Hope & Comfort

What Hope & Comfort does

Hope & Comfort (legally Hope and Comfort Hygiene Hub) is a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2011 by Jeff and Loren Feingold to address hygiene insecurity — the inability to reliably access essential personal care products not covered by federal assistance programs such as SNAP or WIC. The organization operates exclusively within Massachusetts, where approximately one in three residents (2.3 million people) experience hygiene insecurity, and distributes free hygiene products including soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, menstrual products, and laundry detergent through a B2B-to-nonprofit model: registered nonprofit partner organizations serving low-income populations place orders through the organization's Product Ordering Portal (POP), a web-based platform built on Odoo, and pick up products from the central warehouse at 33 Fourth Avenue, Needham, MA. By the end of 2024 the network included 625+ active community partners — schools, food pantries, shelters, health centers, and youth-serving nonprofits — with a further 399 organizations on an active waitlist.

The organization's revenue model is donation-based across multiple streams: individual contributions via the website and monthly giving programs; donor-advised fund grants through Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon; corporate volunteer engagements priced at approximately $100 per participant, which generated 1,200+ volunteer engagements annually; bulk in-kind product donations from corporations including Procter & Gamble; and foundation grants including a $150,000 Cummings Foundation grant in 2025 plus named "Visionary"- and "Champion"-tier support from Liberty Mutual Foundation, Sanofi, TJX, Vertex, Fidelity, Mass General Brigham, HarborOne Foundation, The Lynch Foundation, and The Shapiro Foundation. Cumulative product distribution exceeds 20 million units since inception, with 5.1 million distributed in 2024 alone — an estimated $50 in donations stabilizes hygiene access for one person for a full year. The organization employs fewer than ten staff, led by CEO Kerry Carter (the first CEO, appointed October 2022), and is governed by an independent Board of Directors chaired by Betsy Rosen.

Hope & Comfort's positioning rests on three structural advantages: it is the only nonprofit in Massachusetts exclusively focused on hygiene insecurity (and described in its own materials as the largest known exclusively focused hygiene product distributor in the United States), it operates an established statewide distribution infrastructure that would be costly and time-consuming to replicate, and it is developing the first validated measurement framework for hygiene insecurity in order to quantify the issue for funders and policymakers. Recognition includes a Charity Navigator perfect 100/100 score, a Candid Platinum Transparency Award, a 2021 CNN Hero honor for founder Jeff Feingold, and — in October 2024 — a Massachusetts State Senate resolution establishing the first annual Hygiene Insecurity Awareness Week, signaling the institutionalization of the hygiene-insecurity framing as a public health category. Distribution is explicitly geo-restricted to Massachusetts for the foreseeable future, although new programs (Hygiene Secure Schools in K-12, year-4 MassBay Community College partnership) are extending depth within the state.

Name

Hope & Comfort

Legal name

Hope and Comfort Hygiene Hub

Website

https://hopeandcomfort.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hope & Comfort (Hope and Comfort Hygiene Hub) is a Massachusetts 501(c)(3) nonprofit that distributes essential hygiene products free of charge through 625+ community partner organizations across the state via a centralized Needham warehouse and an Odoo-based Product Ordering Portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Hygiene Product Distribution

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Safety Nets (In-Kind, Vouchers, Cash Transfers) (BPADAJAA)

Keywords

• Hygiene product distribution
• Nonprofit social services
• Community partner network
• Corporate volunteer engagement
• Hygiene insecurity research

Headquarters

HQ city

Needham Heights

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Monetary Donations: Individual and corporate donations received through the organization's website, monthly giving programs, and one-time gifts. Hope & Comfort is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (EIN: 45-1329518).
2. Donor Advised Funds: Grants recommended from donor-advised funds held at Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, or BNY Mellon. Donors can use quick links to recommend grants to Hope & Comfort.
3. Corporate Engagement and Volunteer Programs: Corporate groups pay approximately $100 per participant for volunteer experiences that include assembling hygiene kits, with tiered partnership opportunities available for deeper engagement.
4. Product Donations: Bulk product donations from corporations and individuals. Accepted products include soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, body wash, conditioner, menstrual products, laundry detergent sheets, and shaving supplies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hope & Comfort is a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that sources, warehouses, and distributes essential hygiene products (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, body wash, conditioner, toothbrushes, menstrual products, laundry detergent sheets, shaving supplies) free of charge to a statewide network of more than 625 registered nonprofit partner organizations — including schools, food pantries, health centers, shelters, and youth-serving groups — that serve hygiene-insecure individuals. Distribution is operationally supported by the Product Ordering Portal (POP), a web-based system that allows partners to request products and schedule pickup appointments at the Needham warehouse.

Product overview

Hope & Comfort (now Hope & Comfort Hygiene Hub) is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that distributes essential hygiene products through a network of 625+ community partners. The core offering is hygiene product distribution, which includes soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, menstrual products, laundry detergent, and more. The organization operates the Product Ordering Portal (POP) - a web-based platform built on Odoo that allows distribution partners to request products and schedule pickups. Additional programs include the Hygiene Secure Schools initiative, corporate volunteer engagement programs, and community product drives. Founded in 2011, the organization has distributed over 20 million products since inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hygiene Product Distribution Free distribution of essential hygiene products (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, body wash, conditioner, toothbrushes, menstrual products, laundry detergent sheets, shaving supplies) sourced via bulk purchases and corporate donations to 625+ vetted nonprofit partner organizations (schools, food pantries, shelters, health centers, youth-serving organizations) across Massachusetts, distributed through the Needham warehouse.
• Product Ordering Portal (POP) Web-based ordering system for registered partner organizations to request free hygiene products, browse available inventory, and schedule pickup appointments at the Hope & Comfort warehouse in Needham, MA.
• Hygiene Secure Schools School-based program that places dedicated hygiene product access inside partner schools so students can obtain soap, toothpaste, deodorant, menstrual products, and other essentials on-site, addressing attendance barriers.
• Corporate Volunteer Engagement Structured corporate team-building volunteer program at the Needham warehouse where company employees assemble hygiene kits, receiving a presentation on hygiene insecurity and direct community impact, priced at approximately $100 per participant covering products, operations, staffing, and event coordination.
• Community Product Drive Program Program enabling community groups, schools, faith organizations, and individuals to host hygiene product drives, collecting full-size unexpired soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, and other items for shipment to Hope & Comfort's warehouse for redistribution.

Quantifiable outcome

• 87% of youth recipients reported improved self-esteem from receiving hygiene products
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MassBay Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 January 2024Fourth year of partnership to provide free access to basic hygiene products to MassBay students facing hygiene insecurity.
• New England Patriots FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvocate-level partner collaborating with Hope & Comfort to kick off Hygiene Insecurity Awareness Week with community events.
• FLAG Flag FootballcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnector-level partner co-hosting Hygiene Insecurity Awareness Week events with Hope & Comfort and the New England Patriots Foundation.
• WayfairminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner highlighted in Wayfair's 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report. Wayfair employees assembled over 1,500 essential hygiene kits to support individuals facing hygiene insecurity.
• P&G (Procter & Gamble)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvocate-level product donor providing bulk hygiene products for distribution.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cradles to Crayons: Cradles to Crayons distributes essential items (clothing, shoes, hygiene products, school supplies) to children living in homeless or low-income situations through a partner-agency model analogous to Hope & Comfort's hygiene-product distribution to community partners in Massachusetts.
• Baby2Baby: Baby2Baby distributes diapers, clothing, and basic hygiene essentials to children in poverty through a national network of partner organizations. Its essential-items-to-vulnerable-populations distribution model, partner-network GTM, and corporate-donor-driven revenue mix are directly comparable to Hope & Comfort.
• National Diaper Bank Network: National Diaper Bank Network is a national nonprofit that distributes a basic essential (diapers) through a member network of regional diaper banks, very analogous to Hope & Comfort's model of distributing hygiene essentials through a state network of community partner organizations.
• I Support the Girls: I Support the Girls collects and distributes bras, menstrual hygiene products, and personal care items to women and girls experiencing homelessness or poverty. Its mission — distributing personal-care essentials to vulnerable populations through community partners — overlaps almost completely with Hope & Comfort.
• Helping Hand Mission: Helping Hand Mission is a regional nonprofit that provides food, clothing, and personal hygiene items to people in need through community outreach. Its mix of essential-item distribution to vulnerable populations through partner channels is directly comparable to Hope & Comfort's model.

Emerging players

• Beauty Bus Foundation: Beauty Bus Foundation delivers beauty and grooming products and services to patients in hospitals, hospices, and shelters. Its focus on dignity-driven personal-care distribution to vulnerable populations mirrors Hope & Comfort's hygiene-insecurity mission, though it is smaller and service-rather than product-led.
• Dignity Period: Dignity Period is a nonprofit focused on ending period poverty through distribution of menstrual products and education. It is directly comparable to the menstrual-products component of Hope & Comfort's distribution program, though it operates at smaller scale.
• The Period Purse: The Period Purse is a Canadian nonprofit that distributes menstrual products to people in need through community partners. It operates an analogous hygiene-essential distribution model to Hope & Comfort, focused on the menstrual-products category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HopeandComfort1
• Facebookfacebook.com/hopeandcomfort
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hope-and-comfort
• Instagraminstagram.com/hopeandcomfort

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hope & Comfort