.
I'm sure is a daily journey foryou. It is Mark, It's deeply
personal for me as it is ourteam, and it's hard to find a
household I think in this country,let alone around the world that hasn't been
(02:50):
impacted by cancer in one way,shape or form, whether it be family,
friends, colleagues. Still one andtwo men and one in three women
in their lifetime will be diagnosed withcancer and that's not okay. But thankfully
there are places like the V Foundationthat's doing something about that. And you're
right, thirty years ago, it'shard to believe Jimmy V's now iconic sp
(03:12):
speech nineteen ninety three, thirty yearsago. This coming March fourth will be
our thirtieth anniversary, and since sincethe launch of the V Foundation, we
raise three hundred and ten million dollarsfor cancer research, and we fundamentally believe
that it will be research, cancerresearch that brings solutions to arguably humanities.
(03:34):
Among our greatest challenges, that beingcancer. But there are more people surviving
today than ever before, and sowe're making great, great progress thanks to
Yeah. Yeah, that's what wasthe great names you talked about. It's
deeply personal to you. So whatdoes that mean? Yeah? Not,
Unlike likely many people listening to this. Cancer has impacted our family directly.
(03:57):
My wife was diagnosed with cancer inthe last year, melanoma. A little
spot just above her left knee lookedlike a birthmark to most of us wouldn't
have seemed like a big deal,but luckily taught it extremely early, and
I've now been at the V Foundationfor two years as CEO. Luckily we
have a network of researchers and doctorsin our universe at Duke University right up
(04:23):
the road from us here in Durham, that that we could turn to.
My mother's a breast cancer survivor.My wife's family has have lost several members
of her family to cancer. I'velost colleagues to cancer, and again,
sadly, we each can tell thesethese stories. But but when we think
about the V Foundation and the workof the V Foundation, what has become
(04:45):
crystal clear. And I think thishas been part of who we are in
our DNA from day one, andit starts with Jim and that is that
don't ever give up, don't giveup, don't ever give up spirit,
and that a lot of a lotof what we're in is in a framework
of mind, a mindset that cantackle the challenges that is cancer and a
chief victory, whether that means becomea cancer free or if even succumbing to
(05:09):
cancer itself, there's still victory andall of that. The journey, in
fact, in many ways is thevictory. Yeah, that's amazing. And
I want to go back on astep that you that you just spit out
a few minutes ago. It's kindof skipped over that, but it's really
important. You said, one inthree women get cancer at some point in
time in their lives. One andtwo men, that's correct, get cancer.
(05:32):
Which is this an insane like ifyou're walking down the street, you
know, chances are good chance eithera third or half that you're going to
have kind of some kind of issueat some point in time in your life.
That's right, that's right, Andthose statistics largely haven't changed over the
decades, even though what has changedis cancer survivorship. So in the in
(05:54):
the thirty years that the V Foundationhas been in existence, we've seen in
this country at thirty two percentage pointimprovement in survivorship. So that would mean
and equate to three and a halfmillion more people alive today because they have
beaten cancer. And that is duein large part to research, the oncologists,
(06:16):
the caregivers, the families and supportsystems that don't give up mentality that
we talk about all really yielding positiveoutcomes. But as it relates to the
statistics, as you repeated back thosethose still are very accurate and unfortunate certainly
in today's will. I think oneof the things that you guys have a
like a supercharger boost in terms ofawareness and wareness always comes with money coming
(06:41):
back to you, is that youhave a partner. I would assume with
ESPN, right, they've they've reallyplanted a stake in the ground that the
V Foundation is one of the thingsthat they want to not only support,
but promote. And the chorus ESPNis number one. I work for Sports
Illustrated. It said, we're numberthree. We understand like the men in
the two and the size and theaudience that ESPN has, which is which
(07:02):
is incredible. I want to askyou really quickly about I can only imagine
you've been there two years now.And another dynamic guy who's actually also I
believe been affected by cancers, DickVitel, and he's been a big advocate
for what you guys are doing anda voice out there. I'm sure you
(07:23):
know, Dick. What has thatrelationship been like for you? Yeah,
Dick, Dick is uh, he'ssecond to none. Would I would call
him the most prolific fundraiser I haveever worked with in my career. Dick
was on stage with Jim when Jimgave that spe speech. Dick helped introduce
coach Belvano and so Dick, forDick, this is deeply meaningful, very
(07:46):
personal commitment that he made to Jimthat he would do everything you possibly can
to help raise money for cancer research. Is Jim Vano gave that speech and
unfortunately succumbed to cancer two months laterand of nineteen ninety three, and so
Dick actually has refined his focus overthe years to pediatric cancer. He's had
a number of really moving experiences andunfortunate and sad experiences with kids battling cancer,
(08:11):
and so he has made it largelyhis life, his life's work,
to lean into the v Foundation toraise as much money as possible. He's
helped us secure now over sixty milliondollars for pediatric cancer research. That equals
a true one fourth more than afourth of our research portfolio on now an
annual basis. The federal government alsofunds a lot of cancer research as a
(08:35):
proportion of their cancer funding. Theyfund out of the cancer budget about four
cents on every dollar towards pediatric cancerresearch, and ours is more than twenty
five percent, and that's due inlarge part to Dick. And it's frankly
an area that needs more resources.A lot of the treatments that are applied
to kids nowadays who are fighting cancerare based on decades old drugs, decades
(08:58):
old treatment plans, and even somedrugs that are meant for adults just lower
doses and versions and so more work, more time, more attention needed in
this space, and Dick thankfully canbring a lot of attention to it.
And you mentioned ESPN marking your rightESPN. The v Foundation is in their
DNA one of the most impressive thingsI've experienced since i've I've been in the
(09:22):
seat is watching a company, afamily like ESPN really rally around the v
Foundation as part of its core uhin DNA and who they are, and
they really do a great job.We consider ourselves very privileged to be in
a relationship with ESPN to help tellour story. One of the things that's
(09:43):
really interesting to me is is,you know, it's hard enough to go
out in fundraise and you need tohave a personality that's got that energy to
really go out. I can't imaginelike the first guy again sadly back in
nineteen ninety three with Jim Valvano,and he was a magnetetic personality matched by
(10:03):
Dick Vitell, who's always been knowncalling it, calling these college games,
and he's got such energy on theon the basketball um court when he's announcing
these different these different games, that'sright. And I can only imagine like
when he gets in, like whenhe goes around and you guys are having
a fundraiser somewhere and Dick comes inand he gets at the mic, and
(10:24):
I don't know if he's a longwin a guy or not. Probably is,
but it just seems like, youknow, it's it's hard not to
get caught up in his enthusiasm orwhat you guys are trying to do.
Now. Dick is infectious and andyou know, for for all the viewers
and listeners out there, what yousee on TV is in fact Dick Vitel
off camera, I mean his hisheart, his soul, his energy,
(10:46):
his enthusiasm. He brings his wholeself, not just the calling games,
but he brings his whole self offoff camera, certainly to the work that
we do at the v Foundation.He's he loves his family to death.
The celebrates his family and the intersectionfrankly of that family with the v Foundation
and the work through his social mediaaccounts. Many of us follow him on
(11:07):
social media. But yeah, himas a as a fundraiser again, he
is as prolific as I have everseen. His enthusiasm I think is a
big driver to drive the compelling narrativethat he delivers, which is kids need
support. We every single day,every single day in this country, have
(11:28):
forty five families, forty five parents, forty five children. That hear those
dreaded words your child has cancer everyday and that's not okay. And I
think with that as a driver Dickas he's fundraising not just from stage one
nine a year or at a coupleof events, it's twenty four seven,
three sixty five, and we credithim with a lot of the success we've
(11:50):
seen over our first thirty years.So there's so many amazing, wonderful causes
that are out there in your oneof other you know, if the number
is just let's just contain this tothe us, Let's say there's two thousand
causes. I don't know, itdoesn't matter. But but when it comes
to yours, what is your pitchwhen you're out there? And I'm really
(12:13):
looking like, like, what isyour challenge When you go in and you're
talking to a corporation, you're talkingto PEPSI, your Microsoft, or somebody
else who's got a giving norm Andand now at the end of the day,
your main job is to raise aboatload of funds. I know you
probably have other people who work withyou, but you know, raising funds
again ties right back into awareness andresearch and research helps cure and cure helps
(12:37):
solve, right, So it's thatwhole trajectory and and so you know,
it's the challenge of when you gointo how do you separate yourself and not
that you're better than somebody else.I know that's not what it's about.
But why why does somebody decide togive money towards the V Foundation versus another
choice that they might have. Yeah, Mark, we believe we are are
(13:01):
the nation's preeminent cancer research funding charitythrough the lens of finding and fueling the
best research. Okay, there fightingcancer. This is one team. We
are all on one team. Thosecharities raising money for cancer research outside of
the V Foundation. It's great,we need more of it. I think
(13:22):
our distinctiveness is embedded in the how. We have a scientific Advisory Committee that
is comprised of twenty five leading cancercenter directors and researchers from twenty five different
cancer centers around the country. Andas we raise dollars, these experts source
(13:46):
research projects from seventy one cancer centersaround the country that are designated as National
Cancer Institute. I'll put air quotesdesignated cancer centers. Through a evaluation,
they have been identified as the bestof the best, the cream of the
crop and cancer research, and itis from those cancer centers that we request
(14:09):
one research project, the best ofthe best research project, and often they
come from young scientists who have newideas, cutting edge ways that they want
to advance the ball. We'll usea sports analogy there, advance the ball
in cancer research. And so it'sthat early stage investment with radical, new,
cutting edge move the needle ideas thateach institution submits to us, and
(14:35):
from those projects, our review teamspick not the cream of the crop,
but the cream of the cream ofthe cream of the crop. Right.
And so for donors, for businesspartners, for sponsors, we can do
two things. One, we placeone hundred cents on every dollar. We
have a one hundred percent giving pledgemarks, so our endowment covers overhead my
(14:58):
salary, keeping the lights on.Hundred cents of every dollar goes to cancer
research. Almost no charity in thecountry can say that. Second one hundred
cents on every dollar then flows tothe very best cancer research in this country
by experts who identify and choose whatwe fund. Which is not to say
there's not cancer. Wonderful cancer researchhappening in all corners of the country at
(15:18):
many many institutions. But we thinkour model increases the likelihood that we will
more quickly deliver heres and save livesand can confidently with our donors and business
partners with a straight face, suggeststhat every cent is going to the very
best research and we're going to sourceit for you and fuel that research.
Yeah, which you talked about tome at least is a point of difference.
(15:41):
Right. Again, you're not tryingto say you're better than somebody else,
but you seem to be the windowfor people to give of which then
you turn around and find the bestof the best, the best, the
best place to part that money toget the best results and the quickest results
towards some cure on one of thesecancers. And there's a whole list,
unfortunately, there's a whole list ofcancers that are out there. And I
(16:04):
may have this wrong, but Ibelieve that you your last job prior to
this, you were fundraising for acollege in Vermont somewhere, right, Yeah,
so previously was the CEO of theUniversity of Vermont Foundation. Yeah,
which is wonderful. So what andthis may be all tied into the same
answer that you just gave about thepoint of difference, But I was interested
(16:25):
in the leap, Like you know, everything's going along and You've had a
bunch of accomplishments at Vermont, andnow you get this opportunity to jump to
the V Foundation, right, Andthere's a lot of different choices you can
make. That you can stay whatwas comfortable and that you know you've had
a lot of wins, or youcan go into this new challenge. What
was the driving factor that wanted thatallowed you to move from point A to
(16:48):
point B, meaning Vermont to theV Foundation market was the chance to divertically
deep into the space of cancer research. University of Vermont is a very very
special place, have a lot offriends still their former colleagues. We had
a record setting campaign at the Universityof Vermont and in that campaign did a
(17:12):
lot of work to fund research atthe Academic Medical Center, and fundraising for
research and healthcare has been a partof my background for most of my career
in one way, shape or form, so it's always been important to me.
Managing a university foundation enterprise is areally extraordinary opportunity. I'm a first
(17:36):
generation college student myself, so supportingstudents is a really important thing to our
family, and I really appreciated thechance to touch all corners of campus,
including athletics, including academic health sciences, and when this opportunity presented itself again,
the chance to go really narrow anddeep in one area really gave me
(18:00):
a pass and a chance to askmyself, is that something that I think
I could do? And could Icould I add could I add value?
And uplift a team because it reallyit is a team effort to do what
we do, and getting to knowthe V Foundation during the process really for
me uplift to the fact that theV Foundation is a category of one given
(18:23):
some of the things we've already talkedabout, right Jim Valvano and the starting
point with ESPN and being a sportsguide myself have been well aware of the
V Foundation and it's connection to ESPNfor many years. So that chance to
die vertical and try to make adifference was a deciding factor. Shane.
So it's my assumption that you havebeen to the SPS a couple of times.
(18:45):
It's a car about with the VFoundation always included as part of that
ceremony. My assumption you've been therea few times, and what is that
ceremony? Like, I mean,again, we've talked about the V Foundation
already and We've talked about Jim Valvanov'sspeech, but I am so inspired by
all these other athletes, not justthe Peyton Mannings that get up there and
(19:07):
win an award or Tom Brady andbeing that great and as being in the
presence of all that greatness, butalso these other awards of maybe some athletes
that have overcome some tremendous amount ofphysical disabilities, that have that have done
some amazing accomplishments, accomplished months wherethey're now being awarded an sp But it
(19:33):
just seems like the whole night isso inspirational, trickles right down into ultimately
this whole v Foundation. Yeah,the Spies. I've I've really enjoyed the
experience. It is much like thetitle of I suppose of this podcast,
Finding Your Summit. It's the summitof excellence in sport in many respects,
and a celebration of those at thesummit, if not the climb to that
(19:55):
point. But it's also a diversityof stories and experiences because not every person
who celebrated per se won the SuperBowl or the MVP, And there are
those stories of perseverance, those storiesthat inspire because of the ways in which
people have overcome challenges that too manymight seem insurmountable, and so it is
(20:18):
a remarkably inspirational experience in person thatcertainly is of course watching at home.
And you're right, ESPN does havea portion of the SPS from a fundraising
standpoint that benefits the v Foundation.Kevin Martinez who's the vice president for a
Citizenship at ESPN, and he andhis team throughout the year helped the v
Foundation raise money through various programming opportunities, one of which is is the SPS.
(20:42):
They do an incredible, incredible joband so a number of the partners
Capital one is the presenting sponsor forexample, and the partners around that support
the v Foundation through through the SPSand the chance too. I think in
the way they uplift the excellence insport, it really connects to the fact
that we're uplifting the excellence in cancerresearch. So there is a nice marriage
(21:03):
too because of the fact that weare, like they celebrate the best of
the best in sports, we investin the best of the best in cancer
research. You know, it mighthave been two years ago and actually I
climbed a mountain down in Argentina calledat Concagua and I'm about twenty one thousand
feet. The mountain was twenty threethousand feet. Half of our team had
been knocked out. We started withtwelve, we were down to six people
(21:27):
and I'm up. This is onsummer day and I'm sitting on this rock,
refueling and having a bar and I'mlooking down the mountain. All of
a sudden, I see something comingtowards me, and it comes closer and
closer and closer, and it turnsout to be this guy named Kyle Minard,
and Kyle was a two time spwinner. He had no arms or
legs, was crawling up the mountain. If you can imagine this, a
(21:49):
guy crawled up the mountain and Iwas just again, half of our team,
fully able people did not make twoto the summit, and this guy
made it all the way up andback down the other side. And he
came on the podcast when we talked, and you know, obviously a very
inspirational guy because of what he's hadto overcome it. He doesn't see himself
as anything less than anybody else.It's just about effort and desire, commitment,
(22:12):
and he's done a lot of thosedifferent things and So just a side
story, did ask me he's onyou know a guy that I was able
to, you know, touch handswith. So as you go forward,
what are your expectations? I guessyou know, one day one hundred percent,
you know, cancer free in theworld. But but I don't know
if that will happen or not happen. But you know, you're is it
(22:33):
event planning? Is that all partof it? You know X amount of
events, money raised like that?When you put your goals of twenty twenty
three. We're in January. Youknow, it's a new year of new
opportunities that are out there. Whatare you trying to shoot for? Yeah,
well I could choose to boil itdown to the dollars, right.
We're trying to raise as much aswe possibly can for cancer research. Last
(22:55):
year, we generated fifty eight anda half million dollars of support for cancer
research. It was an all timehigh that shattered our previous record. That
tot total team effort. Really alot of teammates and volunteers that that stepped
up. We look to the yearahead, we want to replicate that and
we want to grow eventually becoming aone hundred million dollars per year cancer fighting
(23:15):
charity. But you know those arenumbers on paper, and we talk about
cancer statistics on paper. You know. I think what drives me, what
drives us, Mark, is isthat that vision that we have, which
is to achieve victory over cancer,and victory over cancer takes many shapes and
forms. I think if we imaginea future that is cancer free, that's
(23:37):
that's a ways off. But we'respeeding more quickly to that because of the
rapid advances in technology and diagnostics anddrugs, and the ways in which people
are Frankie trying to take care ofthemselves in a more healthy fashion. Preventative
measures included us. It's probably movingcancer to a place where there are cure.
(24:00):
There's not one cure uh. Andand to that end, our our
our mission is to fund all starscientists and game changing research that accelerates cures
and saves lives. And it's likelyto land in a place that's that's navigating
cancer um I would suggest as asa chronic disease. Uh. And it's
(24:21):
probably not all cancer to all.At the same time of writing, at
that place, some cancers we aremuch better at at identifying, diagnosing,
treating curing uh and others such aspancreatic cancer. UH. It's it's still
a long ways off, but butwe're here every day. The FEW Foundation
is here every day, and ourour vision is to play a central more
(24:42):
role to as efficiently as possible,be the conduit to move those who care
about cancer and are willing to investin cancer research to the very best researchers
and ideas that are out there inthis in this country. You know,
I think one of the things goingout to the SPS really quickly. You
know, they do such a nominaljob of storytelling right and and now jumping
(25:06):
directly into your world with all thethings that you're trying to accomplish, I
can only imagine some of the happystories. You know, maybe it's coming
from Dick vital you directly yourself,where you know there's there's been a correlation
of funds that you were able toto to sen there was some research that
was done and whether it's a kidor a guy or a girl, at
(25:26):
whatever age they are, they're ableto overcome that issue that they were having
and tell and live to tell thatstory. And you know that's uplifting for
anybody. It really is and uh, you know Dick. You mentioned Dick.
Dick has the All Courageous Kids teamthat he celebrates every year at his
(25:48):
annual Dick Vital Gala. I mentionedDick raising money three hundred and sixty five
days a year. It points totallytowards an event that we do in May
in Sarasota, Florida, and atthat he has kids who have been part
of the All Courageous Team that havehave beaten cancer and are living their lives
fully, kids who are still battlingcancer and an a very active cancer diagnosis.
(26:11):
Unfortunately, children who are diagnosed withcancer even if they beat it,
and the chances of them beating itnow are are significantly better than it was
twenty and thirty years ago by afactor of about twenty five point percentage points.
But yet there's still an increased likelihoodthat they have secondary challenges including cancer
again later later in life. Butthese stories all end up coming together in
(26:34):
a really powerful way, and Dickis just one of the ways that we
celebrate those those children, those thosestories. We have a number of people
who've been part of clinical trials thathave been impacted by v Foundation research and
they had access to those experiences,and I'll say, as much as the
(26:55):
stories have been powerful as shared bythe cancer patients themselves, elves nearly as
impactful as also the caregivers themselves,the family or if not the friends or
colleagues that are in that ride withthe cancer patient themselves. And I guess
it reinforces that the journey itself isabout the team and the team effort that
(27:21):
often goes into the cancer journey.We believe it is one team, one
team for victory over cancer. What'soutstanding, so work and people, if
they're so compelled to do so,uh send money to the V Foundation.
So the easiest way is through ouronline website, which is V dot Org's
(27:44):
probably the simplest website a person couldever imagine. So www dot v dot
org you'll find more stories of inspiration. You'll learn more about the research that
we're doing. Of course, there'sa there's an option to click online and
give if you can give an unrestrictedgift to our research portfolio. If you
we're so compelled to want to supportpediatrics. We mentioned Dick a few times,
(28:07):
you can support the pediatrics fund thatwe have. You can also get
involved with the V Foundation. Markso we have a very active what we
call do it Yourself program. There'sa lot of people out there that would
like to try to raise some moneyand help with cancer research. So we
have a platform that would allow youto turn on a website web page for
yourself. It could be you wantto run a marathon. It could be
(28:29):
you're wanting to write in a bikerace. It could be you want to
want to climb on a mountain.It could be you want to throw a
birthday party or celebrate somebody through anhonorific or memorial gift opportunity. We've got
a place where you can do that, and all of those dollars will flow
right into our research portfolio, intothe very best research we can find.
I can see myself checking all thoseboxes that you just named right there to
(28:52):
create something great. I'll put I'llput golf in there too. I like
the golf, so I'll throw ita little golf too. You can do
golf outing for cancer. I'm agolf I'm a golfer too, So it's
all good, it's all good,good, good. Well, listen,
Shane. I appreciate you coming onthe show. VD Foundation is such an
important cause, you know, asyou said before, it affects everybody,
either yourself or somebody who you know, and if it hasn't happened, it's
(29:15):
going to happen. And so foryou to come on, explain what you
guys are up to, the tiein with these different people, Dick Vitel
originally from Jim Valvano, and ofcourse this support from ESPN, it's just
incredible. So I really appreciate youcoming on the show. Thanks Mark,
I really appreciate the opportunity. Allright, everybody there is the one,
the only, Shane Jacobson. Thankyou so much. Thank you
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!