Community Cancer Fund nears $20 million milestone in local support

The Community Cancer Fund is closing in on a milestone that reaches far beyond a fundraising total: nearly $20 million directed into cancer support across the Inland Northwest, including help that families in Kootenai County can use when treatment brings added costs and hard choices. Based in Spokane, the nonprofit says the money has gone toward screening, prevention, research, treatment and care, while also filling service gaps for patients and families.

Founded in 2014 by community leaders who were motivated by their own experiences with cancer, the organization says its work was built around a simple idea, support what already exists and cover what still falls through the cracks. Jon Neill, the group’s executive director, has said the original aim was to raise money for children with cancer and summer camp. Over time, that mission expanded to include treatment costs, lodging needs and other expenses insurance often does not cover.

That local model has become visible in Coeur d’Alene through The Showcase, the fundraising event staged on the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene and The Coeur d’Alene Resort’s Floating Green. The 2026 edition is scheduled for July 24 and 25 and will again pair lakefront concerts with golf in a format the organization describes as one of the West Coast’s premier celebrity fundraising events. The event is expected to draw about 30 celebrity golfers and roughly 600 attendees, with the final round closed to the public.

The Showcase has grown since 2014 into a high-end, invitation-style fundraiser that has brought in former sports stars and entertainers, including past or planned participants such as Marcus Allen, Larry Fitzgerald, Tyler Johnson, Willie Gault, Brenden Morrow and Mark Rypien. Past musical acts have included Eddie Vedder, Journey, Dierks Bentley and Zach Top. A 2024 report on the event noted that former NFL, NBA and NHL players joined the golf exhibition and that no general admission tickets were sold for the final round.

Support from local businesses has helped sustain the event’s profile. George Gee has said the Showcase strengthens the community and directs dollars to local families, a claim that matches the nonprofit’s broader mission of working with existing regional cancer organizations rather than duplicating their services. The organization and the Showcase site say the effort has returned nearly $20 million to Inland Northwest organizations fighting cancer.

The totals have been described differently over time. A 2023 Coeur d’Alene Press report said the previous nine events had raised $28 million for cancer patients, underscoring how the fundraiser has been measured across different time frames. What has stayed constant is the structure built around Coeur d’Alene: celebrity attention, local sponsorship and money aimed at the day-to-day costs of cancer care for Inland Northwest families.