Emilio Nares Foundation

What Emilio Nares Foundation does

The Emilio Nares Foundation (ENF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in San Diego, California, founded in 2005 by Richard and Diane Nares following the death of their son Emilio from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. ENF's core service is free door-to-door transportation for pediatric oncology patients traveling from home to treatment, delivered through the 'Ride with Emilio' program using a fleet of dedicated passenger vans staffed by full-time drivers. The foundation reports providing over 4,200 rides annually to approximately 220 families as of 2017, traveling 40,000+ miles per year and transporting 25-35 patients weekly. Geographic reach now spans six Southern California counties: San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and South Los Angeles.

Around the transportation core, ENF operates a portfolio of complementary programs: a Family Resource Center, Emilio's Snack Bags, Creating for Hope (knitting/sewing programs for parents during hospital stays), End of Life Care support, Healing through Nature, and Loving Tabs Healing Shirts — a specialized garment with open-close shoulder panels for chemotherapy port access. Services are provided at no cost to beneficiaries and are delivered directly through hospital partnerships, most notably Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, alongside a broader network that includes UCSF Benioff Hospital and Doernbecher Children's Hospital.

ENF's revenue model is donation-funded rather than transactional, drawing from individual donors, foundation grants (e.g., $50,000 from the D.W. Hearst Jr. Foundation in May 2015), corporate sponsorships (Hyundai's 'Fuel the Fleet' campaign, Manchester Family Foundation, Amgen, Anaheim Angels), and recurring fundraising events including the annual Harvest for Hope gala (21st annual edition in 2024). The organization is privately operated as a tax-exempt non-profit (Tax ID 13-4229276) with a small staff in the 11-50 range and holds the 2020 GuideStar Silver Seal of Transparency and 2022 GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Award; Richard Nares was a Top Ten Finalist for CNN Hero of the Year in 2013.

Name

Emilio Nares Foundation

Legal name

Emilio Nares Foundation

Website

https://enfhope.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Emilio Nares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides free transportation and family support services to underserved children with cancer and their families across six Southern California counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Cancer Support Services

NAICS

Special Needs Transportation (485991), Individual and Family Services (6241), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Transportation Services (4700), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Needs & Senior Transportation Services (TLAFAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) (HSABAOAA), Accessible Shuttle & On-Demand Paratransit (Microtransit for Riders with Disabilities) (TLAFAKAK), Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) & Wheelchair/Stretcher Transport (HLAFANAJ)

Keywords

• Pediatric cancer support
• Free medical transportation
• Childhood cancer care
• Family resource services
• Non-profit patient assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: ENF receives grants from foundations such as the D.W. Hearst Jr. Foundation ($50,000 gift mentioned) to support programs and services.
2. Individual Donations: The foundation is funded by individual donors who make tax-deductible donations to support families battling cancer.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate partners including Hyundai (Fuel the Fleet campaign) and Manchester Family Foundation provide financial support and in-kind contributions.
4. Fundraising Events: Annual Harvest for Hope fundraiser and other events generate revenue through ticket sales, auctions, and donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Emilio Nares Foundation provides free door-to-door transportation for pediatric cancer patients from their homes to treatment facilities via its core "Ride with Emilio" program, operating six passenger vans with full-time drivers. Complementing transportation, it delivers family support services through a Family Resource Center, snack bag distribution, healing shirts with medical port access, creating-for-hope activities, end-of-life care support, and nature-based healing programs. All services are provided at no cost to underserved, primarily low-income families navigating childhood cancer.

Product overview

The Emilio Nares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates as a single, unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The foundation's core program is 'Ride with Emilio,' which provides free transportation vans to transport pediatric cancer patients from home to treatment. This central service is supported by complementary programs including Family Resource Center, Emilio's Snack Bags, Creating for Hope (knitting/sewing programs), End of Life Care, Healing through Nature, and Loving Tabs Healing Shirts (specialized medical garments). The organization serves families across San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and South Los Angeles counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ride with Emilio Free door-to-door van transportation service providing rides from patients' homes to pediatric oncology treatment facilities for children with cancer and their families, operating a fleet of six passenger vans with full-time drivers across six Southern California counties.
• Family Resource Center In-person resource center providing families with information, support services, knitting and sewing programs, and connections to community resources to help them navigate their child's cancer journey.
• Emilio's Snack Bags Free snack bags distributed to children undergoing cancer treatment to provide nourishment during long hospital visits and address food insecurity.
• Creating for Hope Knitting, sewing, and crocheting activity program that helps parents and family members constructively pass time while at the hospital with their child receiving cancer treatment.
• End of Life Care Support services for families facing end-of-life circumstances with their child, including bereavement and emotional support resources.
• Healing through Nature Nature-based healing programs designed for children and families affected by cancer to support emotional and psychological recovery.
• Loving Tabs Healing Shirts Specially designed shirts with open-close shoulder panels that enable medical providers to administer chemotherapy and other medications into permanent chest catheter ports without removing the patient's garment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,200 rides provided annually to 220 families
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Livestrong FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerENF expresses gratitude for Livestrong Foundation's support. The partnership aligns ENF with Livestrong's mission of supporting cancer patients. Richard Nares ran in Livestrong colors on Livestrong Day to show gratitude.
• Rady Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary hospital partner where ENF transports patients for cancer treatment. ENF's vans deliver children daily to Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego. The foundation maintains a close relationship with the hospital staff and social workers who refer families.
• Doernbecher Children's HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortland hospital where Richard Nares stopped during his 1,700-mile awareness run. Represents potential expansion of ENF's model to children's hospitals nationwide.
• UCSF Benioff HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSan Francisco hospital that received ENF's 'Loving Tabs' medical garments donation, expanding ENF's impact beyond Southern California.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ronald McDonald House Charities: Largest global nonprofit supporting families of seriously ill children, providing lodging, meals, and transportation-adjacent services near children's hospitals. Directly comparable in mission to ENF, but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Make-A-Wish Foundation: National nonprofit granting wishes to children with critical illnesses, including cancer. Comparable beneficiary population (critically ill children and families) and similar hospital-partnered referral model, though focused on experience delivery rather than transportation.
• Easterseals: National nonprofit delivering services to people with disabilities, including transportation to medical appointments. Comparable in operating accessible transport for special-needs populations, though serves all ages and all disabilities rather than only pediatric oncology.
• Modivcare (formerly LogistiCare): Large-scale NEMT broker and operator providing rides to medical appointments for Medicaid and managed-care populations. Comparable core service (NEMT), but commercial, scaled, and adult-elderly focused versus ENF's donor-funded pediatric cancer niche.

Direct peers

• Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation: Childhood cancer-focused nonprofit funding research and family support programs. Comparable in beneficiary focus (pediatric cancer families) and reliance on individual/corporate donors, with overlapping CSR-driven sponsorship channels.
• National Children's Cancer Society: Provides financial and emotional support, including travel assistance, to children with cancer and their families. Closely comparable service mix, with travel-cost reimbursement serving as an alternative to ENF's in-kind van transportation.
• Livestrong Foundation: Cancer-focused nonprofit providing navigation, emotional support, and practical resources to cancer patients and survivors. ENF has an existing partnership with Livestrong; comparable mission and family-support service mix, though Livestrong serves all cancer patients rather than only pediatric.
• CureSearch for Children's Cancer: Funds pediatric cancer research and provides support resources to affected families. Comparable beneficiary population and donor-driven funding model, though CureSearch leans research-heavy while ENF leans service-delivery-heavy.
• Compass to Care: Nonprofit founded by a childhood cancer parent that funds transportation for pediatric cancer patients to and from treatment. Near-exact service-line match to ENF's Ride with Emilio program, operating at smaller national scale.

Regional players

• Hyundai Hope On Wheels: Hyundai's pediatric cancer CSR program, a current ENF partner through the Fuel the Fleet campaign. Comparable funding channel and beneficiary focus; serves as both a peer (alternative pediatric cancer funder) and an upstream corporate sponsor to ENF.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/emilionaresfoundation
• Xx.com/ENFHope
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/enfhope

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Emilio Nares Foundation