Operação Nariz Vermelho

What Operação Nariz Vermelho does

Operação Nariz Vermelho is a Portuguese non-profit IPSS (Instituição Particular de Solidariedade Social) headquartered in Lisbon that operates a professional hospital clown doctor program called Doutores Palhaços. The organization was founded in 2002/2003 and currently deploys 38 active clown doctors across 22 Portuguese hospitals and 176 pediatric services, logging 67,359 annual encounters and reaching an estimated 59% of children in the Portuguese National Health Service pediatric network. The artistic practice is built around trained performers (with formal preparation via the Ginásio training gym) under artistic direction tracing back to Brazil's Doutores da Alegria lineage, and is reinforced by a Centro de Estudos e Pesquisa for impact research and external training.

The business model is a diversified non-profit funding stack: (i) individual "Sócio" memberships at approximately €50/year, (ii) multi-year corporate sponsorships with major Portuguese brands (Multicare, Sage, Altice, CP, Vila Galé and others), (iii) merchandise sales through Lojinha ONV, (iv) corporate training workshops, and (v) IRS tax-deductible donations. Operational governance is supported by the company's IPSS status and institutional affiliation with the European Federation of Hospital and Healthcare clown organisations (EFHCO). Public materials emphasize transparency via published annual reports, career recruitment (Face to Face campaign) and structured training pipelines rather than technology-driven delivery.

Name

Operação Nariz Vermelho

Legal name

Operação Nariz Vermelho

Website

https://narizvermelho.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Operação Nariz Vermelho is a Lisbon-based Portuguese non-profit that runs a professional hospital clown doctor program (Doutores Palhaços), deploying 38 trained performers across 22 Portuguese hospitals and 176 pediatric services and reaching roughly 59% of children in the national pediatric network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Healthcare Support Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Hospitals & Pediatric Health Systems (HLAFAJAG)

Keywords

• Hospital clown services
• Pediatric emotional support
• Therapeutic clowning programs
• Nonprofit solidarity institution
• Corporate social responsibility

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations and Memberships: The organization relies on donations from individual supporters, including a membership/socio program (annual quota of €50), direct donations, and IRS tax donation designation. Donors receive official donation receipts for tax purposes.
2. Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorship: Companies support the organization in exchange for association with the cause, appearing on the supporter logos section of the website. Companies receive official donation receipts and corporate social responsibility benefits.
3. Merchandise Sales (Lojinha ONV): An online shop (Lojinha ONV) sells merchandise including CDs, DVDs, and other products. Orders are processed within 10 business days and shipped via carrier Torrestir or collected at the Lisbon headquarters. Payment accepted via Multibanco, PayPal, and bank transfer.
4. Business Workshops: Corporate workshop programs offered to companies, utilizing clown and improvisation techniques for team-building, communication, and corporate training purposes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Operação Nariz Vermelho delivers continuous in-hospital pediatric intervention through 38 professional clown doctors ("Doutores Palhaços") who visit children across 22 Portuguese NHS hospitals and 176 pediatric services, generating 67,359 child-clown encounters annually. The organization supplements its core hospital program with corporate workshops for team-building, an annual Red Nose Day campaign, an online merchandise shop, a Sócios annual membership program (€50/year), and a clown training gymnasium (Ginásio).

Product overview

Operação Nariz Vermelho is a charitable organization (IPSS) operating as a multi-program platform centered on hospital clown visits. The core offering is the 'Doutores Palhaços' program, which provides professional clown performances in pediatric wards across 22 Portuguese hospitals, reaching approximately 67,359 children annually. Supporting the core program are complementary modules including school-based programs (Nas Escolas), corporate engagement (Nas Empresas), and retail partnerships (No Comércio), as well as a clown training facility (Ginásio) and business workshops. The organization also operates an online merchandise store (Lojinha ONV) and a research center (Centro de Estudos e Pesquisa). Annual events include the 'Dia do Nariz Vermelho' celebration day. Revenue generation comes through individual donations, corporate partnerships, a membership program (50€ annual quota), and merchandise sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Doutores Palhaços (Hospital Clown Visits) Professional clown visits by trained Doutores Palhaços to pediatric wards in 22 Portuguese NHS hospitals and 176 pediatric services, delivering over 67,000 therapeutic encounters annually to hospitalized children free of charge.
• Workshops Empresariais (Business Workshops) Corporate workshops utilizing clown and improvisation techniques for team-building, communication skills, and workplace well-being, offered to Portuguese companies as a paid service.
• Lojinha ONV (Online Shop) Online merchandise store selling Operação Nariz Vermelho branded products including CDs, DVDs, clothing, and accessories to support fundraising. Orders processed within 10 business days and shipped via Torrestir (free shipping) or collected at the Lisbon headquarters; payment via Multibanco, PayPal, or bank transfer.
• Programa de Sócios (Membership Program) Annual membership program allowing individuals to become supporters through a €50 yearly Sócio quota, providing recurring donations and engagement; members receive official donation receipts for IRS tax deduction purposes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67,359 annual child-clown encounters in Portuguese NHS hospitals
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered supporting partner.

• Torrestirsupporting partnerOthersTransportadora Torrestir provides free shipping services for all Lojinha ONV merchandise orders. This partnership enables zero-cost delivery for all online shop customers, reducing barriers to donor/purchaser engagement.
• Multicaresupporting partnerOthersMulticare health insurer supports Operação Nariz Vermelho as a corporate sponsor, appearing in the organization's supporter logos section. Provides health insurance coverage benefits that may extend to organizational operations.
• Sagesupporting partnerOthersSage software company supports the organization, appearing in the supporter logos section.
• Altice Empresassupporting partnerOthersAltice Empresas provides corporate sponsorship support to Operação Nariz Vermelho.
• CP - Comboios de Portugalsupporting partnerOthersCP Comboios de Portugal supports the organization as a corporate sponsor, listed in the supporter logos section.
• Lidergrafsupporting partnerOthersLidergraf, a printing and graphic services company, appears in the supporter logos section of the ONV website.
• Fontevivasupporting partnerOthersFonteviva appears as a corporate solidary partner in the supporter logos section.
• Carmasupporting partnerOthersCarma appears as a corporate solidary partner supporting the organization.
• Wooksupporting partnerOthersWook online bookstore appears as a supporter in the corporate partners section.
• Vila Galesupporting partnerOthersVila Gale hotel chain supports the organization, appearing in the supporter logos section.
• Web dadossupporting partnerOthersWeb dados digital agency appears as a corporate solidary partner.
• Saúde Primesupporting partnerOthersSaúde Prime health services provider supports the organization.
• Lean Consultoressupporting partnerOthersLean Consultores consulting firm appears in the supporter section.
• Nessasupporting partnerOthersNessa company listed as a solidary partner in the supporter section.
• TFRA - Sociedade de Advogadossupporting partnerOthersTFRA law firm supports the organization, appearing in the supporter logos.
• SBGsupporting partnerOthersSBG information systems company appears in the supporter section.
• Step Aheadsupporting partnerOthersStep Ahead consulting firm appears in the supporter section.
• Visavissupporting partnerOthersVisavis appears as a solidary partner.
• Portigradesupporting partnerOthersPortigrade appears as a corporate supporter.
• PHC Hotelssupporting partnerOthersPHC Hotels appears as a solidary partner supporting the organization.
• EFHCOsupporting partnerOthersEuropean Federation of Hospital and Healthcare clown organisations (EFHCO). ONV is affiliated with this European federation of hospital clown organizations, demonstrating international peer-network alignment.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dr. Clown Foundation: Canadian therapeutic-clown non-profit providing professional clown visits to children in hospitals and seniors' residences. Closely analogous operating, funding, and training model to ONV at a similar scale.
• Hearts & Minds: UK-based hospital clown charity founded in Scotland in 1994, sending professional clown doctors (incl. 'Big Hearts' doctors) into children's hospitals. Same segment (hospitalized children), same delivery method, same funding source — making it a structural twin of ONV in the UK.
• Le Rire Médecin: French hospital clown NGO founded in 1991, running professional clown-doctor programmes in pediatric wards across French hospitals. Closely analogous operating model (trained artists, hospital-based intervention, donor-funded), with broader EU institutional scale than ONV.
• Rote Nasen: Austrian hospital clown organization operating in pediatric wards across Austrian hospitals. Same mission (professional clowns bringing joy to hospitalized children), similar funding mix (donations, corporate sponsors), and EFHCO affiliation with ONV.
• Big Apple Circus Clown Care: US-origin hospital clown programme (founded 1986 by Michael Christensen) that pioneered the modern 'clown doctor' model now used worldwide, including by ONV. Operationally and methodologically an ancestor and continuing direct comparable to ONV's Doutores Palhaços programme.
• Theodora Children's Charity: Swiss-founded international charity deploying professional artists (including 'Giggle Doctors') to hospitalized children across multiple European and Asian countries. Operationally and structurally similar to ONV, including artist-led hospital visits, donor funding, and corporate sponsorship.
• Doutores da Alegria: Brazilian hospital clown organization founded in 1991, operating in pediatric wards across São Paulo and other Brazilian states. Directly comparable hospital-clown delivery model with similar mission, methodologies, and training programmes — and notably the prior employer of ONV's Artistic Director Fernando Escrich.
• Humor y Salud: Spanish hospital clown association operating across Spanish hospitals. Sister organization in the Iberian market with directly overlapping target population (Iberian pediatric inpatients), donor pool, and methodology.
• CliniClowns: Dutch hospital clown foundation operating across Netherlands pediatric hospitals. Comparable artist-led, donor-funded delivery model, with long European track record and EFHCO peer-network membership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/opnarizvermelho
• Facebookfacebook.com/narizvermelho
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/operacaonarizvermelho
• Instagraminstagram.com/operacaonarizvermelho_oficial
• TikToktiktok.com/@operacaonarizvermelho

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Operação Nariz Vermelho