Running Head: SWOT ANALYSIS 1

American Cancer Society SWOT Analysis

Strategic Synergists

OGL355: Leading Organizational Innovation and Change

Dr. B

November 6, 2019

Arizona State University

SWOT ANALYSIS 2

American Cancer Society SWOT Analysis

This paper acts as an analysis of the American Cancer Society by examining its

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). A SWOT analysis is a

simple way to identify any strengths or weaknesses this organization may face, enhance

any opportunities, and mitigate any threats. The American Cancer Society is in a unique

position as a nonprofit, giving it a few non-typical characteristics, such as a reliance on

donations and volunteers, compared to a for-profit business, which may rely on paying

customers to be successful.

SWOT Analysis

The following is a SWOT analysis for the American Cancer Society. Each

quadrant highlights a breakdown of categories where this nonprofit may have internal

strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. Each of these

identified areas could be used to change or enhance this nonprofit organization in a

variety of ways. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that can be addressed

directly by the organization. Whereas, opportunities and threats are external uncontrolled

factors that may impact the organization.

Strengths Weaknesses

● Millions of volunteers ● Reliance on donations

● Brand recognition
● Strong fundraising capabilities
● Many years of experience
● One of the largest cancer charities
in the US
● Reliance on volunteers
● Executive salaries
● Brand Ambassadors not widely
known

Opportunities Threats
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● Expansion ● Other cancer organizations

● Increases in donations ● Other nonprofit organizations
● Marketing ● Increase in cancer deaths
● Younger volunteer pool ● Failed fundraising events
● Negative press

Strengths

In the area of strengths the American Cancer Society is in a good position. As far

as brand recognition goes, the American Cancer Society is well known. With a presence

in over 5,000 communities and six geographic regions (“Who we are”, n.d.). The

American Cancer Society focuses on being apart of the community and encouraging

more people to volunteer and donate. The organization’s strong brand recognition is also

due in part to the age of the organization which has been around in some form for over

100 years (“Who we are”, n.d.), giving them a lot of experience in this field. With

millions of volunteers who can receive training through their volunteer learning centers

(“Who we are”, n.d.). This combination of factors makes for a strong volunteer base

across the US.

The large volunteer force helps drive fundraising efforts year round. The

American Cancer Society has developed multiple ways of fundraising, and many of their

events are well known. Some of these events include: Making Strides Against Breast

Cancer walks, Relay for Life, College Relay for Life, Coaches vs. Cancer and various

Galas, Balls and Parties (“Partners”, n.d.). These various fundraising events resulted in

over $60 million being raised in 2017 alone and has led to $4.9 Billion invested in cancer

research since 1946 (“Financials & Governance, n.d.). Overall, the strengths that the

American Cancer Society has, makes it an impressive nonprofit organization.

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Weaknesses

The top two weaknesses and perhaps the most volatile are the reliance on

donations and volunteers. The American Cancer Society has to rely on donations from

not only corporations but also from everyday individuals. If a fundraising event fails, or

the economy shifts this could cause the overall dollars raised to drop dramatically. The

organization is highly reliant on the generosity of others and this could change from not

only year to year, but day to day. The reliance on volunteers is also a looming weakness

as this again leaves the organization at the mercy of humanity. If fundraising events such

as Relay for Life, fail to find enough volunteers to raise funds, and this is widespread,

then the organization would take a large hit to its fundraising. Because of this it must

push for volunteers each year through intense marketing campaigns, in an attempt to

ensure that all events are successful.

Another weakness within this organization’s control is its Brand Ambassadors.

The organization is not necessarily well known across all generations; in fact it is more

than likely known by younger generations that may not necessarily have the money to

donate. The Brand Ambassadors are Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, Normani Kordei and

Simone I. Smith. (“Partners”, n.d.). Each ambassador has in some way contributed to the

fight against cancer, but do not necessarily offer high name recognition to generate high

donations. The last weakness is the executive salaries that the American Cancer Society

pays. The President and CEO collectively earn $1.4 million a year, which comes from the

funds raised each year. ("American Cancer Society ", 2019). These salaries directly

impact the amount of money that can be used for active research and patient support.
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These weaknesses should be addressed in order to ensure that the organization can be

successful across all facets of its business.

Opportunities

The top opportunities for the American Cancer Society appear to be fairly

straightforward. The first identified was expansion, though a presence in over 5,000

communities is significant, could this be increased? Potential expansion into more

communities could lead to more fundraising and more donations. The second

opportunity was the possibility of increased donations which ties into marketing also

being identified. Increased marketing across all channels, in particular social media

could lead to an increase in donations, ensuring that the organization could continue to

fund all its research and patient support programs. The last opportunity was an

opportunity to reach out to a younger volunteer pool to continue the growth and keep

them with the high number of volunteers that are needed to be successful. What if

fundraising events that specifically target millennials as volunteers were initiated? This

could not only change the volunteer pool but increase donations from this age segment.

The American Cancer Society’s opportunities are tied to its strengths in many ways

because of its nonprofit status and reliance on the general population.

Threats

The largest threat to the American Cancer Society are other organizations known

for their fight against cancer such as City of Hope, Livestrong Foundation, United Cancer

Support Foundation and the American Institute for Cancer Research (“Search”, n.d.). All

of these organizations are fighting for the same volunteers and same donations from the

same pool, as are all nonprofits. There is nothing stopping a donor from changing their
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donation to the American Cancer Society and giving it to the City of Hope or another

charity of their choice instead. The threat level in this area is extremely high. Along

with the potential for donors switching allegiance there is the risk of failed fundraising

events. Roughly 20-35% of incoming funds are spent on fundraising events ("American

Cancer Society ", 2019), making them an expensive risk. If an event were not to bring in

funds, it could be viewed as a failure and a loss of revenue.

Another threat is the rising number of cancer deaths that have occurred from 2015

to 2018. Death by cancer went from 589,430 in 2015 to 606,880 in 2018 (“Profile”,

n.d.). This could cause donors to feel that the American Cancer Society is of no use and

change donation amounts and volunteer counts. Lastly, negative press comes in as a

threat against the organization. The American Cancer Society has had negative press over

executive salaries, breast cancer screening changes, and lack of meaningful research in

childhood cancers. ("American Cancer Society ", 2019). An organization always faces

risk over any negative connotation that is shared about them. This could again cause a

drop in donations or volunteers, or failed fundraisers.

Conclusion

Overall this SWOT analysis identifies areas of opportunity, both positive and

negative for the American Cancer Society, that are fairly centered on donations and

volunteers. Many of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats lead back to

funds and volunteers, each could lead to transformative success or utter failure of this

organization. If each area is addressed then the chance for greater success will be there

and could be achieved.

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References

American Cancer Society. (August 22, 2019). Retrieved from

bestcompany.com/charities/company/American-cancer-society

Financials & Governance. (n.d.). Retrieved from cancer.org/about-us/financial-

Governance-information.html

Our Partners. (n.d.). Retrieved from cancer.org/our-partners.html

Profile. (2019). Retrieved from guidestar.org/profile/13-1788491

Search. (2019). Retrieved from guidestar.org/search

Who We Are. (n.d.). Retrieved from cancer.org/about-us/who-we-are.html