How To Get Involved: Fundraising and Volunteer Opportunities for Breast Cancer Research
Key Takeaways
Anyone can raise money for breast cancer research, and the simplest place to start is a small event built around something you already do, like a game night, a bake sale, or a fitness class.
Twisted Pink helps you host a fundraiser and provides talking points, donation receipts, and planning support at no cost.
Volunteer opportunities for breast cancer organizations can take as little as two hours, and can include tasks like packing care packages, staffing events, or serving on a committee.
Metastatic breast cancer, the stage that causes nearly all breast cancer deaths, has historically received a small share of research dollars, which makes targeted giving especially valuable.
Peer-to-peer campaigns, employer matching gifts, and social media challenges stretch a single donation much further than a one-time check.
Why Breast Cancer Research Still Needs Volunteers and Donors
Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. The American Cancer Society estimates about 321,910 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 42,140 deaths in the United States in 2026.
Almost all of those deaths come from metastatic breast cancer, also called stage 4, which spreads to the bones, liver, lungs, or brain. For years, funding did not match that reality. The Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance reported that just 13% of breast cancer research funding from 2014 to 2020 went to stage 4 research.
That gap is why Twisted Pink exists. Founded in 2014 by breast cancer survivor Caroline Johnson and based in Louisville, Kentucky, the nonprofit funds metastatic breast cancer (MBC) research exclusively, backing work at institutions that include Johns Hopkins University and the Brown Cancer Center.
Here’s how you can do your part by fundraising for breast cancer research and volunteering.
Breast Cancer Fundraising Ideas That Work
You don’t need a ballroom or a corporate sponsor to host a fundraiser. Most successful campaigns start with a host who is willing to tell people why they care.
Virtual fundraising ideas:
Launch a peer-to-peer fundraising page on Facebook, then donate to it yourself before sharing. Seeing the first gift already in place encourages others to follow.
Host a peer-to-peer or Team fundraiser during Twisted Pink’s 1in 8 Unite Campaign, starting now through October 15, 2026.
Run an online auction or raffle. Email info@twistedpink.org and the team will help you set it up and issue tax receipts.
Create a social media challenge with a trackable donation link.
In-person fundraising ideas:
Host a trivia night, potluck, or movie night with a donation ask built in.
Organize a bake sale, car wash, benefit concert, or art sale.
Sign up for a walk, run, or bike-a-thon, or ask a yoga studio to donate one class fee.
Join Twisted Pink at the upcoming Indy Women’s Running Festival on October 17, 2026.
Fundraising at work:
Pitch a workplace challenge tied to safety, wellness, or sales goals, with the company matching what employees raise. Then check whether your employer offers matching gifts. Twisted Pink's Double Your Donation page walks you through it.
Ready to plan yours? Start here to host a fundraiser for Twisted Pink.
Volunteer Opportunities for Breast Cancer Support
Fundraising is not the only way to help breast cancer patients. Volunteers keep nearly every part of the cause running, and the roles vary more than most people expect.
Some jobs are hands-on and physical: assembling care packages, staffing water stations at a 5K, or driving patients to chemotherapy appointments. Others are quiet and administrative, like data entry, thank-you notes, and grant research. A growing number are remote, including social media support and peer mentoring by phone or video.
Then there is research advocacy. Patients and caregivers sit on scientific review panels and institutional boards, helping decide which studies get funded and whether a trial design will work for real people. Advocacy is one of the most direct ways a nonscientist shapes breast cancer research.
Before committing anywhere, ask how many hours per month the role takes, whether training is provided, and whether volunteering requires being physically near patients. Those three answers sort most opportunities quickly.
Twisted Pink offers three main volunteer paths:
Boxes of Hope: Volunteers assemble care packages of hygiene products, comfort items, and educational resources, sent free to people in active treatment. Many of the volunteers packing them are survivors themselves.
Events: Races, galas, and community events need people to greet guests, run registration, and manage logistics throughout the year.
Committees: If you have skills in marketing, finance, event planning, or health care, a committee seat puts that experience to work directly. We are hosting a breakfast on Saturday, August 22, 2026 in Louisville, KY where you can get to know our organization and the many ways to volunteer. If interested in attending, email us at info@twistedpink.org.
Submit a volunteer form today!
Use What You Have
Time and money are not the only currencies. Talk about breast health screening with the women in your life. Share a survivor story. Point a newly diagnosed friend toward clinical trial resources, since trial enrollment drives the research that produces new treatments.
Metastatic patients often describe living treatment to treatment, waiting for the next drug to be developed. Every fundraiser hosted and every box packed helps shorten that wait.
Host a fundraiser or start volunteering today. Either option makes a direct difference.
Twisted Pink provides hope and connection to people living with metastatic breast cancer by funding bold breakthroughs in research and awareness of the disease. We regularly fund key research projects, run patient programs to support those affected by breast cancer, and provide critical resources and information for metastatic breast cancer patients. Donate today to make a direct impact and help us change the course of people’s lives.
