LUNGevity Foundation was founded by seven Chicago-area lung cancer survivors to increase funding for lung cancer research. Upon being diagnosed with lung cancer, these individuals learned that while tremendous progress had been made in detecting and treating many of the deadliest cancers over the last two decades, little progress had been made to save the lives of individuals diagnosed with lung cancer. This slow progress was due, in great part, to a lack of funding for lung cancer research. While funding for breast, prostate and colorectal cancer research had grown exponentially over the years, there had been no corresponding growth for lung cancer research. Partnering with the foremost physicians and research scientists in the world, the LUNGevity Foundation funds innovative research designed to treat and cure lung cancer, the nation's leading cancer killer.

The goal of the LUNGevity Foundation is to increase funding for lung cancer research.

Since 2002, the Foundation has supported more than 50 medical research projects through co-funding partnerships with non-profits. Of these projects, 62% are laboratory work on lung cancer cells, 26% combine laboratory work and tests, and 12% involve evaluations of human samples and subjects. As of December 2008, the total research investment from LUNGevity and partners was over $5 million in innovative lung cancer research projects.