Our guiding principal is that money raised local, stays local. Each of our charity swims awards their donations to a research or community hospital beneficiary. Our beneficiaries recommend early stage projects and patient programs that have the most potential. Our grants aren't focused on a specific type of cancer. In many cases, our early stage grant allows researchers to test ideas and gather data so they are in a better position to apply for additional funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH), other foundations, and industry. Our beneficiaries have reported that for every grant dollar they receive from SAA, they are able to secure $3 in new funding they might not otherwise have received.
In over three decades, Swim Across America has granted $100 million dollars that have led to breakthroughs in immunotherapy, gene therapy, personalized medicine, and patient programs. It is important donors know that our grant agreement requires 100% of SAA grants be applied to approved projects and not other things such as overhead and buildings.
There are 11 named Swim Across America research labs demonstrating the commitment and partnership of the beneficiary and Swim Across America.
SAA - ATLANTA
Swim Across America Lab
at Children's Healthcare Of Atlanta
FOCUS: Leukemia research and clinical trials and medulloblastoma and osteosarcoma research. Funding benefits young investigators and their efforts to research related therapies, drugs, and side effects.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $355,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - BALTIMORE
Swim Across America Lab
at Johns Hopkins Medicine
FOCUS: Immunotherapies, targeted therapies and precision medicine across all cancers.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $455,000
JOHNS HOPKINS TESTIMONIAL
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - BOSTON
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Mass General Cancer Center
FOCUS: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) research, pediatric oncology research and quality-of-life clinical research.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $375,000
MASS GENERAL TESTIMONIAL
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - CAROLINA
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (University of North Carolina)
FOCUS: Colon and pancreatic immunotherapy research.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $110,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - CHARLESTON-KIAWAH
Hollings Cancer Center (Medical University of South Carolina)
FOCUS: Immunotherapy research.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $80,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - CHARLOTTE
Levine Cancer Institute and Levine Children's Hospital (Atrium Health)
FOCUS: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) research with a goal of decreasing patient relapse from AML.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $200,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - CHICAGO
Swim Across America Lab
at Rush
FOCUS: Develop early detection for ovarian cancer, lung cancer research, breast cancer research, and Latina cancer survivors research.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $270,000
RUSH TESTIMONIAL
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - DALLAS
Swim Across America Lab
at Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas
FOCUS: Innovative clinical trials focusing on treating cancers that have resisted standard therapies with innovation in oncology treatment.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $150,000
SAA - DENVER
Children's Hospital Colorado
FOCUS: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) research project helping to define better methods to detect leukemia cells in pediatric patients.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $150,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - FAIRFIELD COUNTY
Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy
FOCUS: Cancer gene and cell therapy, including immunotherapy
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $340,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - FLORIDA KEYS
Miami Cancer Institute
FOCUS: Cancer research and clinical trials.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $100,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - HOUSTON,
SAA - NASSAU/SUFFOLK
MD Anderson Cancer Center
FOCUS: Cancer research and clinical trials in the departments of Pediatric Oncology and Neuro-Oncology.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $295,000
IMPACT REPORT
MD ANDERSON THANK YOU LETTER
SAA - LONG ISLAND SOUND,
SAA - NASSAU-SUFFOLK
Swim Across America Lab
at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
FOCUS: Funding immunotherapy clinical trials that have played a major role in developing four FDA approved immunotherapy medicines ipilimumab (YERVOY), nivolumab (OPDIVO), pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) and atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ).
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $500,000
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING THANK YOU LETTER
SAA - LONG ISLAND SOUND,
SAA - NASSAU-SUFFOLK
Swim Across America Lab
at Weill Cornell Medicine Meyer Cancer Center
FOCUS: Funding immunotherapy research and clinical trials.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $295,000
WEILL CORNELL THANK YOU LETTER
SAA - LONG ISLAND SOUND
Columbia University Medical Center
FOCUS: Pediatric oncology research; grant funding for pediatric patients who have tumor relapse.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $185,000
SAA - LONG ISLAND SOUND
Cancer Support Team
FOCUS: Grant funding for patient support services in Westchester County, NY.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $575,000
SAA - LOUISVILLE
University of Louisville Health Brown Cancer Center
FOCUS: Cancer research and clinical trials.
SAA - MOTOR CITY MILE
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
FOCUS: Cancer research and clinical trials.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $75,000. IMPACT REPORT
SAA - NANTUCKET
Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket, Mass General Cancer Center
FOCUS: Provide patient treatment services at Nantucket Cottage Hospital's oncology program. Without SAAs grant funding, this program would not exist and patients would have to leave Nantucket island for cancer treatment. Read more here.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $545,000
PALLIATIVE AND SUPPORTIVE CARE OF NANTUCKET TESTIMONIAL
NANTUCKET COTTAGE HOSPITAL TESTIMONIAL
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - NASHVILLE
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
FOCUS: Cancer research and clinical trials.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $80,000. IMPACT REPORT
SAA - NASSAU/SUFFOLK
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
FOCUS:Research to activate collaborative innate-adaptive immune responses to control metastasis in ovarian cancer.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $180,000.
COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY TESTIMONIAL
SAA - NASSAU/SUFFOLK
Feinstein Institute of North Shore
FOCUS: Medulloblastoma (brain cancer) research.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $90,000.
FEINSTEIN INSTITUTE OF NORTH SHORE TESTIMONIAL
SAA - RHODE ISLAND
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island
FOCUS: Gynecological and ovarian cancer research, and genetic biomarkers research for endometrial cancer.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $170,000
WOMEN & INFANTS TESTIMONIAL
SAA - RICHMOND
VCU Massey Cancer Center
FOCUS: Cancer research and clinical trials.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $75,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - ST. LOUIS
Siteman Cancer Center
FOCUS: Grant funding for stem cell transplant pre-clinical trial and to improve therapies for myeloma.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $250,000
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - SAN FRANCISCO
Swim Across America Lab
at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland,
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco
FOCUS: Pediatric cancer research and pediatric cancer survivorship
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $420,000
UCSF BENIOFF CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL TESTIMONIAL
SAA - SEATTLE
Swim Across America Lab
at Fred Hutch Cancer Center
FOCUS: Immunotherapy clinical trials, cancer research, and pancreatic cancer specialty clinic.
2023-2024 GRANT FUNDING: $720,000
SEATTLE CANCER CARE ALLIANCE TESTIMONIAL
IMPACT REPORT
SAA - TAMPA
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
FOCUS: Pediatric cancer research.
ACTIVE GRANT FUNDING: $100,000
IMPACT REPORT