Colorectal Cancer Alliance

What Colorectal Cancer Alliance does

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., that operates as the largest U.S. nonprofit dedicated solely to colorectal cancer. It serves patients, survivors, caregivers, and the at-risk general public through three pillars: awareness (LEAD FROM BEHIND campaign with Maximum Effort and Katie Couric), patient support (BlueHQ digital hub, Live Navigator Helpline, Buddy Program, financial assistance), and research (Project Cure CRC). Service reach at the user level included 26,000 people receiving screening recommendations, 22,000 patients assisted through the helpline, and 9,300 people checked for CRC through Alliance initiatives in the most recent reporting period, supported by 2,000+ volunteers and a 101–250 person staff.

Technology assets are centered on BlueHQ, which integrates TEFCA Individual Access Services via xCures for medical-record access and AI-assisted structuring; Project Cure CRC, an AI-enabled ecosystem on AWS that connects patients to clinical data and trials; and KLEOS, an adaptive clinical trial platform developed with the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research and supported by a $7.5 million donation. Funded trademarks and branded programs (LEAD FROM BEHIND, BlueHQ, KLEOS, Screen Smart, Blue Hope Bash, Walk to End Colon Cancer, Bottoms Up Invitational) cover the full demand-generation and stewardship funnel.

The business model is 100% donor-funded with no fees charged to patients. Revenue streams include individual donations (with matching campaigns such as Giving Tuesday), event fundraising ($2.1 million from the 2025 Blue Hope Bash gala, $870,000 from the 2025 Walk to End Colon Cancer across nine cities, over $4.4 million cumulative from the Bottoms Up Invitational, $330,000 from the DC ScopeItOut walk), corporate and foundation grants (AWS Imagine Grant of $150,000 and LR Foundation's $7.5 million donation), and planned giving vehicles such as Donor Advised Funds, stock, and cryptocurrency. The 2025 Walk to End Colon Cancer engaged 8,818 participants across 509 teams, and the 2025 Bottoms Up co-founders Craig Melvin and Lindsay Czarniak were honored with the Blue Star Award.

Name

Colorectal Cancer Alliance

Legal name

Colorectal Cancer Alliance, Inc.

Website

https://colorectalcancer.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1999 and based in Washington, D.C., that delivers colorectal cancer prevention, patient support, and research programs, including the BlueHQ support hub, Project Cure CRC, and the KLEOS adaptive clinical trial platform, to patients, survivors, caregivers, and the at-risk public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Cancer Support and Research Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL)

Keywords

• Colorectal cancer support
• Cancer screening education
• Patient navigation services
• Cancer research funding
• Cancer survivorship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The organization accepts donations from individuals who support the mission to end colorectal cancer. Donations are matched during specific campaigns like Giving Tuesday.
2. Event Fundraising: Major annual events including Walk to End Colon Cancer (9 cities, raised $870K in 2025), Blue Hope Bash gala (raised $2.1 million in 2025), and the Bottoms Up Invitational concert and golf event (raised over $4.4 million in four years).
3. Corporate and Foundation Grants: Funding from corporations such as the $150,000 AWS Imagine Grant and foundations including the LR Foundation's $7.5 million donation for KLEOS platform.
4. Planned Giving and DAF: The organization accepts Donor Advised Funds, planned giving, stocks, and cryptocurrency as alternative donation methods.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers free colorectal cancer prevention, patient and caregiver support, and research programs. Its core offerings include the BlueHQ personalized online support hub, the Live Navigator Helpline, the Buddy Program peer-support service, the online Screening Quiz, and the Project Cure CRC research initiative (which includes the KLEOS adaptive clinical trial platform) to accelerate the search for cures.

Product overview

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance offers a comprehensive suite of programs organized around three pillars: prevention (through LEAD FROM BEHIND awareness campaigns and Screen Smart education), patient support (via BlueHQ patient portal, Live Navigator Helpline, Buddy Program, and financial assistance), and research (through Project Cure CRC initiative). The organization hosts signature events including the Blue Hope Bash gala and Walk to End Colon Cancer series. BlueHQ serves as the central digital hub connecting patients to personalized resources, clinical trials, and community support, while Project Cure CRC funds innovative research with an AI-enabled ecosystem connecting patients to clinical data and trials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LEAD FROM BEHIND: A creative initiative to break stigma surrounding colon cancer screening, featuring celebrity partnerships including Katie Couric and Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort, timed to the 25th anniversary of Couric's televised colonoscopy.
• BlueHQ
• Screen Smart
• Project Cure CRC
• Walk to End Colon Cancer
• Blue Hope Bash
• Bottoms Up Invitational
• Blue Star Award

Products and services

• BlueHQ Patient Support Hub BlueHQ is the Colorectal Cancer Alliance's personalized online patient support hub providing tailored resources, tools, and community connections for people affected by colorectal cancer, with TEFCA-integrated access to medical records and patient navigation services.
• Project Cure CRC Research Initiative Project Cure CRC is a $100 million research initiative that funds expedited and novel colorectal cancer research through an AI-enabled ecosystem connecting patients with clinical data, trials, and support, with 32 research projects funded to date.
• KLEOS Adaptive Clinical Trial Platform KLEOS is a first-of-its-kind adaptive clinical trial platform for colorectal cancer that enables efficient evaluation of multiple therapies (including novel combinations) under a single protocol with real-time decision-making, supporting faster and more flexible evaluation than traditional trial designs.
• Screening Quiz Free online screening recommendation quiz that provides personalized screening recommendations based on individual risk factors, age, and preferences to help users discuss options with their healthcare provider; more than 20,000 people took the quiz in 2024.
• Live Navigator Helpline Toll-free helpline (877-422-2030) staffed by certified patient and family support navigators providing free professional assistance to patients, survivors, and caregivers; 22,000 patients individually assisted through the Helpline.
• Buddy Program Peer support program that connects colorectal cancer patients with trained survivor buddies for mutual support and guidance throughout the cancer journey.
• Financial Resource Assistance Programs and resources to help colorectal cancer patients and families reduce barriers to care, including assistance navigating costs and accessing treatment.
• Screen Smart Initiative Screen Smart is the Alliance's screening education initiative committed to saving lives through awareness of colorectal cancer screening options, with online tools at getscreened.org providing personalized recommendations and 20+ partner organizations promoting guidelines.

Quantifiable outcome

• 26,000 people received screening recommendations through online quiz
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• American Society for Clinical PathologyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 June 2026Contributing healthcare organization to Mediaplanet's Digestive Health campaign, reaching millions through print, digital, and social channels to educate Americans about digestive health, colorectal cancer prevention, and early screening.
• Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2026Collaboration to establish KLEOS, a landmark adaptive clinical trial platform for colorectal cancer. The platform will employ an efficient study design to accelerate evaluation of promising therapies including novel combinations, broaden patient access to cutting-edge treatments, and generate high-quality data for rapid clinical decision-making. KLEOS is Greek for 'glory' honoring those lost to CRC.
• xCurescoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to support BlueHQ, the Alliance's personalized support hub, by integrating TEFCA Individual Access Services enabling easier patient access to medical records. Collaboration aims to reduce administrative burden by combining data aggregation and AI-assisted structuring with patient navigation and support services.
• Maximum Effort (Ryan Reynolds' Creative Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Ryan Reynolds' creative agency Maximum Effort to create the LEAD FROM BEHIND campaign, a series of entertaining videos featuring celebrities breaking stigma surrounding colon cancer to spark conversations about screening for The Preventable Cancer.
• Katie CouriccoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVeteran journalist and longtime colon cancer awareness advocate joined the Alliance and Maximum Effort for LEAD FROM BEHIND, timed to the 25th anniversary of her televised colonoscopy. Her involvement leverages her personal story (husband died from the disease) and media expertise to break stigma and encourage screening.
• Screen Smart Partners (20+)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 20 Screen Smart partners including healthcare organizations, insurers, and medical societies such as the Colon Cancer Coalition and American Society for Clinical Pathology, collaborating to promote colorectal cancer screening guidelines and education.
• American Cancer Society (ACS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Alliance's Screen Smart initiative supports ACS screening guidelines and advocates for colorectal cancer screening based on updated ACS recommendations. Dr. William Dahut, ACS Chief Scientific Officer, provides expert commentary on guideline changes.
• Wakefield ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted the Alliance State of Screening Study survey of 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults to understand screening awareness, barriers, and attitudes toward colorectal cancer screening.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Livestrong Foundation: Livestrong is a cancer support nonprofit offering patient navigation, survivorship resources, and community programs. It is a structural comparable for the Alliance's patient support, navigation, and survivorship offerings around BlueHQ and the Buddy Program.
• LUNGevity Foundation: LUNGevity is a disease-specific cancer nonprofit funding lung cancer research and providing patient support services. Its structure and revenue mix (events, individual giving, grants, research programs) closely mirror the Alliance's operating model.
• Prevent Cancer Foundation: The Prevent Cancer Foundation funds cancer prevention and early detection research across multiple cancer types. Its screening-awareness mission and research-grant model closely parallel the Alliance's Screen Smart and Project Cure CRC initiatives.
• Cancer Research Institute: The Cancer Research Institute is a nonprofit that funds cancer immunology and clinical research. Its grantmaking model, scientific advisory structure, and donor base overlap meaningfully with Project Cure CRC's research-funding mission.
• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: PanCAN is a disease-specific cancer nonprofit that combines research funding, patient services, and advocacy under one brand. It offers a strong comparable for the Alliance's integrated research-plus-patient-support model in a single-cancer niche.
• Colon Cancer Coalition: The Colon Cancer Coalition runs the Get Your Rear in Gear event series and is a CRC-specific grassroots nonprofit with a similar community-event fundraising model. Its scope and disease focus make it one of the closest comparables to the Alliance.
• Fight Colorectal Cancer: Fight CRC is a leading patient advocacy nonprofit focused exclusively on colorectal cancer, funding research and lobbying Congress. It competes most directly with the Alliance for CRC donor mindshare, research funding, and policy influence.

Emerging players

• National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable: The NCCRT is a coalition co-founded by the American Cancer Society and the CDC that convenes 100+ organizations to advance CRC screening. It is a partial peer that operates in an adjacent convening and policy capacity to the Alliance's advocacy work.

Broad incumbents

• Susan G. Komen: Susan G. Komen is the prototypical disease-specific cancer nonprofit with a national walk, gala, and research portfolio. It serves as a benchmark for brand-building, event fundraising scale, and research grant deployment relevant to the Alliance's strategic trajectory.
• American Cancer Society: The American Cancer Society is the largest U.S. cancer nonprofit, running the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable and setting screening guidelines the Alliance aligns with. It competes for corporate partners, federal research dollars, and policy influence at a much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ccalliance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UChk_2XJ0-AcqeSfvyBrAANA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ColorectalCancerAlliance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colorectal-cancer-alliance
• Instagraminstagram.com/colorectalcanceralliance
• TikToktiktok.com/@ccalliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Colorectal Cancer Alliance