The Hike Fund

What The Hike Fund does

The Hike Fund, Inc. (legally the Hearing Improvement Kids Endowment Fund, Inc.) is a Nebraska-incorporated, IRS-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1985 by Emma Tedrick and Charles Terrill. It operates as the continuing philanthropic project of Job's Daughters International, a Masonic-affiliated girls leadership organization, and serves children aged newborn to 20 in the United States and Canada who have documented hearing loss and whose families cannot financially afford hearing devices. The organization has raised more than $6.5 million since inception and has provided grants to over 3,000 children, at an estimated cadence of roughly 100 children per year.

The fund's core product is the Hearing Device Grant program. Grants are awarded based on family financial need (maximum gross earned household income of $125,000), with check awards issued payable to the supplier and valid for 180 days. Eligible devices span hearing aids, FM systems, closed caption converters, tactile units, alerting systems, and specialized sports equipment. The organization is 100% volunteer-staffed, with a 17-person 2026–2027 Board of Directors (President, Executive Secretary, Treasurer, and Directors covering applications, fundraising, social media, media, and fraternal relations) and total operating expenses held under 5% of revenue. A Canadian chapter, H.I.K.E. Fund Canada, extends the geographic footprint.

Revenue is generated exclusively through tax-deductible donations collected online via PayPal, by mail, and through individual Job's Daughters chapters and Masonic organizations, supplemented by community fundraising events and incentive programs such as the $1000 Club and Supreme Incentive Program. Marketing and donor engagement run through a WordPress website (thehikefund.org), Facebook and Instagram accounts, the quarterly "HIKE Happenings" newsletter, donor thank-you postcards, and locally coordinated award presentations by Job's Daughters chapters. As of January 11, 2026, grant application submissions are temporarily suspended, though donations and fundraising activities continue.

Name

The Hike Fund

Legal name

The HIKE Fund, Inc.

Website

https://thehikefund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Hike Fund is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1985 that provides grants for hearing devices (hearing aids, FM systems, alerting systems) to financially eligible children aged 0–20 in the U.S. and Canada. It operates as the philanthropic project of Job's Daughters International and has served over 3,000 children.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Hearing Assistance Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Health & Prevention Program Funding (HLAJALAF)

Keywords

• Hearing aid grants
• Children hearing loss
• Nonprofit philanthropy
• Assistive hearing devices
• Grant funding program

Headquarters

HQ city

Council Bluffs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The organization raises funds through donations from individuals, Job's Daughters chapters, Masonic organizations, and community fundraising events. Donations are tax-deductible under 501(c)(3) status.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The HIKE Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that awards financial grants to cover the cost of hearing devices for children aged newborn to 20 years who have documented hearing loss and whose families cannot afford the equipment. Grants are awarded based on individual financial need (with a maximum household earned income threshold of $125,000) and the price indicated on the prescription, and award checks are made payable directly to the supplier. The organization is fully staffed by unpaid volunteers across the United States and Canada and operates with less than 5% of revenue going to operating expenses.

Product overview

The HIKE Fund, Inc. (Hearing Improvement Kids Endowment Fund) is a nonprofit charitable organization that provides hearing devices for children aged newborn to 20 years with financial need. The core product is the Hearing Device Grant program, which funds various hearing assistance technologies including hearing aids, FM systems, closed caption converters, tactile units, and alerting systems. The organization also publishes the HIKE Happenings newsletter and runs incentive programs like the $1000 Club and Supreme Incentive Program to engage Job's Daughters International members in fundraising. The entire operation is volunteer-driven with less than 5% operating expenses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• H.I.K.E. Fund Canada: A Canadian chapter of the HIKE Fund operating to serve children with hearing impairments in Canada.

Products and services

• Hearing Device Grants Financial grants awarded to families to cover the cost of hearing devices—including hearing aids, FM systems, closed caption converters, tactile units, alerting systems, and specialized sports equipment—for U.S. or Canadian children aged newborn to 20 with documented hearing loss and household gross earned income under $125,000. Award checks are made payable directly to the equipment supplier.

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Job's Daughters InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1985The HIKE Fund (Hearing Improvement Kids Endowment Fund, Inc.) was created by Emma Tedrick and Charles Terrill as the continuing philanthropic project of Job's Daughters International, a girls leadership organization. The fund provides members with a specific charity to devote their fundraising energies. Job's Daughters chapters across the U.S. and Canada coordinate local fundraising and award presentations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Foundation for Sight and Sound: Provides financial assistance for hearing aids, assistive listening devices, and vision-related equipment to individuals in need. Comparable mission of subsidizing assistive equipment costs.
• Hear the World Foundation (Sonova): Industry-backed foundation providing hearing care funding, hearing aids, and audiology support to underprivileged children and adults globally. Comparable assistive-device funding model.
• Help America Hear: Nonprofit that provides hearing aids to children and young adults with hearing loss and limited resources. Smaller, narrowly focused funder comparable to HIKE in device-grant specificity.

Direct peers

• Miracle-Ear Foundation: Provides hearing aids and related services to individuals with hearing loss who lack financial resources, including a children-focused program. Directly comparable pediatric hearing-device grant program.
• Starkey Hearing Foundation: Major nonprofit that provides hearing aids and assistive devices to children and adults in need globally. Comparable grant-based hearing-device funding model at much larger scale.
• Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA): National organization providing information, education, advocacy, and support for people with hearing loss, including programs for parents of children with hearing impairment—closely aligned with HIKE's child-focused beneficiary base.
• Sertoma Inc. Fraternal service organization historically focused on hearing health, operating the Sertoma Speech & Hearing program that provides hearing aids to children and adults in need. Similar fraternal + grantmaking + hearing-loss mission model.
• AG Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: National nonprofit dedicated to supporting children with hearing loss through education, advocacy, and financial assistance for listening and spoken language services. Directly comparable to HIKE in pediatric hearing-loss funding mission.

Others

• Job's Daughters International: Parent-affiliate youth leadership organization that created and supports HIKE as its philanthropic project. Key ecosystem partner and pipeline for HIKE's volunteers and fundraisers.

Broad incumbents

• Ronald McDonald House Charities: Large-scale children's health nonprofit funded through volunteer-driven, community-franchise model. Structurally analogous as a high-overhead-ratio, volunteer-anchored children's charity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheHIKEfund
• Instagraminstagram.com/thehikefund1985

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

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 Hike Fund