There Goes My Hero

What There Goes My Hero does

There Goes My Hero is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2008 by Erik Sauer, an Acute Myelogenous Leukemia survivor and bone marrow transplant recipient, headquartered in Lutherville Timonium, Maryland with 1-10 employees. Its mission is to save lives, provide hope, and help those impacted by blood cancer through two integrated program lines: bone marrow donor recruitment and direct patient/family support. The donor-recruitment arm operates community swab drives in partnership with DKMS, adding potential donors to the National Bone Marrow Registry, with a dedicated Color the Registry program targeting underrepresented communities of color where match rates remain significantly lower. The patient-support arm includes the Hero Fund (launched January 2019) for treatment-related financial assistance covering co-pays, meals, transportation, and parking; Meals with Heroes at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Pavilion; care bag assembly; and cards of encouragement.

The organization serves blood cancer patients, their families and caregivers, potential bone marrow donors, and communities of color facing registry disparities. Its technology footprint is modest: a website (theregoesmyhero.org) integrated with DKMS for self-serve swab kit requests, social channels across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram, an Amazon Wishlist for in-kind donations, and a Mailchimp-backed email newsletter. There are no proprietary AI/ML systems or APIs.

Revenue is generated entirely through charitable channels: individual donations (variable tiers from $10 with monthly recurring options), corporate sponsorships (CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Wells Fargo, Qlarant, Pomeroy, Bob Bell Automotive, Alpha Phi Kappa), signature fundraising events (HeroPalooza, Flannel & Frost, Bob Bell Automotive Golf Tournament), in-kind donations, and grants. All programs are free to patients and donors. Strategic partnerships with Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Harry J. Duffy Family Patient and Family Services Program, Hackerman-Patz Pavilion, University of Maryland Medical Center, Moveable Feast, and DKMS form the operational backbone of program delivery.

Name

There Goes My Hero

Legal name

There Goes My Hero, Inc.

Website

https://theregoesmyhero.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

There Goes My Hero is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that recruits bone marrow donors through DKMS-partnered community drives and provides financial, meal, and emotional support to blood cancer patients and families in the Baltimore area via partnerships with Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland Medical Center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Blood Cancer Patient Support Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Missions & Global Health NGOs (BPAGACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hospitals, Clinics & Charitable Healthcare Providers (BPAGACAB), Community Health, Prevention & Health Education (BPAGACAC)

Keywords

• Blood cancer support
• Bone marrow registry
• Patient financial assistance
• Nonprofit patient services
• Donor recruitment drives

Headquarters

HQ city

Lutherville Timonium

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute through the organization's website using credit card or ACH payments. Donations support bone marrow registration drives, patient support programs, and the Hero Fund.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Companies and organizations sponsor events and underwrite costs of meal programs. Sponsors gain visibility at events like HeroPalooza and Flannel & Frost while supporting blood cancer patients.
3. Hero Fund: The Hero Fund provides direct financial assistance to blood cancer patients covering co-pays, meals, transportation, parking, and in-home care costs. Funded through targeted donations.
4. In-Kind Donations: Amazon Wishlist items and in-kind donations of goods and services support patient care bags and program operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

There Goes My Hero is a nonprofit organization that recruits potential bone marrow donors through community swab drives (in partnership with DKMS), provides direct financial assistance to blood cancer patients through the Hero Fund, delivers meals to patients and caregivers through the Meals with Heroes program, and runs the Color the Registry initiative to diversify the national bone marrow registry. All programs and services are provided free of charge to patients and donors, funded through charitable donations, corporate sponsorships, and fundraising events.

Product overview

There Goes My Hero is a nonprofit organization that operates several interconnected service programs supporting blood cancer patients. The core offerings include: the Color the Registry Program which addresses ethnic disparities in bone marrow donor matching; the Hero Fund providing financial assistance for treatment-related costs; Meals with Heroes delivering meals to patients and caregivers; and Bone Marrow Registry Drives that recruit potential donors through cheek swabbing. Additional programs include care bag assembly and cards of encouragement. The organization partners with DKMS for donor registration and local healthcare institutions for patient support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Color the Registry Program An initiative to diversify the bone marrow donor registry by recruiting potential donors from communities of color, addressing the disparity where African American patients have only a 23% chance of finding a match compared to 77% for patients of European descent.
• Hero Fund Financial assistance program that helps Baltimore area blood cancer patients cover unanticipated costs of treatment including meals during treatment, medically tailored meals post-discharge, transportation, parking, and copays.
• Meals with Heroes Volunteer program that prepares and serves meals to blood cancer patients and caregivers at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion, occurring every third Wednesday of the month.
• Bone Marrow Registry Drives Community events that add potential lifesavers to the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry through cheek swab collection, partnered with DKMS to facilitate registration.
• Care Bag Assembly Program assembling care bags filled with comfort items (sleep masks, fuzzy socks, toiletries, snacks, etc.) for blood cancer patients at Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland Medical Center.
• Cards of Encouragement Volunteer-created cards with encouraging words and graphics distributed to patients and caregivers at treatment facilities to provide emotional support during their fight against blood cancer.

Quantifiable outcome

• 23,000+ potential lifesaving matches added to national bone marrow registry
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DKMScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary partnership for bone marrow donor registration. DKMS provides the infrastructure for adding potential donors to the National Bone Marrow Registry. There Goes My Hero hosts drives and educates communities, while DKMS handles donor typing and matching services.
• Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (Johns Hopkins)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Johns Hopkins cancer center to provide support system for blood cancer patients, including transportation services, parking coupons, and housing during treatment.
• Harry J. Duffy Family Patient and Family Services Program of Johns Hopkins Medical InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative program to extend patient and family support services within Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, focusing on emergent needs and unanticipated expenditures during blood cancer treatment.
• Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion at Johns Hopkins HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue for the Meals with Heroes program where volunteers prepare and serve meals to patients and caregivers. Organization also collects wishlist items and care bag supplies for this location.
• Moveable FeastminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for meal preparation and delivery services supporting blood cancer patients in the Baltimore area with dietitian services and meal delivery.
• University of Maryland Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partner for blood cancer patient care bag distribution and support services extending organizational reach within the greater Baltimore area.
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShieldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting Color the Registry program and diversity initiatives in bone marrow donation.
• Alpha Phi KappaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSorority organization partnering to promote bone marrow donor registration and diversity in the registry through campus and community events.
• Wells FargominorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting Color the Registry program and organizational mission.
• QlarantminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting organizational initiatives and programs.
• PomeroyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting organizational initiatives and programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DKMS: Global bone marrow donor center and registry operator; current core infrastructure partner of There Goes My Hero. Directly comparable as both a donor-recruitment organization and registry operator, with overlapping mission and donor acquisition channels.
• Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation: Focused on college and community-based bone marrow donor registration drives. Comparable community-acquisition GTM model for adding donors to the national registry, though smaller in scale and narrower in geographic focus.
• Blood & Marrow Transplant Information Network (BMT InfoNet): Provides education, support, and survivorship resources to blood cancer and transplant patients and families. Comparable patient-support mission overlapping with There Goes My Hero's care bag, encouragement cards, and educational blog programs.
• Gift of Life Marrow Registry: Operates its own bone marrow registry and runs donor recruitment drives in partnership with community organizations. Directly comparable donor-recruitment model with overlapping community-driven GTM and cheek-swab drive approach.
• Icla da Silva Foundation: Nonprofit focused on recruiting bone marrow donors, with particular emphasis on underrepresented ethnic communities. Highly comparable to There Goes My Hero's Color the Registry program in mission, donor-recruitment model, and patient support.
• Delete Blood Cancer (DKMS US): Now operating as part of DKMS; historically an independent bone marrow donor recruitment nonprofit. Highly comparable community-drive-based donor acquisition and registry partnership model.

Emerging players

• Cancer Support Community: Provides social and emotional support services to cancer patients and families, including those with blood cancers. Comparable patient-support mission overlapping with Meals with Heroes, Care Bags, and Cards of Encouragement.
• National Bone Marrow Transplant Link (nbmtLINK): Peer-support organization for bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients and caregivers. Comparable patient-and-family support mission relevant to There Goes My Hero's caregiver-facing programs.

Broad incumbents

• Be The Match (National Marrow Donor Program): Operates the U.S. national bone marrow registry and provides patient support services for blood cancer patients. Directly comparable as the dominant player in the same donor-recruitment and patient-support space, but at a national scale.
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS): Largest U.S. nonprofit focused on blood cancer research, patient support, and advocacy. Comparable mission around blood cancer patients and families, though it operates at a vastly larger national scale with research funding as a primary pillar.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/go_hero
• YouTubeyoutube.com/ThereGoesMyHeroTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/TGMyHERO
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/there-goes-my-hero
• Instagraminstagram.com/theregoesmyheromd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about There Goes My Hero