What Swim Across America does

Swim Across America (SAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1987 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The organization hosts charity swimming events—open water swims in coastal and lake venues and pool swims organized by schools, clubs, and community programs—across more than 25 US communities. Participants register for events, create personal fundraising pages, and solicit donations from their networks; donations flow through SAA's online donation platform and are granted to a network of 11 named cancer research labs and major beneficiary institutions including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Mass General Cancer Center. Per SAA's grant terms, 100% of grant dollars are applied to approved research projects with no allocation to overhead.

SAA operates three core fundraising products: Open Water Swims (large public events in 20+ US locations), Pool Swims (school/club-hosted events with pediatric cancer focus), and SAA My Way (a virtual/customizable fundraiser with a $100 self-donation registration that includes a swag bag). The College Cup is a year-long competitive fundraising program for collegiate swim and diving teams, supported by GTM partnerships with Kiefer Aquatics, CSCAA, GoSwim, and Fulfil. The organization's go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, leveraging a network of over 100 Olympic swimmer ambassadors to generate awareness and participation. SAA holds GuideStar Platinum status, a Charity Navigator 4-star rating, and BBB Accredited Charity status as credibility signals for donors.

The revenue model is donation-based: participants fundraise from their personal networks, event registration fees contribute to revenue, and 100% of grant dollars are directed to research rather than overhead. Beneficiaries reportedly leverage every $1 of SAA funding into $3 of additional grant funding from sources such as NIH. Since founding in 1987, SAA has raised over $150 million cumulatively, funding contributions to immunotherapy clinical trials that yielded four FDA-approved cancer medicines. The organization operates with a lean staff of 1-10 employees.

Name

Swim Across America

Legal name

Swim Across America

Website

https://swimacrossamerica.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Swim Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 that hosts charity open water and pool swims across 25+ US communities, raising donations to fund cancer research grants at 11 named research labs and major cancer centers including Memorial Sloan Kettering and MD Anderson.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Fundraising Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Water Swimming Events (OWS Races, Swim Challenges) (MPAKAIAF)

Keywords

• Cancer research fundraising
• Charity swim events
• Nonprofit cancer grants
• Open water swims
• Community swim fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Primary revenue comes from donations made to individual swimmers, teams, and the general SAA fund. Participants raise money through personal fundraising pages, with donors contributing to support cancer research grants.
2. Event Registration: SAA My Way program requires a $100 self-donation upon registration, which includes an SAA Swag Bag. Pool swims and open water swims have registration fees that contribute to fundraising.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Swim Across America organizes community-based open water and pool charity swims across 25+ US locations to raise money for cancer research, clinical trials, and patient programs. Participants register for events or create personalized fundraising pages, and donated funds are granted to named research institutions and hospitals through a Scientific Advisory Council review process.

Product overview

Swim Across America is a charity fundraising organization that operates primarily through three core product offerings: Open Water Swims (in-person open water swimming events held across 20+ US locations), Pool Swims (charity swims at pools organized by schools, clubs, and community programs), and SAA My Way (a virtual/customizable fundraising option). The organization also runs the College Cup as a competitive fundraising program for college teams. Donations are processed through their donation platform and distributed to named beneficiary research labs and cancer centers. The organization has raised over $150 million across more than three decades, funding cancer research, clinical trials, and patient programs through local community swims.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open Water Swims Charity open water swimming events held at various locations across the US where participants register and raise funds for cancer research.
• Pool Swims Charity pool swimming events that enable age group, high school, Masters and summer league programs to fundraise for pediatric cancer research.
• SAA My Way Virtual or customizable fundraising program where participants create their own fundraiser supporting any SAA community, anytime and anywhere, with a $100 self-donation for an SAA Swag Bag.
• College Cup Year-long fundraising competition between college swimming and diving teams across the US, with prizes awarded to top fundraising teams and individuals.
• Donation Platform Online donation system allowing donors to contribute to the general fund or support specific participants, teams, or local SAA communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $150M raised for cancer research since 1987
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Kiefer AquaticsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProud partner of the SAA College Cup. Awards two $800 VIK Vouchers to College Cup teams - one for top fundraising team and one randomly selected team.
• CSCAA (College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProud partner of the SAA College Cup. Will recognize the top College Cup collegiate fundraising individual at their annual awards ceremony.
• GoSwimminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAwards their NCAA Plan to top two fundraising teams and one randomly selected team. Includes unlimited sharing of GoSwim content and performance data/evaluation app.
• FulfilminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAwards top three fundraising teams and one bonus team with 100 Fulfil bars.
• Children's Healthcare of AtlantacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAA-Atlanta beneficiary. Swim Across America Lab at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta focuses on leukemia research, clinical trials, and medulloblastoma/osteosarcoma research.
• Johns Hopkins MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAA-Baltimore beneficiary. Focuses on immunotherapies, targeted therapies and precision medicine across all cancers.
• Dana-Farber Cancer InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAA-Boston beneficiary with Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute. Focuses on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) research, pediatric oncology research, and quality-of-life clinical research.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAA-Long Island Sound and SAA-Nassau-Suffolk beneficiary. Funding immunotherapy clinical trials that led to four FDA-approved immunotherapy medicines: ipilimumab (YERVOY), nivolumab (OPDIVO), pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA), and atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ).
• MD Anderson Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAA-Houston and SAA-Nassau/Suffolk beneficiary. Focuses on cancer research and clinical trials in Pediatric Oncology and Neuro-Oncology departments.
• Mass General Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAA-Nantucket beneficiary. Provides patient treatment services at Nantucket Cottage Hospital's oncology program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pelotonia: Cycling-based mass-participation fundraiser for cancer research at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Closest comparable in GTM (event-driven, peer-to-peer fundraising, named beneficiary partnership) with similar community model.
• Pan-Massachusetts Challenge: Athletic mass-participation fundraiser directing 100% of rider-raised funds to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Operationally near-identical to SAA: long-standing endurance event, single dominant beneficiary, donor-leverage narrative.
• V Foundation for Cancer Research: Cancer research grantmaker distributing funds to high-impact projects with event-based fundraising components (e.g., Dick Vitale Gala). Closest comparable in grantmaking mission and donor-leverage storytelling, complementing SAA's grant distribution focus.
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Team in Training): Major cancer charity running Team in Training — endurance sports (running, cycling, triathlon) fundraising for blood cancer research. Same athlete-driven, peer-to-peer donation model as SAA, but with broader disease focus and brand scale.

Broad incumbents

• LIVESTRONG Foundation: Cancer survivorship charity with fitness/athletic-fundraising programs (now part of Movember). Shares SAA's athleticism-as-fundraising positioning, though focused on survivorship support rather than research grants.
• Susan G. Komen: Major disease-specific cancer charity using runs/walks (Race for the Cure) as its primary fundraising format. Similar peer-to-peer endurance fundraising structure, but with single-disease concentration and much larger brand.
• American Cancer Society (Relay For Life): Largest US cancer charity; Relay For Life is a mass-participation walking event fundraiser. Much broader scope (research, patient services, advocacy) than SAA but competing for the same cancer-research donor.
• National Pediatric Cancer Foundation: Pediatric cancer research grantmaker with event-driven fundraising across multiple US communities. Overlaps with SAA's pool-swim-driven pediatric cancer research grants and similar community-activation model.

Emerging players

• IRONMAN Foundation: Endurance-sports-aligned charitable foundation using triathlon/running events to raise money for community health and youth programs. Shares SAA's event-driven fundraising DNA but focuses on community causes rather than disease-specific research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/saaswim
• Facebookfacebook.com/SwimAcrossAmerica
• Instagraminstagram.com/saaswim

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Swim Across America