What Project Lyme does

Project Lyme is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2016 and headquartered at 229 E. 85th St. in New York City, focused on eradicating the epidemic of tick-borne diseases through patient education, community support, research funding, and federal policy advocacy. The organization serves primarily Lyme disease patients and their families, with secondary audiences of healthcare providers and the general public, addressing a market of up to 476,000 new Lyme cases annually in the United States across all 50 states. Its core offerings include a Provider Search tool connecting patients with Lyme-literate clinicians, the MSIDS 38-point symptom questionnaire developed by Dr. Richard Horowitz, the weekly Lyme Notes newsletter, a Lyme Resources Library organized by topic and journey stage, expert-led webinars, and community support programs including Mothers Against Lyme, Men's Support Group, and Generation Lyme weekly meet-ups. The organization also produces multi-platform public service announcement campaigns and, since 2025, accredited CME courses on Alpha-gal Syndrome in partnership with VectorWise CME.

The business model is donation- and fundraising-driven rather than transactional. Project Lyme generates revenue through charitable contributions from individuals, corporate sponsors, and annual gala events (most recently at Gotham Hall, with a 10th Anniversary Gala scheduled for September 14, 2026). The organization passes a significant share of donations to research via Bay Area Lyme Foundation — over $1 million since 2018, including co-funding of a $2 million Duke University School of Medicine grant in 2023 supporting HS-291 Lyme therapeutic research and contributions to Flightpath Biosciences' antibiotic development in 2020–2021. A modest merchandise stream through the Project Lyme Store supplements donations. All core patient resources are provided free of charge.

The organization's competitive position rests on a multi-stakeholder ecosystem rather than technology. Project Lyme is a strategic partner and funder of Bay Area Lyme Foundation, cross-promotes with LymeDisease.org and the Lyme Disease Association, references ILADS provider guidelines, and hosts educational content from Columbia University, Johns Hopkins, Harvard T.H. Chan, and the CDC. In December 2025, the organization participated in the HHS Lyme Disease Roundtable with Secretary RFK Jr. alongside Members of Congress, clinicians, and researchers, positioning it as a direct patient voice in federal policy. Leadership includes founder Heather Hearst, Board Chair Ali Moresco (also Founder of Moresco Public Relations), and Executive Director Michelle Cuevas. The organization operates with approximately 10 staff and no proprietary technology product, functioning as a content and community platform for tick-borne disease.

Name

Project Lyme

Legal name

Project Lyme

Website

https://projectlyme.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Project Lyme is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2016 in New York City that provides Lyme and tick-borne disease education, a Provider Search tool, support groups (Mothers Against Lyme, Men's Support Group, Generation Lyme), webinars, and accredited CME courses for patients, families, and healthcare providers nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Health Advocacy and Patient Education

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Lyme disease education
• Tick-borne illness awareness
• Patient advocacy nonprofit
• Medical provider search
• Community health support

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Project Lyme generates revenue primarily through charitable donations from individuals, corporate sponsors, and fundraising events including their annual gala. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Project Lyme is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free educational resources, advocacy, and community support for patients and families affected by Lyme disease and tick-borne illnesses. The organization delivers a provider search directory, symptom questionnaire, weekly newsletter, educational webinars, virtual support groups, CME courses for clinicians, and public awareness campaigns. Its offerings are funded through donations, sponsorships, and an annual gala rather than fees paid by users.

Product overview

Project Lyme is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operating as an educational platform focused on eradicating tick-borne diseases through awareness, education, and advocacy. The organization offers a suite of resources including a Provider Search tool that connects patients with Lyme-literate clinicians, an MSIDS Questionnaire symptom checker, educational webinars with medical experts, and a comprehensive Lyme Resources Library. Community support programs include Mothers Against Lyme and Men's Support Group virtual meet-ups. The organization also conducts Public Service Announcement campaigns and CME courses for healthcare providers. Project Lyme does not offer a unified software platform but rather serves as an informational hub with patient-facing tools and community support features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Generation Lyme: An initiative of Project Lyme that hosts weekly meet-ups supporting patients with Lyme disease.

Products and services

• Provider Search Online directory connecting Lyme disease and tick-borne illness patients with clinicians experienced in treating these conditions, including some providers offering telehealth visits. Available free of charge through the Project Lyme website.
• MSIDS Questionnaire 38-point symptom checklist developed by Dr. Richard Horowitz to help identify multisystemic infectious disease syndrome (MSIDS) and guide clinical diagnosis for patients and clinicians.
• Lyme Notes Newsletter Weekly email newsletter compiling scientific breakthroughs, advocacy updates, educational content, awareness initiatives, and anecdotes from the Lyme community.
• Lyme Resources Library Comprehensive educational content library with resources organized by type (articles, blogs, videos, webinars), topic (assistance, diagnosis, prevention, testing, treatment), and patient journey stage (seeking diagnosis, exploring treatment, achieving remission).
• Webinars with Medical Experts Educational webinars featuring Lyme disease experts discussing topics including treatment protocols, Lyme-Alzheimer's connection, chronic illness management, mental health, peptide therapy, and insurance coverage of treatment.
• Mothers Against Lyme Project Lyme initiative hosting virtual meet-ups via Zoom for mothers raising children with Lyme disease and mothers with Lyme themselves, providing peer support and shared experiences.
• Men's Support Group Virtual support group via Zoom for men affected by Lyme disease and associated infections, featuring themed discussions and peer support.
• Alpha-Gal Syndrome CME Courses

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VectorWise CMEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Project Lyme partnered with VectorWise CME to develop and sponsor a free accredited CME course 'Basics of Alpha-gal Allergy' (0.75 credits, AAFP & ACCME). The course equips healthcare providers to recognize, diagnose, and manage alpha-gal syndrome, taught by Dr. Scott Commins from UNC School of Medicine.
• Flightpath Biosciences, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Project Lyme funded research with Flightpath Biosciences through their 2020 Gala proceeds. Flightpath announced a newly licensed antibiotic that selectively kills Lyme Disease spirochetes, developing a narrow-spectrum antimicrobial therapeutic.
• Great BelieverminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 April 2021Great Believer is the website design firm that developed Project Lyme's new website launched in 2021, completely reimagining how the public is educated about preventing, treating and recovering from Lyme disease.
• Bay Area Lyme FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Lyme is a proud partner and funder of Bay Area Lyme Foundation. The organizations collaborate on research funding, including the HS-291 novel therapy research at Duke University. Project Lyme contributed funding managed through Bay Area Lyme Foundation's rigorous scientific agenda, including over $1 million in grants for research projects.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Lyme highlights CDC's free interactive training module on Alpha-gal Syndrome for health care providers, available in English and Spanish, which teaches symptoms, diagnostic tests, and prevention methods including tick bite avoidance counseling.
• Johns Hopkins UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Lyme collaborated with Johns Hopkins University, specifically Nancy Dougherty, on POTS and Lyme disease educational content. Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center conducts SLICE studies exploring immune responses and treatment options.
• Lyme Disease Association, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Lyme cross-promotes resources with Lyme Disease Association, Inc., including their Doctor Referral System that provides patients with names of physicians knowledgeable about chronic Lyme disease.
• International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerILADS is highlighted as a partner for provider search. Project Lyme references ILADS treatment guidelines and educational resources for clinicians treating tick-borne diseases.
• The Neurovisual Center of New YorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Lyme partnered with The Neurovisual Center of New York to host webinars discussing visual impairment caused by Lyme disease and available correction methods.
• Center for Lyme ActionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCenter for Lyme Action is listed as a partner organization, shown in the Highlighting Our Partners section of the website.
• LymeDisease.orgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner organization. LymeDisease.org runs MyLymeData, a patient-powered research project that Project Lyme references as a resource for patients to contribute to research.
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarvard conducted an online survey on Lyme disease awareness and prevention with 4,099 responses, published through the Harvard Lyme Wellness Initiative.
• Columbia University Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Lyme hosts educational content from Columbia University's research center, including webinars on treatment protocols and disulfiram research by Dr. Brian Fallon.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NatCapLyme (National Capital Lyme Disease Association): Mid-Atlantic regional Lyme disease nonprofit providing patient support, education, and advocacy. Operates in an overlapping capacity with Project Lyme in the northeastern U.S.
• Lyme Disease Association, Inc. National nonprofit offering a Doctor Referral System that Project Lyme cross-promotes. Operates with a similar awareness, education, and patient-advocacy mission and competes for the same donor base.
• American Lyme Disease Foundation: Older national nonprofit dedicated to Lyme disease education and prevention. Shares the awareness and education mission but takes a more conventional medical stance than Project Lyme.
• Center for Lyme Action: Federal advocacy-focused nonprofit pushing for increased Lyme research funding. Project Lyme lists it as a partner and both organizations coordinate on legislative and federal policy initiatives.
• Bay Area Lyme Foundation: National Lyme disease nonprofit that funds research and raises awareness. Project Lyme is a direct partner and has contributed over $1M to Bay Area Lyme Foundation's research grant program, making them closely aligned in mission and donor base.
• LymeDisease.org: Patient advocacy nonprofit running MyLymeData, a patient-powered research initiative. Project Lyme references MyLymeData as a resource, and both organizations compete for the same Lyme patient and donor communities.
• International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS): Medical society that Project Lyme references for provider search and treatment guidelines. ILADS is the primary professional body for Lyme-literate physicians and shapes the clinical narrative Project Lyme promotes.
• Global Lyme Alliance: Leading Lyme disease nonprofit focused on research funding and education. Operates in the same donor pool with overlapping mission, larger infrastructure, and similar research-grantmaking activities.
• LivLyme Foundation: Lyme disease nonprofit founded by teen activist Olivia Goodreau. Raises awareness and funds research, operating in the same youth-focused, donor-driven nonprofit space as Project Lyme.

Emerging players

• Mothers Against Lyme: A wholly-owned initiative of Project Lyme rather than a separate peer. Listed here only as an internal program for context — not an independent peer organization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ProjectLymeOrg
• Instagraminstagram.com/projectlyme
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/projectlyme

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Project Lyme