The 27-year-old jumped into the water from a building on a wharf that was a popular diving spot in Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, early Saturday morning around 2 am (0600 GMT).
The witnesses said Griffin plunged "into the water where he floated to the surface. Griffin then went under water again not resurfacing," the Nantucket Police Department said in a statement.
A nearby lifeguard was called to the scene to retrieve Griffin and emergency responders performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Griffin, who worked in finance, had been on the island to raise USD 100,000 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research.
Also Read
The Ice Bucket Challenge has become a global phenomenon with everyone from pop star Justin Bieber to former US president George W Bush and Microsoft founder Bill Gates drenching themselves in icy water.
Facebook said that between June 1 and August 17 more than 28 million people mentioned the challenge on the social network, and 2.4 million videos were posted.
As of today, the ALS Association said it had collected USD 41.5 million in donations from July 29 to August 21 against USD 2.1 million in the same period last year.
Some 30,000 Americans have ALS, which attacks the nervous system and eventually leaves victims paralyzed.