Medical Clown Project

What Medical Clown Project does

Medical Clown Project, Inc. (EIN: 27-3281016) is a California-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded circa 2013 and headquartered in El Sobrante, California. It provides therapeutic healthcare clowning services delivered on-site by trained professional clowns to patients in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and senior-living communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its core offering is direct in-facility programming that integrates theatrical play, music, magic, circus, theatre, improvisation, and puppetry to reduce fear and anxiety, ease isolation, and create moments of joy for children and older adults in care settings, with secondary offerings of Joy-Inducing Workshops and external Speaking Engagements.

The service architecture is human-delivered rather than technology-mediated: there is no software product, mobile app, or AI/ML component, and the organization's "technology" is the specialized performance repertoire of its clown troupe. Delivery is conducted directly inside partner facilities — in patient rooms, ICUs, emergency departments, hallways, and waiting rooms — under arrangements where Medical Clown Project brings its artists into facilities such as UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, California Pacific Medical Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, On Lok PACE, and several Jewish and senior-living communities.

The organization is funded entirely through donations and charitable contributions rather than service fees, with GiveLively serving as the online donation platform. It employs between 11 and 50 staff and operates as a single regional entity, governed by a Board of Directors and led operationally by Program Director Josh Matthews alongside Founder/Co-founder & Director Jeff Raz. The organization recently transitioned to a distributive matrix structure in which Team Leader Artists hold direct facility-level relationships, signaling an emphasis on decentralized program management rather than centralized hierarchy.

Name

Medical Clown Project

Legal name

Medical Clown Project, Inc.

Website

https://medicalclownproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Medical Clown Project is a Bay Area 501(c)(3) nonprofit that places trained professional clowns in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and senior-living communities to deliver therapeutic programming for children and older adults, funded entirely through donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Therapeutic Healthcare Services

NAICS

Offices of Other Health Practitioners (6213)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

General Health Coaching (HSADAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wellness Program Design & Accountability Coaching (HSADAGAC)

Keywords

• Therapeutic medical clowning
• Healthcare clown services
• Patient wellness programs
• Hospital therapeutic programs
• Senior care engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

El Sobrante

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 27-3281016), the Medical Clown Project generates revenue through donations from individuals, organizations, and potentially grants. They utilize GiveLively's donation platform for collecting contributions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Medical Clown Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that delivers therapeutic healthcare clowning services to patients in hospitals and care facilities across the San Francisco Bay Area. Trained professional healthcare clowns perform on-site visits using theatrical play, music, magic, improvisation, and puppetry to reduce fear and anxiety, ease isolation, and create moments of joy for children, older adults, families, and medical staff. The core service is extended through interactive joy-inducing workshops and speaking engagements offered to external organizations.

Product overview

Medical Clown Project is a non-profit organization offering a unified therapeutic programming service centered on healthcare clowning. Its core offering is Therapeutic Healthcare Clowning Services — professional clowns who use theatrical play, music, and specialized clowning techniques to bring joy to patients and families in hospitals and care facilities. This core service is extended through Joy-Inducing Workshops (which also support anti-racism and difficult communications) and Speaking Engagements for external organizations. The portfolio is a single programmatic service supplemented by educational/outreach modules, all delivered in settings including patient rooms, ICUs, emergency departments, waiting rooms, and hallways.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Therapeutic Healthcare Clowning Services Professional healthcare clowns deliver therapeutic programming using theatrical play, music, magic, improvisation, and puppetry to bring joy and laughter to patients in hospitals and care facilities, reducing fear and anxiety while supporting the healing process. Services are provided on-site in patient rooms, ICUs, emergency departments, hallways, and waiting rooms for partner healthcare facilities.
• Joy-Inducing Workshops Interactive workshops facilitated by trained healthcare clowns that use humor and play to foster joy. The workshops are also applied to anti-racism conversations and difficult interpersonal communications in various organizational settings.
• Speaking Engagements The Medical Clown Project team speaks about their work to external organizations upon request, with inquiries directed to Program Director Josh Matthews at [email protected].

Quantifiable outcome

• Some residents who had been isolated and non-communicative were 'lighting up and talking' for the first time in months following medical clown visits

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital OaklandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor pediatric hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area where Medical Clown Project provides therapeutic clowning services to children in healthcare settings.
• Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSan Francisco's public skilled nursing facility where medical clowns provide programming to older adult residents. The Director of Pharmacy serves as the organization's liaison and has reported significant positive outcomes from clown visits.
• CPMC (California Pacific Medical Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSutter Health affiliated hospital where Medical Clown Project provides therapeutic programming services to patients.
• San Francisco Jewish Community (SFCJL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJewish community organization that serves as a partner facility for medical clown programming targeting senior community members.
• Almavia of San FranciscocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior living community operated by Elder Care Alliance where Medical Clown Project provides therapeutic programming for older adult residents.
• Rhoda Goldman PlazacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJewish senior living community operated by JFCS where Medical Clown Project delivers therapeutic clown visits for residents.
• On LokcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare organization providing PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) services where medical clowns provide programming for older adults.
• GiveLivelyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOnline donation platform that processes charitable contributions for the Medical Clown Project through their secure giving portal.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe: Boston-area nonprofit delivering therapeutic hospital clowning to pediatric patients and their families using trained volunteer clowns. Directly comparable in mission, methodology, and target population to Medical Clown Project.
• Theodora Children's Charity (Giggle Doctors): International charity operating 'Giggle Doctors' who visit children in hospitals across the UK and other countries using music, magic, and play. Directly comparable model delivering therapeutic performing-arts visits to pediatric patients.
• Le Rire Médecin: French nonprofit employing professional clowns who perform in pediatric hospitals to support healing and reduce anxiety. Highly comparable professionalized healthcare clowning model serving hospitalized children.
• Dr. Clown Foundation: Canadian nonprofit deploying therapeutic clowns to hospitals and care facilities to improve patient wellbeing. Direct peer offering similar therapeutic clowning services in healthcare settings.
• Big Apple Circus Clown Care (legacy): Originally founded the modern hospital clowning model in the U.S. by sending professional circus clowns into NYC pediatric hospitals. Although the program was discontinued, it set the template Medical Clown Project follows and remains the historical reference point for the field.

Others

• Caring Clowns International: Network and training organization supporting hospital clowning programs across the United States. Comparable ecosystem participant that connects and resources individual hospital clown troupes rather than directly delivering programming.
• Hospital Audiences, Inc. (HAI): NYC-based nonprofit bringing live entertainment, including performing arts programming, to people in hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional facilities. Comparable in bringing arts-based engagement into healthcare settings, though broader than therapeutic clowning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 Medical Clown Project