Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation

Name

Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation

Legal name

The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation

Website

https://rahf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Healthcare Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Nursing innovation grants
• Philanthropic healthcare foundation
• Health equity grantmaking
• Nursing education programs
• Healthcare innovation funding

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grant Disbursements: The foundation operates as a philanthropic grant-making organization. It receives contributions and deploys grant funding to support nursing-driven healthcare innovations. Revenue comes from the foundation's endowment and investment returns, which are then distributed as grants to eligible organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that awards grants and runs educational programs to advance nursing-driven healthcare innovations. It operates a pipeline of grant programs (HEI, HSEI, HIC, HID, and Catalyst Awards) funding nursing interventions at early, expanding, and established stages, plus educational initiatives such as the Hillman Scholars BSN-to-PhD program and the Design Thinking for Health online platform.

Product overview

The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation operates a portfolio of grant programs and educational initiatives designed to nurture nursing-driven healthcare innovation at different developmental stages. The grant pipeline includes Hillman Emergent Innovation (HEI) and Hillman Emergent Innovation: Serious Illness and End of Life (HSEI) for early-stage untested concepts; Hillman Innovations in Care (HIC) for evidence-based interventions ready to scale; Hillman Innovation Dissemination (HID) for established proven models; and Hillman Catalyst Awards for discretionary funding. Complementing the grants are educational programs including Design Thinking for Health, an online platform created with the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and the Hillman Scholars in Nursing Innovation (HSNI) accelerated BSN-to-PhD program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hillman Emergent Innovation (HEI)

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 1,500 nurses educated through Hillman scholarships since 1990
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• University of Pennsylvania School of NursingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership creating the Design Thinking for Health online platform and supporting the Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation (BSN-to-PhD). The foundation and Penn co-created the course enabling nurses to design a healthier future through design thinking methodology.
• Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health StudiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with researchers at Georgetown University to study and expand innovative maternal health programs. Collaborated on the 12-month postpartum care model research with Community of Hope.
• Ariadne Labs (Harvard University)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment of TeamBirth - a care process innovation ensuring people giving birth and clinicians have shared input into decisions during labor and delivery. The foundation supports scaling of this evidence-based maternity care model through HID grants.
• National POLSTsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on advance care planning initiatives for rural communities. POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) education programs target rural populations through emergency medical services personnel.
• Habitat for HumanitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvening of Habitat for Humanity specialists and healthcare practitioners to develop a toolkit for replicating the CAPABLE program at Habitat sites across the country, bridging health and housing sectors.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: Large US philanthropy funding patient safety, serious illness care, and nursing innovation through its Betty Irene Moore Nursing Initiative — directly overlapping with Hillman's nursing-driven innovation mandate, but at substantially larger scale.
• Commonwealth Fund: Major US health policy philanthropy funding healthcare equity, including maternal mortality, behavioral health and care for vulnerable populations. Operates with similar grant cycles and a similar mission to advance equitable care, though with broader scope.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: One of the largest US health philanthropies; funds nursing workforce, health equity, and care innovation at a scale Hillman cannot match. Operates in overlapping domains (maternal health, health equity, healthcare workforce) but with much broader portfolio and grant sizes.
• The Kresge Foundation: National philanthropy supporting health equity, including nursing workforce development and community health initiatives. Operates with a similar structure (multi-stage grant programs, US-only) but with broader sectoral scope.

Direct peers

• The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations: A philanthropic partner of Hillman on the HSEI serious illness and end-of-life grant program. Funds healthcare, education and religion — a comparable small private foundation with shared grantmaking structure and a co-funding relationship with Hillman.
• The John A. Hartford Foundation: Dedicated healthcare philanthropy focused on improving care for older adults through nursing and interdisciplinary workforce innovation — directly comparable to Hillman's nursing-driven grantmaking model, focused area (aging/serious illness), and grant pipeline approach. Hillman's VP of Programs previously held a senior role there.
• Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation: The only US foundation dedicated solely to improving the education of health professionals, with significant focus on nursing education and interprofessional collaboration — directly comparable to Hillman's nursing education and innovation agenda.

Regional players

• Blue Shield of California Foundation: Health-focused philanthropy funding nursing, domestic violence, and healthcare innovation, primarily in California — comparable in mission and grantmaking structure but with regional geographic concentration rather than Hillman's national focus.
• New York State Health Foundation: State-level health philanthropy funding nursing and health equity programs (similar in structure to Hillman) but limited to New York State. Comparable operating model but with constrained geographic scope.

Others

• University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing: Partner institution that co-developed Design Thinking for Health and hosts the Hillman Scholars BSN-to-PhD program with Hillman. Included as a strategic partner/ecosystem participant rather than a direct peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation