BANGOR, Maine — Fewer and fewer people have participated and donated to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure that first flooded the city’s waterfront in pink — the color symbolizing breast cancer survivors — in 1997, and raised $3 million for research and services over the years.
For that reason, the board of the Maine affiliate has voted not to renew its contract with the Dallas-based Susan G. Komen Foundation. The current contract ends at the end of March.
“This was a heartbreaking decision that was not taken lightly by the Board of Directors,” Victoria Abbott, Komen Maine executive director, said in a Thursday email. “The decline in participation was evident as was the market saturation for 5Ks in the Bangor area.”
The first 5-kilometer Race for the Cure was held 35 years ago in Texas with around 800 participants. It was the brainchild of Nancy Brinker, who promised her dying sister, Susan, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer, the Komen Foundation website states.
“When we started, we were pretty much the only game in town,” Sean Tuffnell, director of affiliate communications for the Komen Foundation, said Thursday by phone from Dallas about the decline in donations. “Now, there are 5Ks basically every weekend.”
He also admitted that the organization’s 2012 decision to stop providing funds to Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings, which was quickly reversed, was a factor in the decline. Other factors included the announcement in 2013 that because of the economy the foundation was cancelling seven major races, including one in Boston, even while Brinker, then the CEO, was paid a salary of $684,000 a year. Others also previously questioned how a declining share of revenue had been going toward research.
“There was an impact. We wouldn’t deny that,” Tuffnell said, adding that other influences included “a slower economy, less charitable donations and increased options for giving.”
Portland also hosted a Race for the Cure between 2010 and 2014.
Abbott said nearly $160,000 was raised at the 2016 race in Bangor.
She and board president Cathy Dow announced the news that the organization was dissolving in Maine in a Wednesday email to the approximately 2,000 participants in last year’s race. They thanked the numerous volunteers, board members and employees who supported the efforts over the last two decades.
“We are extremely thankful to the Bangor community for 20 years of support,” Abbott said. “The funds raised from 2016 are earmarked for Maine in the future.”
About 25 percent of the money raised will be given to the national Susan G. Komen for the Cure Award and Research Grant Program, which funds research to find a cure for breast cancer, and the remaining 75 percent will be used for treatment, screenings and education right here in Maine, Tuffnell said.
Komen Maine has invested more than $3 million in local breast health programs across the state, and contributed more than $900,000 to Komen’s national research program, the letter to participants states.
The number of national affiliates, currently at 91, is expected to drop to 82 by the end of March with some groups ceasing operations and others merging, Tuffnell said. For instance, organizations from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are merging to create a new New England affiliate, he said.
“While it may be the closing of one door, it’s certainly not closed forever,” he said about the possibility of a future Komen affiliate in Maine.