NEW MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM TO FUND INNOVATIVE KIDNEY CANCER RESEARCH

Program Co-Sponsored by Kidney Cancer Association & Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships

August 13, 2002 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO—The Kidney Cancer Association (KCA) and the Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships (GPP) today announced a unique partnership that will raise money for groundbreaking research on kidney cancer, a disease with approximately 30,000 new cases diagnosed annually.

To create new funding streams for kidney cancer research, the Kidney Cancer Association and the Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships have created a one-time matching grant program, called the Inspired Venture Program in Kidney Cancer Research. At the Kidney Cancer Association's 10th Annual Survivor and Patient Conference in Washington, DC, on July 19 - 21, conference attendees rallied to support this project and just over $50,000 was raised. The Goldman Partnerships will contribute a dollar for dollar match for this amount. This funding will be earmarked for a specific innovative project designed to yield groundbreaking results leading to a cure for kidney cancer.

"The key to a cure for this deadly disease is research. Every day there are new advances in the fight against cancer, but there need to be more. Kidney cancer is four times more common in men than women. The mortality rate from kidney cancer continues to rise and with the aging of the baby boomer generation it will for the foreseeable future.

The partnership between the Association and the Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships has great potential to fund a research project that will make significant progress in the war on kidney cancer," said Carl Dixon, Esq., president and executive director of the Kidney Cancer Association.

The Association is a nonprofit organization with 27,000 members from across the United States. Based in Evanston, Illinois, the Association represents the interests of 203,000 patients, family members and health care specialists who have been touched by kidney cancer. Three primary areas form the backbone of the Association's mission: research, education and advocacy.

The Inspired Venture Program in Kidney Cancer Research merges business and philanthropy, because it is modeled after venture capital and limited partnerships. The partnership between the Kidney Cancer Association and the Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships, the Inspired Venture Program in Kidney Cancer Research will bring together creative researchers, noted research institutions, nonprofit organizations and dedicated philanthropists to advance groundbreaking research that has the capacity to quickly make a real difference in the lives of kidney cancer patients. Through combined funding of these groups, the program will advance high-risk/high-reward research projects that traditional government and nonprofit entities may be incapable of funding.

"The truly innovative research on cancer may not qualify for mainstream medical research funding, so we create funding streams to provide the money necessary to get these projects started and the management experience to see them completed," said Dr. Bruce E. Bloom, president of the Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships. "Through our Inspired Venture Program Series, we actively seek out high-risk/high-reward research that can lead to breakthroughs and ultimately cures for a range of deadly diseases, including kidney cancer."

Once an innovative kidney cancer research project is identified by both organizations, the GPP will secure funding from donors who are interested in targeting their donations to the project while also traveling down the road of discovery with innovative researchers. Dr. Bloom leads this new kind of venture philanthropy foundation, which was co-founded by Lake Forest, Illinois entrepreneurs George and Judith Goldman. The Goldmans established the Partnerships after Judith's battle against multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that she kept in remission for more than a decade. Through the GPP, the Goldmans foster the development of research funding partnerships between nonprofits, research institutions, innovative investigators and dedicated philanthropists, who are interested in traveling down the road of scientific discovery.

Additional information on the Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships is available at www.goldmanpartnerships.org. The Kidney Cancer Association's web site is www.kidneycancerassociation.org.