The Oct. 21 Las Vegas fundraiser will support free treatment-related air travel after last year’s event raised $500,000 for the nonprofit
Corporate Angel Network arranges free air travel for eligible cancer patients seeking treatment, using available seats provided through the aviation community.
- Corporate Angel Network’s 2026 Fund an Angel fundraiser will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. PT on Oct. 21 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas during NBAA-BACE.
- The nonprofit says it is on track to complete 2,300 flights in 2026 for patients traveling to or from cancer treatment.
- The 2025 Fund an Angel event raised $500,000 through sponsorships, individual donations and a silent auction.
- Corporate Angel Network has coordinated more than 70,000 cancer-patient flights since 1981 and is again seeking sponsors, auction donations, ticket buyers and volunteers.
(NEWS) LAS VEGAS, Nevada, United States, 2026-Sep-04 — /Travel PR News/ — A charity programme that turns unused aircraft capacity into treatment access for cancer patients will again have a prominent place alongside the business aviation industry’s largest annual gathering. Corporate Angel Network (CAN) is bringing its Fund an Angel fundraiser back to Las Vegas during the 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), with proceeds supporting free flights for patients who need to travel for care.
The event is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on the Waterbleau Terrace. Christopher Hanke will return as host. The fundraiser falls on the second day of NBAA-BACE, which runs Oct. 20-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with its separate Aircraft Connection taking place Oct. 20-21 at Henderson Executive Airport.
For CAN, the evening is less about adding another social event to convention week than about financing a transport network built around a practical problem: specialist cancer care may be hundreds or thousands of miles from a patient’s home. The nonprofit works with aircraft operators to match eligible passengers with available seats on flights heading in the same direction, reducing the travel burden associated with treatment, consultations, surgery, clinical trials or second opinions.
A fundraiser tied directly to flight capacity
According to NBAA’s Sept. 3 announcement, CAN is on track to complete 2,300 flights in 2026. The organization has arranged more than 70,000 cancer-patient flights since it was founded in 1981, illustrating the scale that can be created when corporate flight departments and other aviation partners make unused seats available for medical travel.
CAN’s own mission information says the programme serves cancer patients as well as bone marrow and stem cell donors and recipients. Travel is arranged for people who are medically stable and able to fly without medical assistance, and eligibility is not based on financial need. Patients may use the service as often as necessary when they meet the programme’s travel criteria.
The model is particularly well suited to business aviation because many company aircraft already fly between cities where patients need to travel. Instead of operating a dedicated medical flight in every case, CAN can place an eligible traveller on an existing trip when route, timing and capacity align. The nonprofit says more than 500 corporations support its work.
Last year’s event generated $500,000
Fund an Angel has become one of CAN’s major fundraising moments around NBAA-BACE. The 2025 edition raised $500,000 through sponsorships, individual donations and a silent auction. Auction lots ranged from aviation experiences and aircraft models to vacation packages, airline miles, sports tickets, signed artwork and guitars signed by Dierks Bentley.
The 2026 event is again built around several ways to participate. CAN is seeking sponsors and silent-auction donations, including distinctive items or experiences, while tickets are available through the fundraiser’s website. Volunteers can also receive a complimentary event ticket in exchange for one hour of service; volunteer registration is available online.
Courtney Easton, CAN’s vice president of programs, strategy and outreach, said each donated seat can give a patient access to care that might otherwise involve a more difficult journey. She also described the support of NBAA members, sponsors, donors and auction contributors as central to keeping the programme operating.
Patient transport becomes part of convention week
The setting gives the fundraiser direct access to the operators, manufacturers, service providers and flight-department professionals whose aircraft and resources can support CAN’s work. Ed Bolen, president and CEO of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), said the association is again backing the organisation’s mission as part of business aviation’s wider tradition of supporting communities in need.
That connection between industry capacity and patient mobility is what distinguishes the fundraiser from a conventional charity gala. Money raised in Las Vegas supports the coordination and infrastructure behind flights, while the broader CAN model depends on aviation companies being willing to share seats when schedules permit.
For patients, the practical value is straightforward: a shorter, more direct journey can reduce some of the logistical pressure that comes with travelling for cancer care. For participating aviation companies, the programme creates a way to use an existing trip for an additional social purpose without changing the underlying business mission of the flight.
Fund an Angel will take place midway through NBAA-BACE’s three-day programme, putting that patient-transport mission in front of thousands of business aviation professionals at a time when the industry is also gathering to discuss aircraft, technology, operations and workforce issues. For CAN, the goal is measurable beyond the event itself: sustaining enough support to keep matching more patients with available flights throughout the year.
