What Oberkotter Foundation does

The Oberkotter Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation established in 1985 and headquartered at 123 S. Broad Street, Suite 1500, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its mission is to ensure that children who are deaf or hard of hearing have opportunities to reach their full potential through listening and spoken language (LSL). Since inception, the Foundation has deployed over $500 million in cumulative grant funding to nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations working on early childhood hearing loss across the United States.

The Foundation operates a portfolio of interconnected initiatives rather than commercial products. Hearing First is a virtual learning and community platform offering free courses on evidence-based LSL and pediatric audiology protocols for professionals, along with resources for families, and produces the LSL Life docuseries. Starts Hear is a national awareness campaign that has generated over 1.2 billion ad views, 506 million video views, and 2.4 million website visits over five years to educate expectant and new parents about newborn hearing screening. Science & Innovation funds groundbreaking hearing healthcare research, supported by a Scientific Council for Childhood Hearing that provides expert guidance.

The Foundation has no commercial revenue model; it is funded by an endowment and philanthropic capital, and distributes value through grantmaking, free educational programming, and awareness content. Its 11-50 person staff is led by CEO Dr. Teresa Caraway, and the organization is governed by a Board of Trustees. Customer-side relationships are with three principal constituencies: families of children with hearing loss, hearing healthcare professionals, and expectant and new parents, none of whom pay for services.

Name

Oberkotter Foundation

Legal name

Oberkotter Foundation

Website

https://oberkotterfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Oberkotter Foundation is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit founded in 1985 that has deployed over $500 million in grant funding to improve listening, spoken language, and literacy outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing across the United States, primarily through its Hearing First, Starts Hear, and Science & Innovation initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Childhood Hearing Loss Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH), Early Literacy & Reading Intervention Programs (EDAGAAAD)

Keywords

• Hearing loss support
• Spoken language education
• Pediatric audiology
• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Newborn hearing screening

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grant Making: As a private foundation, Oberkotter Foundation generates no revenue from operations. It provides grant funding to nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, having distributed over $500 million since 1985 to improve listening, spoken language, and literacy outcomes for children with hearing loss.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Oberkotter Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation that funds and operates programs to improve listening, spoken language, and literacy outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing in the United States. Its core offerings include grant funding to nonprofit organizations, the Hearing First virtual learning and community platform serving families and professionals, and the Starts Hear national awareness campaign promoting newborn hearing screening.

Product overview

The Oberkotter Foundation is a nonprofit philanthropic organization (not a traditional product company) that operates through interconnected initiatives focused on improving listening, spoken language, and literacy outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The foundation's portfolio includes Hearing First (a virtual learning and community platform offering professional courses and family resources), Starts Hear (a national awareness campaign for newborn hearing screening with 1.2 billion ad views over five years), Science & Innovation (research and technology initiatives), and LSL Life (a docuseries). The Foundation has provided over $500 million in funding since 1985 and actively awards grants to organizations improving hearing device wear time in infants and young children.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hearing First: An initiative of the Oberkotter Foundation that provides virtual learning experiences and community spaces for families and professionals serving children with hearing loss.
• Starts Hear

Products and services

• Hearing First

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1.2 billion total ad views and 506 million video views through Starts Hear awareness campaign over five years
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BabyCentercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 April 2026New partnership for the Starts Hear campaign's sixth year of educating families about newborn hearing screening. BabyCenter is a parenting resource that will help expand reach to expectant parents through the awareness campaign.
• The BumpcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 April 2026New partnership for the Starts Hear campaign's sixth year. The Bump, a pregnancy and parenting platform, will help expand Spanish-language outreach and general awareness about newborn hearing screening to expectant parents.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): Professional association for audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and hearing scientists. Comparable as a broader institution supporting the same hearing healthcare professional segment through standards, certification, and continuing education that Oberkotter Foundation's Hearing First program complements.
• Starkey Hearing Foundation: Large nonprofit foundation providing hearing aids and care globally. Comparable as a broader, better-funded peer in hearing loss philanthropy, though Starkey focuses more on device provision than on listening/spoken language intervention specifically.

Direct peers

• Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: National nonprofit dedicated to listening, spoken language, and advocacy for children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing. Directly comparable as a peer organization funding and supporting LSL outcomes and family/professional education in the same population.
• Hands & Voices: Nonprofit dedicated to supporting families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, providing parent-to-parent support, advocacy, and resources. Directly comparable as a peer organization serving the same family and professional segments with similar education and awareness initiatives.
• BEGINNINGS for Parents of Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Nonprofit providing impartial information, support, and resources to parents of deaf/hard-of-hearing children. Directly comparable as a peer serving the same primary beneficiary segment with awareness and family education programming.
• Hearing Health Foundation: Largest US private funder of hearing and balance research, including prevention and treatment of hearing loss. Directly comparable as a peer foundation channeling philanthropic capital into hearing research and awareness with similar beneficiary populations.
• John Tracy Center: Nonprofit providing free services to families of infants and young children with hearing loss, emphasizing listening and spoken language. Directly comparable as a peer organization serving families and professionals in pediatric hearing loss intervention.

Emerging players

• Cochlear Implant Awareness Foundation: Smaller nonprofit raising awareness of cochlear implants as a treatment for hearing loss. Comparable as an emerging peer organization focused on cochlear implant awareness and education, intersecting with Oberkotter's mission.

Others

• National Association of the Deaf: Civil rights organization advocating for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Related to Oberkotter through shared beneficiary population, but takes a broader cultural/linguistic stance versus Oberkotter's LSL-specific approach.

Regional players

• Sertoma Inc. US civic service organization historically focused on hearing health, including communication disorders programs. Comparable as a US-rooted peer funder of hearing health initiatives with overlapping beneficiary focus, though with a broader civic/community orientation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oberkotter-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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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 Oberkotter Foundation