Champion Women

What Champion Women does

Champion Women is a non-profit legal advocacy organization founded in 2014 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The organization provides legal advocacy for girls and women in sports across three core initiatives: ending sexual abuse in sports, advocating for sex-based eligibility policies in women's sports categories, and enforcing Title IX compliance in school athletics. It is led by founder and CEO Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer and civil rights attorney, supported by a vice president, executive assistant, board of directors, and a nine-person advisory board of Olympians and legal experts.

The organization's primary technical platform is TitleIXSchools.com, a web-based tool that aggregates U.S. Department of Education Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act data to enable athletes, families, media, and sport leaders to assess school-level Title IX compliance. In 2023, Champion Women filed 101 formal complaints with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights using data from this platform, and the dataset has been refreshed with new graphs in 2024 and 2025. The organization also produces policy resources, including a Model SafeSport Code co-developed with CHILD USA, NCAA pregnant-and-parenting student-athlete model policies, position papers on Title IX amendments, and educational materials on coach-athlete boundaries.

Champion Women operates as a tax-exempt nonprofit funded entirely through individual and foundation donations; no commercial fees are charged for its advocacy services. Its go-to-market motion is community-led, combining petition campaigns (9,234 signatories on the Female Sport Eligibility petition, including 518 Olympians), congressional testimony, earned media appearances (USA Today, CNN, ESPN, New York Times, BBC), and partnerships with allied organizations including the Women's Sports Policy Working Group and the International Consortium on Female Sport. The organization has secured advocacy wins including federal passage of the SafeSport Authorization Act of 2018 and a June 2026 federal court dismissal of a $250 million defamation suit brought by sexual abuser Rick Butler.

Name

Champion Women

Legal name

Champion Women

Website

https://championwomen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Champion Women is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that represents girls and women in sports through Title IX enforcement, sexual abuse prevention, and eligibility policy advocacy. Founded in 2014 by Olympic champion Nancy Hogshead-Makar, it operates from Jacksonville, Florida.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Advocacy Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Anti-Doping & Integrity Bodies (WADA, match-fixing/integrity units) (MPAKAFAJ)

Keywords

• Legal advocacy services
• Women's sports advocacy
• Title IX enforcement
• Athlete protection
• Nonprofit advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Jacksonville

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Champion Women operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations from individuals, foundations, and supporters who share the organization's mission of advocating for gender equality in sports for girls and women.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Champion Women is a non-profit legal advocacy organization that provides advocacy services for girls and women in sports across three program areas: ending sexual abuse in sports, advocating for fair transgender eligibility policies that reserve women's sports categories for biological females, and enforcing Title IX compliance for equality in school sports. The organization supports its advocacy work with the TitleIXSchools.com data platform and provides educational resources, position papers, and SafeSport policy guidelines.

Product overview

Champion Women is a non-profit legal advocacy organization for girls and women in sports, founded in 2014 by Nancy Hogshead. The organization operates primarily as an advocacy body rather than a technology product company, offering three main programmatic initiatives: Ending Sexual Abuse in Sports, Transgender Eligibility Advocacy, and Equality in School Sports (Title IX) Enforcement. Supporting these initiatives are digital tools including TitleIXSchools.com for compliance monitoring, downloadable SafeSport policy resources, and published position papers and white papers. The organization also provides newsletters and manages petitions as engagement tools for its advocacy mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TitleIXSchools.com Compliance Tracking Platform A web-based compliance monitoring tool that aggregates and presents data from the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, enabling athletes, families, media, and sport leaders to assess whether schools are discriminating in violation of Title IX. Champion Women filed 101 formal complaints with the Department of Education using data from this platform.
• Ending Sexual Abuse in Sports Initiative An advocacy initiative focused on raising awareness of sexual abuse in sports, providing education and training resources, advocating for stronger policies and legislation, and supporting survivors of sexual abuse in sports.
• Transgender Eligibility Advocacy An advocacy initiative advocating for policies that ensure women's sports categories are reserved for biological females only, maintaining competitive fairness and safety in girls' and women's sports.
• Equality in School Sports (Title IX) Initiative An advocacy initiative focused on enforcing Title IX compliance to ensure equal opportunities and resources for girls in school sports, including filing complaints with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.
• SafeSport Policies and Coach-Athlete Boundaries Resources Downloadable resources and guidelines on SafeSport policies and coach-athlete boundaries, helping sports organizations understand and implement protections against sexual abuse.
• Position Papers and White Papers In-depth analytical reports and position papers on critical issues affecting women in sports, including official comments to government agencies on Title IX amendments and female athletes' locker room access.

Quantifiable outcome

• 101 Title IX complaints filed with Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Women's Sports Policy Working Group (WSPWG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChampion Women is a founding member of the Women's Sports Policy Working Group, a non-partisan organization advocating for preserving the female sports category. Founded in 2019 along with Donna de Varona, Martina Navratilova, Donna A Lopiano, Tracy Sundlun and Mariah Burton Nelson. The group advocates for sex-based policies in women's sports.
• International Consortium on Female Sport (ICFSport)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChampion Women is a founding member of the International Consortium on Female Sport, the key international lobby group that advocates for preserving the female sports category. It is a non-partisan, single-issue collective of women's sports advocates from across the political spectrum.
• CHILD USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChampion Women partnered with CHILD USA (child protection organization) to write the Model SafeSport Code, conduct the Game Over Commission to Protect Youth Athletes (Nassar investigation), and advocate for legislative changes to protect athletes from sexual abuse.
• U.S. Center for SafeSportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChampion Women advocates for stronger policies and enforcement at the U.S. Center for SafeSport, working to ensure effective remedies to remove sexual abusers from sport and support for the SafeSport Authorization Act.
• Board of Advisors and Distinguished AdvocatessupportingOthersChampion Women advisors include Judy Sweet, Donna de Varona, Richard Lapchick, Donna Lopiano, Chris Voelz, Christine Grant, Diane Milutinovich, Erin Buzuvis, and Terri Lakowski - distinguished athletes and sports advocates.
• California Women's Law CentersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with California Women's Law Center to host a webinar on systemic sex discrimination in intercollegiate athletics, addressing issues of 183,000 fewer sports opportunities for women and nearly a billion dollars in scholarship disparities.
• U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil RightscoreOthersChampion Women filed 101 formal complaints with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights in 2023-2025 regarding Title IX athletics violations, making them a key regulatory partner for enforcement of gender equality in school sports.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Women's Law Project: A Pennsylvania-based legal-advocacy nonprofit using impact litigation and policy advocacy to advance gender equity, including in sports and education — directly comparable to Champion Women's legal-advocacy model on Title IX.
• ICFSport (International Consortium on Female Sport): A non-partisan international coalition Champion Women co-founded to preserve the female sports category. Operationally it is a peer coalition — same mission, same advocacy target — rather than an external competitor.
• Women's Sports Foundation: Founded by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is the closest direct peer — a nonprofit advocating for gender equity in sport, including research, policy advocacy, and athlete support. Nancy Hogshead-Makar is a former President of WSF, making the organizations and missions nearly identical in scope.
• California Women's Law Center: A legal-advocacy nonprofit focused on gender equity, including Title IX athletics enforcement. Champion Women is an active co-advocacy partner (joint webinar on intercollegiate sex discrimination), making mission and method highly comparable.
• U.S. Center for SafeSport: The federal body charged with responding to sexual abuse and misconduct in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement — directly comparable to Champion Women's Ending Sexual Abuse in Sports initiative, with which Champion Women has a 'We to Them' advocacy relationship.

Broad incumbents

• National Women's Law Center: A larger, established legal-advocacy nonprofit that litigates and advocates on Title IX, gender equity in education, and women's rights — directly comparable to Champion Women's Title IX enforcement work but operating across a much broader women's-rights portfolio.
• Ms. Foundation for Women: A foundation that funds and convenes gender-equity advocacy across multiple causes, including women in sport; comparable as a women's-rights advocacy/grantmaking institution but operating at a much broader thematic scale than Champion Women.
• AAUW (American Association of University Women): A larger, established advocacy organization focused on gender equity in education, including Title IX enforcement and pay equity — overlapping with Champion Women's school-sports equity work but operating across a broader educational-equity portfolio.
• Equal Rights Advocates: A national gender-justice legal-advocacy organization using impact litigation and policy advocacy — comparable legal-advocacy model to Champion Women, though operating across workplace, education, and athletics.

Emerging players

• Athlete Ally: An athlete-centered LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit that operates in adjacent sports-policy terrain (including transgender inclusion), making it thematically comparable to Champion Women's transgender-eligibility program — though from a contrasting policy position.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@championwomen4439
• Xx.com/ichampionwomen
• Facebookfacebook.com/iChampionWomen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ichampionwomen

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Champion Women