Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative

Name

Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative

Legal name

Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative

Website

https://mchb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts and Grants: Long-standing contractual relationships with Alberta Health Services and Edmonton Region Children's Services, along with funding from Alberta Health, Alberta Justice and Attorney General, Disability Services Alberta, and Government of Alberta Ministry of Children Services. These contracts fund core programming across all life stages.
2. Foundation and Corporate Funding: Funding from United Way, City of Edmonton FCSS, Edmonton Community Foundation, Bell Let's Talk Community, Emergency Community Support Fund, Community Foundations of Canada for specific programs and initiatives.
3. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Donations accepted for the Grocery Run program and general operations. E-transfer and cheque donations accepted. Note: The organization cannot issue charitable tax receipts.
4. Fee-for-Service Training Programs: Journeys intercultural competence training program offered as fee-for-service to organizations. Pricing available upon contact for customized workshops.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative (MCHB) is a worker-owned cooperative that delivers culturally and linguistically appropriate health, settlement, and social services to immigrant and refugee families in Edmonton and across Alberta. Its core offering is cultural brokering—provided by trained brokers from immigrant communities—who bridge newcomer families with Canadian health, social, and government systems through individual support, community development, and systems navigation across the life span (peri-natal through seniors).

Product overview

Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative is a worker-owned cooperative offering a comprehensive portfolio of settlement, health, and social services for immigrant and refugee families in Edmonton. The organization serves over 2000 families annually across 25+ cultural communities through programs spanning all life stages: peri-natal health, early childhood development (Home Visitation, Multicultural Family Connections), child intervention, youth programs, employment support (English for Employment, Spiral Up to Success), food security (Grocery Run, Food Dignity), seniors outreach, and mental health counselling. Services are delivered through individual cultural brokering, community development, and systems navigation, with the Intercultural Family Resource Network serving as the central hub connecting these diverse program offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MCHB Co-op: Worker-owned co-operative providing culturally and linguistically appropriate support to immigrant and refugee families.
• River City Bridges
• Intercultural Family Resource Network (FRN)
• Well-being and Mental Health Program
• Multicultural FSCD
• Journeys to Intercultural Wisdom and Equity
• Journeys
• The Grocery Run
• Food Dignity Program
• Grow
• Khair for All
• Spiral Up To Success

Products and services

• Peri-Natal Health Program Pre-natal and post-natal support program for immigrant and refugee mothers, including facilitated pre-natal classes, group sessions, and connections to Alberta Health Services Health for Two resources.
• Home Visitation Spoke Program Culturally and linguistically relevant home visitation support for parents with children aged 6 or younger, listed on 211 Alberta.
• English for Employment Program 16-week full-time program training newcomers at CLB 3 language level to work in the hospitality industry, covering English skills, workplace culture, digital literacy, and job search support, with hands-on training at partner hotels such as The Westin Edmonton.
• Immigrant and Refugee Youth Initiative Youth-directed mental health and mentorship program offering out-of-school academic, cultural, social, and recreational activities with leadership training for immigrant and refugee youth.
• Multicultural Seniors Outreach Program Outreach program for isolated multicultural seniors providing language- and culturally-responsive support, mutual support groups, and community organizing in partnership with SAGE.
• Family and Child Intervention Program Program building trusting relationships with families involved in child welfare, providing culturally responsive individual and family counselling, bi-cultural parenting, and family mediation.
• Multicultural Family Support for Children with Disabilities (MFSCD) Program assisting ethnocultural families with children with disabilities in accessing government FSCD funding and services, available in 20+ languages.
• Well-being and Mental Health Program Free counseling services with clinical social workers, registered psychologists, and licensed clinical counselors working with interpreters and cultural brokers to bridge cultural barriers, including individual therapy, marriage counseling, play therapy, and trauma therapy.
• Intercultural Family Resource Network (FRN) Hub and Spokes model providing prevention and early intervention services for children and youth ages 0-18, including intake, navigational supports, and coordination with partner organizations.
• Journeys to Intercultural Wisdom and Equity Fee-for-service training workshops building intercultural competence, racial equity, and intercultural wisdom for service providers, professionals, and community workers.
• Grocery Run Program Weekly food hamper program providing culturally appropriate fresh produce and pantry staples to 113 immigrant and refugee families and seniors (376 individuals) experiencing chronic poverty and hunger in Edmonton.
• Food Dignity Program Dynamic food security program with four strategic pillars (Feed, Grow, Innovate, Advocate), reframing food as an anchor for cultural wealth and socio-economic inclusion.
• Spiral Up To Success Employment connection services project for immigrants and refugees facing barriers including disabilities, adopting an intersectionality and pandisability inclusion lens, with 27 individuals served in one year.
• Grow Program Urban agriculture and growing strategies including home microgreen growing, yard sharing, market gardening, and community education workshops, in partnership with multiple urban farms.
• Khair For All Affordable culturally honouring food box social enterprise (pilot 2021-2023) operated in partnership with Gud Box.
• Support Groups Community support groups including the South Asian Multilingual Radio Program (English, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu on Radio Des Punjab 104.9 FM) and South Asian Women's and Men's Support Groups.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% placement success rate for hospitality employment program graduates
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ASSIST Community Services CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020FRN (Family Resource Network) partner providing parent education services in several different languages as part of the Hub and Spokes model.
• BGCBigs (Boys & Girls Club/Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020FRN partner providing children and youth development opportunities through their clubs as part of the Hub and Spokes model.
• Crystal Kids Youth CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020FRN partner providing child and youth development opportunities through their drop-in centre as part of the Hub and Spokes model.
• IFSSA (Islamic Family & Social Services Association)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020FRN partner providing holistic family support including family violence services and youth mentoring as part of the Hub and Spokes model.
• Inclusion AlbertaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Collaboration partner in launching the Multicultural Family Support for Children with Disabilities (MFSCD) program in 2005.
• SAGE (Senior Association of Greater Edmonton)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership program with SAGE for Multicultural Senior Outreach. Brokers work within SAGE's framework to address fundamental needs of isolated multicultural seniors including language barriers, loneliness, poverty, and housing insecurity.
• Gateway AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Spiral Up to Success project providing employment connection services to immigrants and refugees facing barriers including disabilities, using intersectionality and pandisability inclusion lens.
• Alberta Health ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing contractual relationship with Alberta Health Services for public health initiatives, peri-natal health, and collaborative program delivery.
• Edmonton Region Children's ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing contractual relationship for child intervention programs and collaborative practice model with Child Intervention.
• The Westin Hotel EdmontonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHospitality training partnership providing immersive workplace environment for English for Employment program. Students receive hands-on training and job shadowing at the hotel.
• Edmonton Food BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in the Grocery Run program, providing food donations and support for food hamper distribution to newcomer families.
• Leftovers FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood rescue partner supporting the Grocery Run program by connecting rescued food to families in need.
• Second HarvestminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood security partner supporting food rescue and redistribution efforts.
• Drive HappinessminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior-serving partner working with MCHB to address seniors' transportation needs.
• GEF Seniors HousingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization working to address seniors' housing needs.
• CMHA Edmonton ChapterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMental health partner collaborating on senior outreach initiatives.
• Explore Edmonton Urban FarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for growing initiatives, providing garden spaces for eleven ethnocultural communities with 140+ adults and 80 children participating.
• Prairie Urban FarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban agriculture partner for food security growing strategies.
• Lady Flower GardensminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for community education and capacity building in food growing.
• MFRS (Multicultural Family Resource Society)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in food security strategies and community food initiatives.
• Radio Des PunjabminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEthnic media partner for South Asian Multilingual Radio Program delivered in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers: Edmonton-based nonprofit providing settlement, language, employment and integration services for newcomers and refugees. Directly comparable to MCHB in mission, geography, target population (immigrants/refugees) and service breadth.
• Catholic Social Services of Edmonton: Edmonton-based multi-service agency delivering settlement, refugee, family and community services including programming for immigrant and culturally diverse communities. Overlaps with MCHB on family support, newcomer services and child intervention.
• Immigrant Services Calgary: Calgary-based nonprofit providing settlement, language training, employment and integration services for newcomers. Same target population and service portfolio as MCHB; the most analogous Alberta peer.
• Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS): Settlement agency serving newcomers in Calgary with language, employment, family and community programs. Comparable in mandate and program mix to MCHB and a leading same-province competitor for refugee resettlement contracts.
• Centre for Newcomers (Calgary): Calgary-based society providing settlement, language, employment and community integration services for immigrants and refugees. Operates a similar holistic, life-stage-spanning service model to MCHB.

Broad incumbents

• COSTI Immigrant Services: One of Canada's largest immigrant services agencies, headquartered in Toronto with broad settlement, language, employment, mental health and refugee programs. Largest-scale analogue to MCHB and a useful benchmark for mature immigrant-services operations.
• MOSAIC: Vancouver-based multilingual nonprofit serving immigrants and refugees with settlement, language, employment and community programs. Operates a multilingual, culturally diverse service model similar to MCHB and is a leading Western Canadian peer.
• YMCA of Northern Alberta: Large regional nonprofit operating newcomer settlement, language, employment and child/family programs across Northern Alberta including Edmonton. Broader portfolio than MCHB but directly competes for the same government newcomer-settlement contracts.

Regional players

• SAGE (Senior Association of Greater Edmonton): Edmonton-based seniors services organization partnering with MCHB on the Multicultural Seniors Outreach Program. Comparable in target population segment (isolated multicultural seniors) and Edmonton focus; complementary rather than head-to-head.
• Inclusion Alberta: Alberta-wide nonprofit supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families, and a co-developer of MCHB's Multicultural FSCD program. Comparable in disability and family-services focus for ethnocultural communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/mchbgroceryrun
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/multicultural-health-brokers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative