Though the 2.4-mile Coeur d'Alene Crossing fundraiser is only two years old, the group donated $7,000 on Thursday to Union Gospel Mission (UGM), one of three nonprofits receiving a $7,000 check.

"Last year we gave out $10,500," said Steve Rozier, Coeur d'Alene Crossing board member. "This year we doubled that amount."

The other recipients were the North Idaho College (NIC) Booster Club and the Coeur d'Alene Area Swim Team (CAST).

The Coeur d'Alene Crossing was started, according to Rozier, by a few guys sitting around talking in The Coeur d'Alene Resort lobby.

"We wanted to create an event where we could get money to donate to local nonprofits," he said. "We brainstormed a bunch and then decided on the swim. We put our boots on the ground, got some sponsors with funds and reached out to key people in the community."

Al Williams, the athletic director at NIC and another Coeur d'Alene Crossing board member, remembers it slightly differently. "I think we were sitting at dinner at The Resort when someone suggested it would be a fun thing to have some sort of swimming race over here by the Event Center. We were kind of joking at first and then one of us came up with the idea to have a fundraiser. We were amazed at how fast it all came together."

Because Williams worked at NIC, it was natural for the NIC Booster Club to be one of the recipients. Since one of the other board members expressed an interest in helping battered women, UGM was added to the mix. Finally, because it was a swimming event, it only made sense to include CAST.

The Aug. 18 swim from Discovery Marina to The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course had 223 finishers.

"We couldn't ask for a better setting," Williams said. "It's an ideal backdrop for swimmers and spectators."

Rozier said the group is already gearing up for 2014 with registration for the event opening next week. "We want to eventually be the premier open-water swim in the Northwest."

Information: www.cdacrossing.com