The Colorectal Cancer Alliance (Alliance) today announced it is a winner of the 2025 Amazon Web Services (AWS) Imagine Grant, a public grant opportunity open to registered 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the United States who are using technology to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. The grant will support the Alliance’s Project Cure CRC initiative to connect and analyze real-world patient and clinical data across institutions, enabling personalized treatment pathways, accelerating innovation and establishing a learning cycle that translates research insights back to patient care.

The Alliance was named a winner in the Go Further, Faster category, which recognizes highly innovative projects using advanced cloud services. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance will receive $150,000 in unrestricted funding and $20,000 in AWS Credits, as well as engagement with AWS technical specialists. Proposals were judged on several factors including the innovative and unique nature of the project, impact on mission-critical goals and clearly defined outcomes and milestones. 

“As the leading nonprofit working to end colorectal cancer, we are excited to receive this grant to advance our work on Project Cure CRC,” said Marc Mason, Chief Data and Analytics Officer and Chief Technology Officer of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. “The funding will assist in building an innovative and potentially lifesaving clinical and research ecosystem that transforms colorectal cancer patient care.” 

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance is building Project Cure CRC, an integrated AI-enabled ecosystem powered by AWS that connects patients to personalized education, navigation, clinical trials, and precision-guided support. Built on BlueLake—a multi-institutional real-world data and collaboration platform—the ecosystem enables BlueHQ to deliver real-time patient engagement, clinical guidance and community support, while K-SPY serves as a next-generation adaptive clinical trial platform. Alongside the Alliance's Direct Research Funding program, Project Cure CRC establishes a continuous learning cycle where real-world clinical and patient-reported data directly inform research, and discoveries are translated back to improve care. Together, these integrated components advance outcomes and equity in colorectal cancer care.

“At AWS, we're continually amazed by the nonprofit sector's innovative spirit and dedication to creating positive change in our communities and around the globe," said Rick Buettner, Managing Director of Global Nonprofits at AWS. "Through the Imagine Grant program, we're seeing organizations embrace cloud technology in ways that fundamentally reshape how they deliver on their missions. From scaling their impact to reaching underserved communities, these nonprofits are showing us what's possible when vision meets innovation. We're proud to support their transformative work and help them build solutions that will benefit communities for years to come." 

Over 95,000 nonprofit organizations worldwide use AWS to increase their impact and advance mission goals. Through multiple programs tailored specifically to the nonprofit community, AWS enables nonprofits of all sizes to overcome barriers to technology adoption, while enhancing the scale, performance, and capabilities of mission operations.  

On December 10, Mason will present the Alliance’s work, “Building a Patient-Centric Data Ecosystem for Precision Oncology: The Project Cure CRC Initiative” during the AWS Connected Community Customer Meetup. 

For more information or to donate to the Alliance’s Project Cure CRC initiative, visit: colorectalcancer.org/curecrc.

For more information on the AWS Imagine Grant, visit https://aws.amazon.com/government education/nonprofits/aws-imagine-grant-program/ 

About the Colorectal Cancer Alliance

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance empowers a nation of passionate and determined allies to prevent, treat, and overcome colorectal cancer in their lives and communities. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Alliance advocates for prevention through initiatives like LEAD FROM BEHIND, magnifies support with BlueHQ, and accelerates research through Project Cure CRC. We are the largest national nonprofit dedicated to colorectal cancer, and we exist to end this disease in our lifetime. For more information, visit colorectalcancer.org.  

Media Contact:
Emily Blasi
eblasi@ccalliance.org 
(202) 971-9964