What Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful does

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTnRB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2016 and headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, that organizes volunteer cleanups and stewardship programs to reduce litter and protect the Tennessee River watershed across seven states (Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia). It is the first Keep America Beautiful affiliate in the nation dedicated solely to a river. The organization's programmatic portfolio includes the Adopt a River Mile stewardship program (312 adopted miles by 202 adoptees), the world's largest Seabin electric litter skimmer network (18 devices at marinas and state parks), a Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program (2,000+ receptacles, 1,042,780 butts recycled), the Tennessee River Mussel Movement Initiative (with University of Tennessee), education lectures, and event series including the Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series and Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series. Operations are delivered via two 26-foot aluminum work boats supplemented by three 30-foot boats from partner Living Lands & Waters, plus the 18 Seabin units providing continuous water-surface cleanup.

KTnRB's business model is donation- and grant-funded. Revenue streams include grants from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), and Keep America Beautiful; corporate sponsorships from Clayton Home Building Group (three-year commitment on the 200,000 lbs goal), Publix Super Markets (2025-2026 title sponsor of Adopt a River Mile), iSustain Recycling, Yamaha Rightwaters, and Oak Ridge Power Squadron (top-three private donor at ~$78,000 annually); individual donations; and in-kind contributions of supplies, dumpster services, and venue access. All programs are free to participants, including cleanup supplies, t-shirts, and signage. A new experiential fundraising channel (Rappelling for the Rivers, August 2025) targets $100,000 in its inaugural year. Since 2019, KTnRB has removed 1,017,672 lbs of trash with 5,000+ volunteers and received recognition including the 2026 Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award, 2025 TDOT Public Education and Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup awards, and the 2023 Keep America Beautiful National Innovation Award.

Name

Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful

Legal name

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful

Website

https://keeptnriverbeautiful.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that organizes volunteer cleanups and stewardship programs across the seven-state Tennessee River watershed. It operates the world's largest Seabin electric litter skimmer network, runs the Adopt a River Mile program, and delivers litter prevention, mussel conservation, and education initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Services / Watershed Conservation

NAICS

Remediation Services (562910)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources & Watershed Protection (BPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pollution Control & Environmental Remediation (Booming, Skimming, Shoreline Cleanup) (TLAHAIAH)

Keywords

• River cleanup services
• Watershed conservation programs
• Volunteer stewardship programs
• Litter prevention programs
• Freshwater mussel conservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

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. Grants and Government Funding: Primary funding from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) through Nobody Trashes Tennessee campaign, and Keep America Beautiful grants.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors including Clayton Home Building Group (sponsors 200,000 lbs goal), Publix (title sponsor of Adopt a River Mile program), iSustain (Chickamauga Lake Cleanup), Yamaha Rightwaters (Ripple Effect Awards), Oak Ridge Power Squadron (major donor).
3. Individual Donations: Individual donations and fundraising events such as 'Rappelling for the Rivers' first major fundraiser with $100,000 goal.
4. In-Kind Donations: Donations of supplies, dumpster services, boat use, venue access, and other operational necessities from partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful organizes volunteer-based river shoreline cleanups across the seven-state Tennessee River watershed using two 26-foot aluminum work boats, and runs stewardship adoption programs (Adopt a River Mile, Adopt a Storm Drain, Adopt a Mussel) along with cigarette litter receptacles and an 18-device Seabin electric litter skimmer network. All programs are provided free of charge to participants, with the organization funded by corporate sponsorships, government grants, and individual donations.

Product overview

Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful operates as a multi-program environmental nonprofit with a portfolio of stewardship, education, and sustainable infrastructure offerings. The core programs include volunteer river cleanups using their two 26-foot work boats, the Adopt a River Mile Program for long-term volunteer commitments, and the innovative Mussel Movement Initiative conservation effort. Their sustainable infrastructure portfolio features Electric Litter Skimmer Devices (Seabin) - the world's largest network of such devices on any river - and a Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program with art-wrapped receptacles. The organization also conducts education lectures, hosts annual event series (Tennessee River Grand Slam, Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup), and runs fundraising initiatives like the Rappelling for the Rivers event. All programs are designed to educate and inspire action to protect the Tennessee River watershed across seven states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tennessee River Mussel Movement Initiative: A five-part awareness initiative to protect freshwater mussels in the Tennessee River watershed, including Adopt a Mussel program, Mussel Fest, education sessions, mussel shell inventory, and Value of a Mussel study.
• Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month
• Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series
• Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series
• Ripple Effect Awards
• Adopt a River Mile Program
• Adopt a Storm Drain Program
• Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program

Products and services

• Adopt a River Mile Program A stewardship program where individuals or groups commit to cleaning a specific river mile twice per year, receiving free cleanup supplies, KTnRB swag, and a sign to display their adoption. Free to all participants with Publix as title sponsor.
• Adopt a Storm Drain Program A program where volunteers commit to monthly cleaning of storm drains in their community to prevent litter from entering waterways through storm water runoff. Free monthly cleanup supplies provided.
• #Pledge4Rivers Campaign A campaign where participants pledge to give up one single-use item for one year to reduce potential litter entering waterways.
• Tennessee River Mussel Movement Initiative A five-part initiative in collaboration with the University of Tennessee to raise awareness about freshwater mussels, including an Adopt a Mussel program, Mussel Fest, education lectures, mussel shell inventory, and a Value of a Mussel study.
• Tennessee River Mussel Fest An annual festival engaging the public with freshwater mussels, featuring mussel releases, demonstrations, and educational activities about mussel conservation.
• Adopt a Mussel Program A program where participants donate to adopt juvenile mussels that are placed in protective concrete silos and receive updates until the mussel is released into the river.
• Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program A program offering free art-wrapped cigarette receptacles to prevent cigarette litter from entering waterways, with collected butts shipped to TerraCycle for recycling into outdoor furniture. Over 2,000 receptacles installed across seven states and 1,042,780 butts recycled since 2019.
• Electric Litter Skimmer Devices (Seabin Network) Devices installed at marinas that work 24/7 to skim litter, microplastics, Styrofoam, gases, and oils directly from the water surface, creating the largest network of such devices on any river in the world (18 devices with potential to remove 54,000 lbs/year).
• Runoff River Guards A pilot project to catch litter before it enters the river through storm drain systems, combined with analysis of litter trends to prevent future pollution.
• Education Lectures Presentations delivered by KTnRB's Education & Outreach Coordinator to schools and youth groups about the importance of the Tennessee River watershed and protection methods.
• Tennessee River Grand Slam Cleanup Series An annual cleanup series held in March and April hosting cleanups in each of the four states touched by the main stem of the Tennessee River, often serving as disaster response to floods and storms.
• Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series A cleanup series focused on lakes within the Cherokee National Forest, showcasing the vastness of the forest from South Holston Lake in Virginia to Parksville Lake near Chattanooga.
• Keep the TN River Watershed Beautiful Month An annual awareness month in October celebrating the Tennessee River watershed, including river cleanups, proclamations from elected officials, and community engagement across seven states.
• Rappelling for the Rivers KTnRB's first major fundraiser, an urban rappelling event where participants descend 200 feet from The Park Vista hotel in Gatlinburg, TN to raise funds for river cleanup efforts.
• Ripple Effect Awards Annual awards presented by Yamaha RightWaters that highlight river champions in each state along the Tennessee River watershed.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,017,672 lbs of trash removed from Tennessee River watershed since 2019
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Living Lands & WaterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational nonprofit that brought barge for 2015 Tennessee River Tour leading to KTnRB formation. Provides three 30-foot work boats to supplement KTnRB cleanups. Founder Chad Pregracke is 2013 CNN Hero of the Year.
• DollywoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCigarette litter prevention partnership since 2021. First theme park in world to recycle all cigarette butt plastic. Over 500,000 butts recycled. TerraCycle converts butts to outdoor furniture. Two benches installed at park.
• University of TennesseecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDept. of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences advises Mussel Movement Initiative. Dr. Michael McKinney provides mussel identification oversight. Dana Mills, Graduate Teaching Assistant, assists.
• Over the EdgemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld's leading urban rappelling company. Hosted over 1,500 events raising $150 million for nonprofits. First major fundraiser 'Rappelling for the Rivers' on Aug 2, 2025 at Park Vista hotel.
• TerraCyclemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational recycling company covers shipping cost for cigarette butt recycling. Plastic microfibers recycled into outdoor furniture for Dollywood benches.
• Keep Tennessee BeautifulcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState affiliate providing cleanup supplies and support for Keep the TN River Watershed Beautiful Month. TDOT funds administered through this organization.
• Marina and State Park Partners (Seabin Network)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor18 marina and state park partners hosting Seabin devices including Fort Loudoun Marina, Volunteer Landing Marina, Tennessee Aquarium, Harrison Bay State Park, Pickwick Landing State Park, and 13 others.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Living Lands & Waters: National river cleanup nonprofit founded by Chad Pregracke. Directly comparable as a volunteer-driven, boat-based watershed cleanup organization; provides supplemental boats to KTnRB and triggered its founding via the 2015 Tennessee River Tour.
• Chattahoochee Riverkeeper: Watershed-specific 'Riverkeeper' nonprofit protecting the Chattahoochee basin. Highly comparable in mission and model - single-river focus, volunteer cleanups, water-quality advocacy - serving a different but analogous Southeastern U.S. watershed.
• Keep Tennessee Beautiful: Tennessee state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. Highly comparable state-level affiliate model administering TDOT funds and providing cleanup supply support that directly underpins KTnRB's programs.

Broad incumbents

• Keep America Beautiful: National anti-littering and beautification nonprofit. Parent affiliate organization of KTnRB and the umbrella for the broader network of state and local Keep affiliates; provides funding (including Seabin grants) and the national awards pipeline.
• Ocean Conservancy: Major national/international nonprofit running volunteer-driven water cleanup events (International Coastal Cleanup). Comparable as a large-scale, event-based cleanup nonprofit but focused on oceans/coasts rather than a single river.
• Waterkeeper Alliance: Global network of community-based water protection organizations. Comparable as a multi-state clean-water nonprofit operating through affiliate chapters, with similar volunteer-based advocacy and waterway-cleanup programs.
• River Network: National nonprofit supporting a network of local river-protection groups. Comparable as an enabling/intermediary organization funding and training watershed-focused affiliates across multiple U.S. states.

Regional players

• Alabama Rivers Alliance: Statewide coalition protecting Alabama's rivers, including tributaries of the Tennessee River. Comparable regional nonprofit with advocacy, education, and volunteer-based river protection programming.
• Tennessee Environmental Council: Tennessee-based environmental nonprofit running watershed and recycling programs. Comparable as a regional nonprofit addressing litter, recycling, and education in overlapping Tennessee geography.

Emerging players

• Adopt a Stream Foundation: Volunteer-based stream stewardship and watershed education nonprofit in the Pacific Northwest. Comparable niche focus on volunteer 'adopt-a-waterway' programs similar in design to KTnRB's Adopt a River Mile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/KeepTNRiverBeautiful
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6jIS6w0k9e4jTKbSCLV8jA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/keeptnriverbeautiful
• Instagraminstagram.com/keeptnriverbeautiful
• Facebookfacebook.com/KeepTNRiverBeautiful

Compliance6 records

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

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful