ENCINITAS — The 2026 Switchfoot Bro-Am raised $335,000 for organizations serving young people in San Diego County, combining a benefit party with the June 13 surf contest and free beach festival at Moonlight Beach.
The money was designated for A Step Beyond, Challenged Athletes Foundation, Feeding San Diego, Monarch School, Rady Children’s Hospital and Save The Music Foundation. Each organization addresses a different need, from food access and health care to arts education, athletics and programs for students experiencing homelessness.
One Benefit, Multiple Parts
Bro-Am began in 2005 as an Encinitas benefit organized by the members of Switchfoot. Its 2026 schedule extended beyond the Saturday beach event. A June 11 benefit party at Viasat in Carlsbad drew 470 attendees and contributed to the fundraising total, according to the official recap and local reporting.
On June 13, the public program at Moonlight Beach paired team surfing with live music. Switchfoot headlined the concert, and the lineup also included other performers presented by the event. Admission to the beach festival was free. The format uses the band’s local connection and a surf-centered day to support nonprofit work rather than charging admission as a conventional concert.
The surf portion included professional competitors, musicians and participants representing beneficiary organizations. Bro-Am’s structure emphasizes teams and fundraising, distinguishing it from a tour-ranking contest. Its purpose is measured most directly by the money directed to the six named organizations.
The 2026 Total
The $335,000 result pushed Bro-Am’s cumulative fundraising since 2005 above $3.35 million, according to the event’s release. That lifetime figure applies to organizations serving unhoused, at-risk and disadvantaged youth across the region; it should not be confused with the amount raised in 2026 alone.
Bro-Am also published vendor rules for the beach festival. Participating businesses and organizations operated within an event plan that addressed setup, waste and restrictions appropriate to the beach site. Those details matter because the festival combines a nonprofit fundraiser, a public concert and commercial booths in one coastal location.
No generalized beach attendance claim is necessary to describe the outcome. The sourced attendance number is 470 for the separate June 11 benefit party. For the June 13 festival, the verified facts are its free public format, Moonlight Beach location, surf and music program, beneficiaries and fundraising result.
The event’s local identity is central but not sufficient by itself; the final accounting gives the day its consequence. Six youth-serving groups were named to receive support, $335,000 was raised across the multi-day effort, and a project that began more than two decades earlier passed $3.35 million in cumulative giving.
That distinction keeps the recap focused on what can be measured. Bro-Am was a free beach festival on June 13, a benefit campaign extending beyond one day and a funding source for specific San Diego organizations. The surf heats and concert supplied the public program; the nonprofit total supplied the result.
Sources: Switchfoot Bro-Am official recap; Bro-Am beach vendor information; The Coast News; and KPBS event listing.