American cancer society delaware

Leiss ending 30-plus year career with American Cancer Society

In the downturn of the nation's economy, while other nonprofits in the mid-Atlantic region are down 10 percent to 15 percent in revenue, the American Cancer Society's Mid-Atlantic Division continues to blow away the competition way.

"We continue to do better than anybody else in this market, even in this economic downturn," said Charles D. Leiss, CEO of the local chapter which includes Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

For fiscal year 2003 which ends Aug. 31, the nonprofit expects about $40 million in revenue, Leiss said. Last year, around the same time period, the organization had about $41 million in revenue.

The society's research budget in the mid-Atlantic division is more than $18 million per year. Furthermore, since Leiss took over as CEO in September 2002, the division has raised more than $125 million for the fight against cancer.

What's the secret to Leiss' success in a highly competitive field where all sorts of nonprofits associated with cancer research reside?

For Leiss, when it comes to the American Cancer Society, there are no other competitors.

"We are the gold standard," Leiss said. In fact, since the society's creation in 1913, many of the other cancer nonprofits have been founded through the American Cancer Society.

Added to that, is Leiss' expertise. He understands the organization from the ground up. Scheduled to retire in September, Leiss joined the cancer society in July 1969 as a field representative, the lowest entry-level position with the organization.

In addition, the society focuses on the community and its volunteer base.

"Call it grassroots, or whatever you want to want to call it," Leiss said. "We are truly a believer in the community."

Each year, less than $500,000 in donations is received from corporations; the bulk of the nonprofit's money comes from individual donations, Leiss said.

The average individual gift to the nonprofit is $37.

Furthermore the mid-Atlantic division has a staff of 320 people, but 45,000 to 50,000 volunteers.

Under Leiss' leadership, the Baltimore community has been touched by the society's community-focused events.

Built in 1985, Hope Lodge offers out-of- town cancer patients and their families a place to say while they undergo outpatient treatment.

The facility serves 1,300 to 1,500 patients a year, Leiss said.

"Whenever I get down, which is not too often, I go there to recoup," Leiss said, adding the facility keeps him focused and reminds him why he does what he does for a living.

One of Leiss' proudest professional accomplishments is Camp Sunrise, a camp for children with cancer. It usually runs one or two weeks in the summer.

"I live and breathe the cancer society. My hobby has been my work," said Leiss, who admits that he does not know what he is going to do when he retires.

However, as for the future of the cancer society, he predicts that "we will get to the point where cancer will have multiple vaccines."

Cancer is the second- leading cause of death in the United States. Statistically, one person out of every three will have cancer sometime in his or her life, Leiss said.

But the society also has made great strides, he said, in terms of research and people being able to talk about the disease.

"Years ago cancer was still a scary word. Today it's talked about. It's out of the closet. People are not ashamed to say, ‘I have cancer,'" Leiss said.