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MasterCard Starts a “Priceless® Conversation” to support Stand Up To Cancer

MA | July 11, 2016

MasterCard Starts a “Priceless® Conversation” to support Stand Up To Cancer

Annual Dine Out campaign kicks off with goal to bring total funds raised up to $35MM to fight cancer in the U.S. and Canada

This summer, lingering over a meal can mean getting together for a great cause. Whether its brunch, lunch, dinner – any meal at all – the time you spend with family and friends dining this summer will once again help raise life-saving funds to support Stand Up To Cancer. For the seventh consecutive year, MasterCard is collaborating with Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and inviting cardholders to give back through the simple act of dining out.

“The belief that experiences matter more than things is at the very heart of our Priceless Causes platform,” says MasterCard chief marketing and communications officer, Raja Rajamannar. “We’re giving our cardholders the ability to drive real impact by doing something they do regularly, like dining out with family and friends. It is their contributions, collectively, that make this collaboration so powerful in the fight against cancer.”

When cardholders spend $10 or more when paying for a qualifying meal with their MasterCard, MasterCard will make a donation to SU2C one precious cent at a time, up to a total of $4MM in the U.S. now through August 19^th* and up to $250,000 CDN in Canada, July 14 to September 15.** If this year’s maximum amount is reached, it would bring the total MasterCard has donated to SU2C over the course of the collaboration to over $35MM.

And to further the dialogue around this important cause, this year MasterCard is introducing Priceless® Conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist and SU2C Co-Founder Katie Couric. Priceless® Conversations is a chance to bring together the brightest in the cancer community to have a meaningful discussion about ending cancer in our lifetime. The first-ever Priceless Conversations will take place in New York City on July 15 with a panel that includes doctors, scientists, cancer survivors and ambassadors:

Julian Adams, Ph.D., member of SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, president of Research and Development, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA;
Dana Pe’er, Ph.D., 2011 SU2C Innovative Research Grant recipient, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Systems Biology professor, Columbia University
Linda Kirkpatrick, Executive Vice President, Market Development, MasterCard
Karen Taphorn, who has achieved remission since participating in a SU2C clinical trial and completing a last round of immunotherapy in July 2015.

“The power of collaboration is at the heart of SU2C,” says Rusty Robertson, Co Founder, Stand Up To Cancer. "Together, we’ve raised millions of critical dollars that are being used today by Stand Up To Cancer Dream Teams across the U.S. and Canada. Our longstanding collaboration with MasterCard shows what an outstanding commitment the organization has made to raising awareness and funds to make everyone diagnosed with cancer a survivor.”

Priceless® Conversations, taking place on July 15 in NYC, will lead into the 2016 inaugural Priceless® Table. Diners will enjoy an incredible meal curated by celebrity chefs Amanda Freitag and Marc Murphy on the Weill Terrace atop Carnegie Hall, one of the most prestigious music venues in the world. MasterCard’s Priceless® Table program delights consumers with exclusive experiences by offering upscale cuisine in the most unexpected venues in the cities they love.

On August 12^th, Priceless® Conversations will head to Los Angeles to continue to highlight the need for ongoing research and support of SU2C. A Priceless® Table, set at one of Paramount Pictures Studios’ iconic film sets and catered by Chef Susan Feniger with Mud Hen Tavern, will follow.

On Tuesday, July 12, the MLB All-Star Game Presented by MasterCard will air live on FOX at 8:00 pm ET and feature the annual SU2C moment where everyone in the ballpark - players, managers, executives and fans alike - gives tribute to someone who battled or is battling cancer.

In Canada, MasterCard will also be supporting Stand Up To Cancer Canada locally with a restaurant campaign starting July 14, urging consumers to dine out using MasterCard to help support the cause.

MasterCard cardholders who want to have a one-of-a-kind dining experience at a Priceless® Table can make reservations on select dates throughout the summer by visiting www.priceless.com/table. These dinners will be prepared by renowned chefs and held at exclusive locations across the U.S.

The donations driven by MasterCard’s generous cardholders have helped provide support for translational cancer research conducted in the Stand Up To Cancer model. For more information, visit www.priceless.com/causes.

*Ends 8/19/16 or when max is reached, whichever occurs first. For U.S., see Terms at priceless.com/standup.

** Beginning July 14, 2016 MasterCard Canada will donate $0.01 CDN to Stand Up to Cancer Canada for each qualifying restaurant purchase made with a Canadian MasterCard, up to $250,000 CDN (the “Canadian Promotion”). International transactions ineligible. The Canadian Promotion ends on Sept. 15, 2016 or at our $250,000 CDN goal, whichever comes first. Further, beginning July 1, 2016 MasterCard US will donate $0.01 USD to Stand Up to Cancer for each qualifying restaurant purchase made with a U.S. MasterCard, up to $4,000,000 USD (the “US Promotion”). The US Promotion ends on Aug. 19, 2016 or at our $4,000,000 USD goal, whichever comes first. PIN and International transactions ineligible.

About MasterCard MasterCard, www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About the Stand Up To Cancer Initiative Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in the United States in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As SU2C’s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.

For more information about Stand Up To Cancer, visit: www.standup2cancer.org.

About EIF Canada / Stand Up To Cancer Canada EIF Canada, a Canadian registered charity (Reg. # 80550 6730 RR0001), founded by the U.S.-based Entertainment Industry Foundation, was established to conduct charitable programs in Canada addressing health and other issues. Stand Up To Cancer Canada (SU2C Canada) is a program of EIF Canada that raises funds to support collaborative research teams, as well as education and awareness programs conducted in Canada.

Organizations collaborating with the SU2C Canada initiative include the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, with support from CIBC; the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium, with funding from Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research; and The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation (SickKids). MasterCard and AstraZeneca are the first Canadian corporate supporters of SU2C Canada.

For more information on Stand Up To Cancer Canada, visit http://www.standup2cancer.ca.