American Kidney Fund

What American Kidney Fund does

American Kidney Fund (AKF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, founded in 1951, that operates as the largest kidney-focused charity in the United States. AKF serves the 37 million Americans (1 in 7 adults) living with or at risk of kidney disease through four integrated program areas: direct financial assistance (health insurance premium payments, safety net grants, disaster relief grants, prescription assistance, and a living donor assistance program in IL/MA/NY/DC); patient and caregiver education (Kidney Kitchen, Kidney Education Corner, Know Your Kidneys/Cause/Plan assessment suite, The Kidney Collective podcast); professional education for healthcare providers via CE/CME-accredited curricula; and policy advocacy anchored by the annual Living Donor Protection Report Card covering all 50 states and DC.

The organization runs on a donation-philanthropy revenue model across four streams: individual giving, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and special-event fundraising (Hope Affair Gala, Pairings with Purpose, NY Golf Classic). It reports that 96 cents of every donated dollar reaches patients and programs. Its technology stack centers on a web-based content and resource platform (kidneyfund.org) with interactive patient education modules, a kidney-friendly recipe platform with diet-stage filters, and a Grant Management System (GMS) portal for assistance recipients. Distribution is omnichannel across website, phone (800-638-8299), mail, GMS portal, and active social channels on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

AKF generates impact at scale — 150 kidney transplants made possible per month and financial relief delivered to 1 in 7 U.S. dialysis patients — and in 2025-2026 expanded strategically into adjacent disease verticals through partnerships with the American Heart Association (CKM syndrome, Oct 2025) and the American Diabetes Association (Dec 2025). It maintains accountability credentials including the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency, BBB accreditation, and Charity Navigator rating, and won a significant Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals victory in April 2026 that preserved its dialysis-provider-funded insurance premium program.

Name

American Kidney Fund

Legal name

American Kidney Fund, Inc.

Website

https://kidneyfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

American Kidney Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the largest U.S. kidney charity, providing financial assistance, education, and advocacy to the 37 million Americans affected by kidney disease, funded through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Kidney Disease Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Renal Nutrition & Kidney Dietetics Services (HLAKAHAL), Workforce Development & Training Grants (Public Health) (HLAJALAM)

Keywords

• Kidney disease education
• Patient financial assistance
• Nonprofit health advocacy
• Kidney health programs
• Living donor support

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockville

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: Individual donors contribute through one-time and monthly giving programs, with 96 cents of every dollar going directly to patients and programs.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsors provide financial support through sponsorship of programs, events, and educational initiatives. The organization maintains a Corporate Relationship Policy and publishes a list of corporate sponsors.
3. Foundation Grants: Foundation funding supports specific programs such as the Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease Project, with Title Sponsors including Novartis and Travere Therapeutics.
4. Special Events: Annual events including The Hope Affair Annual Gala, Pairings with Purpose, and New York Golf Classic generate revenue through ticket sales and sponsorships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

American Kidney Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers free financial assistance, education, and advocacy services to people affected by kidney disease. Its core offerings include health insurance premium payments, safety net grants, disaster relief, and living-donor assistance for patients; medically reviewed education platforms such as Kidney Kitchen and Kidney Education Corner; CE/CME-accredited professional training; and national advocacy including the Living Donor Protection Report Card.

Product overview

American Kidney Fund operates as a comprehensive kidney health nonprofit organization offering an integrated suite of patient education, financial assistance, professional education, and advocacy programs. The core patient-facing offerings include Kidney Kitchen (a recipe and meal planning platform), Kidney Education Corner (interactive courses), and the Know Your Kidneys/Cause/Plan suite (personalized assessment and planning tools). Financial support programs encompass health insurance premium assistance, safety net grants, disaster relief, prescription assistance, and living donor assistance. Professional resources include online continuing education and the Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellowship. The organization also runs advocacy initiatives including the Living Donor Protection Report Card, Kidney Action Week annual conference, and The Kidney Collective podcast. Camp Connections provides pediatric support while KidneyNation enables community fundraising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Kidney Collective: A podcast launched by AKF in August 2025 that gives voice to the many facets of living with kidney disease, featuring conversations with patients, donors, advocates, and healthcare professionals.
• Kidney Kitchen
• Kidney Action Week
• Living Donor Protection Report Card

Products and services

• Kidney Kitchen

Quantifiable outcome

• 96 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to patients and programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Diabetes AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2025AKF collaborated with the American Diabetes Association to raise awareness about the connection between kidney disease and diabetes, aiming to improve early detection, education, and clinical outcomes related to these chronic diseases.
• Donate Life AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2025Trusted organizations in organ donation and transplantation, including Donate Life America and others, collaborated to reinforce their commitment to safety, ethics, and innovation in the organ donation system.
• American Heart AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025AKF announced a collaboration with the American Heart Association to raise awareness about the connection between kidney disease and heart disease (CKM syndrome), aiming to improve early detection, awareness, and care for individuals with or at risk of CKM syndrome.
• Travere TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTravere Therapeutics provided grant support for the FSGS in Focus educational campaign, a national initiative to improve patient and caregiver knowledge of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. The campaign focuses on symptoms, diagnosis through kidney biopsies, and treatment options.
• U.S. Renal CarecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerU.S. Renal Care is a sponsor of AKF's seventh annual Kidney Action Week, a free virtual conference for kidney disease patients, health professionals, caregivers, and advocates.
• NovartiscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNovartis is a sponsor of AKF's seventh annual Kidney Action Week and a Title Sponsor of the Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease Program.
• GlomConminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGlomCon collaborated with AKF on AMKD (APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease) awareness efforts, providing educational content about kidney disease to the medical community.
• NovartiscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNovartis is a Title Sponsor of the Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease Program, supporting caregiver burnout guides and educational content for patients and caregivers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• National Kidney Foundation: National kidney-focused nonprofit offering patient education, advocacy (including living donor protection), professional CME, and direct patient programs — direct competitor for donor dollars, patient audiences, and pharma partnerships in the same kidney disease space as AKF.
• Renal Support Network: Patient-centered nonprofit serving the CKD and dialysis community with peer support, education, and advocacy — a smaller but directly comparable kidney-focused peer competing for similar patient and donor segments.
• Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation: Disease-specific kidney nonprofit (PKD) funding research and patient support — directly comparable as a single-disease kidney nonprofit competing for donor dollars within AKF's disease category.
• NephCure Kidney International: Nonprofit focused on rare glomerular diseases including FSGS — directly comparable to AKF as evidenced by the joint FSGS in Focus campaign, competing for nephrology research and patient-program funding.

Broad incumbents

• American Heart Association: Larger cardiovascular nonprofit that is now a strategic AKF partner on CKM syndrome. Comparable as a multi-disease-focused health nonprofit with national fundraising scale, advocacy apparatus, and CE/CME programs — but with a much broader scope and donor base.
• American Diabetes Association: National diabetes-focused nonprofit that partnered with AKF in December 2025 on kidney-diabetes cross-awareness. Operates as a larger peer health nonprofit with similar patient education, advocacy, and fundraising model.
• American Cancer Society: Large multi-disease health nonprofit with patient education, financial assistance, advocacy, and research funding — comparable operating model and fundraising scale to AKF but with substantially larger donor mindshare and program breadth.
• American Lung Association: National single-organ health nonprofit with patient education, advocacy, research funding, and corporate partnerships — comparable nonprofit operating model to AKF applied to a different disease category.
• Alzheimer's Association: Large single-disease health nonprofit combining patient/caregiver support, advocacy, research funding, and national fundraising — directly comparable nonprofit operating model and donor-competition profile to AKF.

Emerging players

• Donate Life America: National organ donation nonprofit partnering with AKF on transplant advocacy. Comparable in mission overlap (living donor protection, transplant support) but narrower scope focused on organ donation registration rather than disease-specific patient support.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kidneyfund
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/kidneyfund
• Facebookfacebook.com/americankidneyfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-kidney-fund
• Instagraminstagram.com/americankidneyfund

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 American Kidney Fund