About Swim Across America
The Swim Across America mission is to award grants to innovative cancer research, clinical trials, detection, and patient programs through charity swims that unite communities in the fight against cancer.
Focus Areas
cancer researchclinical trialscancer detectionpatient programscommunity-based fundraising (open water and pool swims)
Who They Fund
cancer researchers (laboratory and clinical investigators)oncology research institutions and hospitalspeople with cancer/patient populations
Funding Style
disease-specific research fundingbiomedical/research grantstranslational and clinical research support
About Swim Across America
Swim Across America Inc directs funds from charity swims into cancer research, clinical trials, detection, and patient programs. The recent grants list shows a grantmaking pattern built around major cancer centers and hospital partners, with repeated support for institutions such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Cancer Support Team of Westchester, and Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy. Those awards sit within a larger model that connects local swim events to beneficiary organizations serving cancer research, treatment, and supportive care. The foundation’s grantmaking is not limited to laboratory science. It also supports clinical and patient-facing work, including grants for palliative and supportive care on Nantucket and for hospital-based programs tied to cancer treatment and patient care. Recent awards also include oncology institutions in Boston, Seattle, Baltimore, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, and New York, showing a national network of beneficiaries rather than a single-market strategy. Its latest 990 year on file is 2025, and annual grants given were $20,885,747. The foundation is led by Robert Butcher and does not fund individuals.
What Swim Across America Funds
Cancer research is the dominant theme in the recent grants list. Swim Across America Inc gave $584,747 to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York for cancer research, and another $475,000 to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund in Boston for the same purpose. It also funded Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle with $450,000 for cancer research. Clinical and translational work appears alongside research. Johns Hopkins in Baltimore received $445,000 for cancer research, while Johns Hopkins University received $419,000, also for cancer research. UCSF Foundation in San Francisco appears multiple times with awards of $445,000, $420,000, and $420,000, reflecting repeated support for a major cancer institution. Patient-facing care is part of the portfolio as well. Nantucket Cottage Hospital received $450,000 for cancer research, and the foundation’s grant program materials reference palliative and supportive care support on Nantucket. Cancer Support Team of Westchester also received repeated support for cancer research.
How Swim Across America Gives
Typical grants fall in a mid-six-figure band: the p25 is $95,000, the median is $170,000, and the p75 is $315,000. The recent grants list shows repeated awards to the same recipients across 2023, 2024, and 2025, including Cancer Support Team of Westchester, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, UCSF Foundation, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, Nantucket Cottage Hospital, and MD Anderson Cancer Center. That points to an ongoing, relationship-based funding pattern rather than one-off support. Swim Across America Inc operates as an event-directed grantmaker tied to charity swims, and the active programs indicate that funds are routed to approved beneficiary hospitals, cancer institutes, and patient care programs. The organization does not accept unsolicited grant requests in the programs listed.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$7.6M
Total Assets
$8.2M
Total Revenue
$11.4M
Total Expenses
$11.7M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $95K and $315K, with a median of $170K.
25th Percentile
$95K
Median
$170K
75th Percentile
$315K
Geographic Reach
National20 states funded
About 6% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Robert Butcher
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