Guido Venosta and AIRC – The “Vault” of AIRC: The Italian Foundation for Cancer Research (FIRC)

In 1982, Guido Venosta, President of AIRC, promoted alongside the Association the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research (FIRC) as an asset-holding entity aimed at two main objectives: first, the collection and proper management of contributions, donations, and bequests that began to flow in addition to membership fees; second, the creation of an endowment to secure a lasting asset for oncological research, thus providing a reliable foundation and a guarantee for the future.

“Once this milestone is reached – he writes in his book – that is, when an amount sufficient for the institutional purpose has been accumulated, the Foundation (…) began to transcend the narrow ‘reservoir function’ typical of all similar entities, and embraced a broader operational approach, not merely conservative but actively engaged in the surrounding reality (…)” (VENOSTA, Dal profit al nonprofit, pp. 17–18).

Thanks to the solid asset base achieved, the entity was able to undertake multi-year commitments in support of oncological research. Beyond what might be considered a traditional commitment to funding scholarships, doctorates, and multi-year research projects, it supported systematic, far-reaching, and highly significant initiatives.

Three key initiatives emerged:

1. The establishment of the FIRC Research Units (the first initiative of its kind in Italy), which are scientific clusters focused on specific advanced oncological themes, established and directly funded by the Foundation within the country’s leading research centers;
2. The creation of the biennial “Guido Venosta Award,” reserved for young Italian researchers who have particularly distinguished themselves in developing new therapeutic approaches to neoplasms, a strong signal designed to draw public attention to the tangible outcomes of research, still awarded by the President of the Republic on National Cancer Research Day;
3. A ten-year donation to the University of Milan for the establishment of a chair in Medical Oncology, marking the first private contribution to an Italian university for the implementation of an integrated, top-level academic program.

In 1998, the year of Guido Venosta’s death, “FIRC created IFOM, its own Molecular Oncology Institute, and continued to finance it over time with the aim of transferring new knowledge from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside.”

In 2021, the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research – AIRC was merged by incorporation into the AIRC Foundation, also changing its legal name to the current “Fondazione AIRC per la Ricerca sul Cancro.”

Until its incorporation, FIRC:

• Allocated a total amount of 264.6 million euros (…) to IFOM;
• Distributed a total amount of 34.9 million euros (…) for research projects and laboratory installations;
• Distributed a total amount of 72 million euros (…) for scholarships to train young researchers.

Sources:
Albiate (MB), Villa San Valerio, Villa San Valerio Archives, Guido Venosta Archive, Unpublished Memoirs (1997–1998), pp. 39bis–40bis.

Bibliography:
G. VENOSTA, Dal profit al nonprofit. Storia di un’esperienza, Milan, 1997.
Chi siamo: IFOM e AIRC (https://www.ifom.eu/it/istituto-oncologia/ifom-airc.php).