Hope for Depression Research Foundation

What Hope for Depression Research Foundation does

Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation established in 2006 and headquartered in New York. The foundation is dedicated exclusively to depression research, with the stated mission of funding cutting-edge neuroscience to identify root causes, develop more sophisticated medical diagnoses, discover new treatments, and find new methods of prevention for depression and related mood disorders including bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. HDRF claims that 100% of contributions flow directly to research, addressing a stated treatment crisis in which over 50% of major depression patients do not respond to existing SSRI-based medications.

The foundation's central operating asset is the Depression Task Force (DTF), launched in 2010 as a formal collaboration of seven leading neuroscientists drawn from research institutions across the U.S. and Canada. The DTF executes an integrated, multi-disciplinary research road map spanning genetics, epigenetics, molecular biology, electrophysiology, and brain imaging, with participating scientists sharing results in real time through the HDRF Data Center. The foundation is supported by a Board of Directors, a Scientific Advisory Council, and HDRF staff (1-10 employees total), with research output documented in annual research reports and HDRF-funded publications.

HDRF's business model is entirely donation-driven: it raises funds through its website donation portal, a monthly giving campaign, the annual Race of Hope event series (including Southampton and a new NYC Race of Hope), a Shop for Hope merchandise channel, and a targeted "Support a Research Grant" program. It serves two primary stakeholder groups — donors and the general public seeking depression education, and the participating neuroscience research community — without any commercial product, subscription, or pricing tier.

Name

Hope for Depression Research Foundation

Legal name

Hope for Depression Research Foundation

Website

https://hopefordepression.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hope for Depression Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that funds and coordinates neuroscience research into depression and related mood disorders through its Depression Task Force of seven leading scientists, raising all operating funds via donations, events, and merchandise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-Profit Medical Research

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGACAA

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Health & Medical Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGAKAL

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

Keywords

• Neuroscience research funding
• Depression research grants
• Mental health advocacy
• Biomedical research foundation
• Mood disorder research

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) public charity (Tax ID 20-4559210), HDRF is funded entirely through donations and contributions from individuals, organizations, and events. The organization states that 100% of contributions go to research leading to better diagnosis, new treatments, and prevention of depression.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hope for Depression Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity that funds cutting-edge neuroscience research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of depression and related mood disorders. Its central program is the Depression Task Force (DTF), a collaborative initiative of seven leading scientists from institutions across the U.S. and Canada who share results in real time through the HDRF Data Center. The foundation also publishes annual research reports, provides public educational resources on depression, and organizes awareness and fundraising events such as the Race of Hope.

Product overview

Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) is a non-profit organization that operates as a research funding and advocacy organization rather than a commercial product company. HDRF's primary offerings include: (1) funding and conducting cutting-edge depression research through its Depression Task Force (DTF) collaborative initiative with seven leading neuroscientists; (2) publishing research reports and newsletters documenting findings; (3) providing educational resources about depression facts and treatment resources; and (4) organizing awareness events such as the annual Race of Hope. HDRF does not offer commercial software products or technology platforms but rather funds and coordinates scientific research aimed at identifying root causes of depression and discovering new treatments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Depression Task Force (DTF) Research Collaboration A collaborative research initiative operated by HDRF comprising seven leading neuroscientists from research institutions across the U.S. and Canada. The DTF integrates advanced knowledge across genetics, epigenetics, molecular biology, electrophysiology, and brain imaging into a unified Depression Research Road Map, with researchers sharing ongoing results in real time at the centralized HDRF Data Center.
• Depression Research Funding Program HDRF's flagship funding program that channels donations into cutting-edge scientific research on the origins, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of depression and related mood and emotional disorders including bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, PTSD, anxiety disorder, and suicide. HDRF states that 100% of contributions go to research.
• Depression Facts & Education Resources Public-facing educational content providing depression statistics, facts about depression and its related mood disorders, treatment resources, and information for the general public to support awareness and self-identification.
• Annual Research Reports & Newsletters Periodic publications from HDRF that document the progress, findings, and achievements of DTF-funded research initiatives and share updates with supporters and the broader public.
• Race of Hope Events Annual awareness and fundraising events, including the Southampton Race of Hope to Defeat Depression and New York City Race of Hope, where participants register, raise funds, and engage the community in the mission to defeat depression.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research progress outlined in Annual Research Report demonstrating Depression Task Force achievements

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Depression Task Force Scientists (Various Research Institutions)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010In 2010, HDRF launched its Depression Task Force (DTF) comprising seven leading scientists at the frontiers of brain science from different research institutions across the U.S. and Canada. These scientists have developed an unprecedented research plan integrating genetics, epigenetics, molecular biology, electrophysiology, and brain imaging, sharing ongoing results in real-time at the HDRF Data Center.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• MQ: Transforming Mental Health: MQ is a UK-based global mental health research charity funding depression and other conditions. It is an emerging peer with comparable scale and mission, focused on interdisciplinary depression research funding — closely aligned with HDRF's collaborative model.
• One Mind (formerly One Mind Institute / NARSAD-adjacent): One Mind is a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating brain disease research through large-scale collaboration and open data sharing. It shares HDRF's emphasis on cross-institution data sharing and translational neuroscience, though with broader psychiatric and neurological disease focus.

Regional players

• Black Dog Institute: Black Dog Institute is an Australian medical research institute dedicated to depression and mood disorders. It mirrors HDRF's model of interdisciplinary depression research across genetics, imaging, and clinical translation, but operates in a different geography.

Broad incumbents

• Mental Health America: MHA is the nation's leading community-based nonprofit addressing the full spectrum of mental health conditions. It is a broader incumbent operating across all mental illnesses, with HDRF representing the narrower, depression-only specialization.
• Movember Foundation: Movember has grown into a major men's health research funder, including significant investment in mental health and suicide prevention programs. It is a broader incumbent using a comparable event-driven fundraising model for health research.
• National Institute of Mental Health: NIMH is the largest public funder of mental health research globally. It serves as a key peer in the funding ecosystem that HDRF operates within, with overlap in funding depression neuroscience research projects and scientists.

Direct peers

• Brain & Behavior Research Foundation: The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is the largest private, donor-supported organization funding mental health research, including depression. It is the closest direct peer to HDRF given its overlapping mission of funding neuroscience research and providing research grants to leading scientists.
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: AFSP is the largest private funder of suicide prevention research. Depression is the leading risk factor for suicide, and AFSP funds research into depression biology and treatment, making it a closely overlapping peer in depression/mental health research funding.
• Anxiety and Depression Association of America: ADAA is a nonprofit focused on anxiety, depression, and related disorders through awareness, education, and research support. It overlaps with HDRF's mission of advancing depression research and treatment resources, making it a directly comparable peer in the depression-focused nonprofit space.
• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: DBSA is a leading national nonprofit dedicated to depression and bipolar disorder, providing peer support, education, and advocacy. It shares HDRF's target disease areas and operates a similar donation-funded model serving the same patient and donor populations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_HDRF
• Facebookfacebook.com/hopefordepressionresearchfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hope-for-depression-research-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hope for Depression Research Foundation