The Arnold P. Gold Foundation

What The Arnold P. Gold Foundation does

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1988 by Drs. Arnold and Sandra Gold and their family to embed humanism—compassionate, respectful, communicative care—into clinician training and healthcare delivery. Headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey, with an additional office in New York City, the Foundation serves medical and nursing students, residents, practicing clinicians, faculty, healthcare institutions, and corporate partners across the United States and Canada. Its flagship White Coat Ceremony is now hosted at nearly every accredited U.S. medical school, and its Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) maintains 180+ medical school chapters with more than 45,000 cumulative members who carry the designation into their professional careers.

The Foundation's program portfolio includes the Tell Me More® patient communication initiative, the Gold Humanism Honor Society with chapter-led service projects, the annual Gold Humanism Summit (held in 2025 at Howard University), a Gala, Gold Professorships embedded at medical schools, Gold Student Summer Fellowships, the Picker Gold Award for patient-centered care excellence, and an emerging suite of bedside micro-tools such as Patient Priorities Care tools and the Trust Scale. Institutional engagement is structured through a Gold Corporate Council and a Gold Partners Council with tiered annual dues ranging from $7,500 to $25,000. The Foundation also operates a Canadian subsidiary—the Arnold P. Gold Foundation of Canada—extending programmatic reach internationally.

Revenue is generated through individual donations, Gold Corporate and Gold Partners Council membership dues, event-related income from the Summit and Gala, program sponsorships, and named gifts. The organization is governed by a board of trustees and supported by a small staff of 11–50 employees. Strategic priorities evident in 2025–2026 include extending Gold Partners Council eligibility to nursing schools, expanding the student essay contest to graduate psychology students via a National Register partnership, launching a Gold Humanism Scholar role at the Harvard Macy Institute, and partnering with the Journal of Patient Experience on a special collection.

Name

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation

Legal name

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation

Website

https://gold-foundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is a nonprofit that champions humanism in healthcare through the White Coat Ceremony, the Gold Humanism Honor Society (45,000+ members across 180+ chapters), Tell Me More®, and institutional membership programs, serving medical and nursing schools, clinicians, and healthcare partners in the U.S. and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Humanism Nonprofit Programs

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Humanism in healthcare
• Medical education programs
• Healthcare recognition awards
• Patient communication tools
• Healthcare nonprofit programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Englewood Cliffs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tax-Deductible Donations: Individual donors contribute tax-deductible gifts at various levels to support the Gold Foundation's programs. The organization describes gifts of all sizes as appreciated. Donation tiers referenced include $50 (sustain programs), $100 (communication training), $250 (White Coat Ceremony), $1,000 (Gold Partners Council membership support for a school in need). The foundation's state disclosures confirm it is a New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation, and its planned giving program (Golden Legacy Society) accepts bequests, retirement plan designations, IRA charitable contributions, and life insurance beneficiary designations.
2. Gold Partners Council Membership Fees: Medical schools, nursing schools, and hospitals pay annual membership fees to join the Gold Partners Council. Three tiers: Hippocrates ($25,000/year), Blackwell ($15,000/year), and Osler ($7,500/year). The council provides access to programs, tools, recognition, and events as member benefits. Nursing school founding members joined in 2025. Hospital memberships follow the same tier structure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is a nonprofit organization that creates and supports national programs advancing humanism in healthcare. It delivers signature programs (White Coat Ceremony, Gold Humanism Honor Society, Tell Me More® communication tool, Gold Humanism Summit), institutional membership councils (Gold Partners Council for medical schools, nursing schools, and hospitals; Gold Corporate Council), recognition awards, and scholar programs for medical and nursing students and educators.

Product overview

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is a nonprofit organization that champions humanism in healthcare through a portfolio of signature programs, awards, scholar programs, and resources. The core programs include the Gold Humanism Summit (annual national conference), White Coat Ceremony (student welcoming ritual), Gold Humanism Honor Society (peer-recognition honor society with 45,000+ members), and Tell Me More® (patient communication tool). The foundation operates member councils (Gold Partners Council for academic medicine and hospitals, Gold Corporate Council) offering resources like the Gold Database of Research, Practical Applications of Humanism database, and Patient Priorities Care tools. Award programs include the National Humanism in Medicine Medal, AACN-Gold Interprofessional Humanism in Healthcare Award, and various teaching excellence awards. Scholar programs include Gold Student Summer Fellowships, the Dr. Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest, and Gold Humanism Scholars at Harvard Macy Institute. The foundation publishes the monthly Jeffrey Silver Humanism in Healthcare Research Roundup and produces the annual Gold Standard Gala.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS): A national honor society recognizing medical students, residents, and faculty for compassionate, humanistic care. Over 45,000 physicians and medical students are members.
• Gold Humanism Summit
• Gold Standard Gala
• Tell Me More
• White Coat Ceremony
• Golden Legacy Society

Products and services

• Gold Humanism Summit

Quantifiable outcome

• 33% increase in serious illness conversations at TalkVermont-participating sites, representing ~40,000 additional conversations
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Gold Foundation and AACN co-administer the AACN-Gold Interprofessional Humanism in Healthcare Award, recognizing high-impact nurse-physician collaboration. Under Dr. Deborah Trautman's leadership (AACN President & CEO and 2026 Gold Medalist), AACN partnered with the Gold Foundation to support hundreds of nursing schools in their first White Coat Ceremony (Nursing Oath Ceremony) and expand the Dr. Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest to include nursing students.
• Patient Priorities CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Gold Foundation partners with Patient Priorities Care to offer tools to Gold Partners Council members that help health professionals focus decision-making on patients' own health priorities. Tools include Health Priorities Identification Quick Guide, Aligning Care with Patient Priorities Quick Guide, Pocket Card, and ROI Calculator. Patient Priorities Care is an Age-Friendly approach endorsed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Dr. Mary Tinetti is co-creator.
• Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe AAMC and Gold Foundation collaborate on several programs including the Jordan J. Cohen Humanism in Medicine Lecture at the AAMC Conference and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award. The Gold Foundation publishes its Gold Partners Council member list annually in Academic Medicine journal, AAMC's flagship peer-reviewed publication. Dr. Lee Jones, Gold Foundation Trustee, is a former AAMC Board Chair.
• Henry Schein, Inc.coreGTM or Marketing PartnerHenry Schein (Fortune 500, world's largest provider of healthcare solutions to office-based dental and medical practitioners) was a founding member of the Gold Corporate Council and has partnered on multiple initiatives including the Prevention is Power campaign. Chairman Emeritus Stanley M. Bergman received the 2026 National Humanism in Medicine Medal. Henry Schein was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for 14 consecutive years.
• Journal of Patient ExperiencesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Gold Foundation and the Journal of Patient Experience announced a special humanism collection and open call for submissions (deadline extended to Dec. 31, 2026), inviting research and reflections on humanism in healthcare to be published in the journal.
• Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) ChapterscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNearly every U.S. medical school hosts a GHHS chapter, creating a distributed network of student, resident, and faculty members recognized for humanistic care. These chapters induct new members annually, host local events, and serve as the primary grassroots channel for the Gold Foundation's mission in academic medicine.
• National Register of Health Service PsychologistssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe National Register is partnering with the Gold Foundation to publish winning essays from the Dr. Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest by graduate psychology students in the Journal of Health Service Psychology. CEO Andrew Boucher is quoted in the announcement.
• American Psychological Foundation (APF)secondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerAPF is supporting the Gold Foundation in sharing the Dr. Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest opportunity with its network to reach psychology graduate students, helping expand the contest to include psychology.
• MedalliasecondaryTechnology or IntegrationThe Medallia Gold Humanism Trust Tool (a six-item scale) is used by partner institutions to measure patient perception of clinician humanistic behaviors embedded in routine post-visit surveys. UAB Medicine used it in a study published in Journal of Patient Experience (2026).
• Harvard Macy InstitutesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Gold Humanism Scholars at the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators enables healthcare educators to develop as humanistic teachers and leaders. Scholars receive funding and training to implement humanism-focused educational innovations. Dr. Cynthia Glickman was named the 2026-2027 Scholar.
• Gold Corporate Council (member companies)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Gold Corporate Council brings together leading healthcare companies around the shared mission of advancing humanism in healthcare. Henry Schein was a founding member. Corporate members support Gold Foundation initiatives and align their corporate cultures with humanistic values.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation: National foundation dedicated to advancing health professions education through grants and convenings. Most directly comparable to Gold Foundation given shared focus on healthcare education humanism, interprofessional collaboration, and grantmaking to medical/nursing schools.
• ABIM Foundation: Foundation of the American Board of Internal Medicine promoting medical professionalism and humanism through the Choosing Wisely campaign. Direct peer given overlapping mission on clinician professionalism, humanistic care, and physician recognition programs.
• American Medical Association Foundation: Philanthropic arm of the AMA supporting medical education and community health. Direct peer given shared focus on medical student programs, recognition awards, grants to medical schools, and free community health initiatives.
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement: Healthcare improvement organization advancing quality, safety, and Age-Friendly Health Systems. Peer through formal Patient Priorities Care partnership with Gold Foundation and shared mission on clinician well-being and patient-centered care.
• Picker Institute: Patient-centered care research and advocacy organization with shared mission of humanistic healthcare. Peer through Picker Gold Challenge Grants for Residency Training co-branded program and aligned focus on patient experience measurement.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Largest U.S. healthcare philanthropy focused on building a Culture of Health. Broader incumbent in healthcare philanthropy with overlapping interest in clinician well-being and health equity, but a much larger endowment and policy focus.
• The Commonwealth Fund: Major national healthcare foundation working toward a high-performing healthcare system. Comparable as a healthcare philanthropy though with policy/affordability focus rather than direct humanism programming or membership programs.

Emerging players

• American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC): Strategic partner of Gold Foundation co-administering the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award and Jordan J. Cohen Lecture. Adjacent member organization serving medical schools with overlapping mission on medical education.
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN): Core strategic partner co-administering the AACN-Gold Interprofessional Humanism in Healthcare Award. Adjacent to Gold Foundation's 2025 expansion into nursing schools as founding GPC members and shared interest in humanistic nursing education.

Others

• National Academy of Medicine: Honorific national academy advising on health and medicine. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but comparable in convening healthcare leaders and influencing medical professionalism standards relevant to the Gold Foundation's mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/goldcareinmed
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ArnoldPGoldFdtn
• Facebookfacebook.com/arnoldpgoldfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gold-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/goldfdtn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 The Arnold P. Gold Foundation