Cards for Hospitalized Kids

What Cards for Hospitalized Kids does

Cards for Hospitalized Kids (CFHK), founded by Jen and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is a 501(c)(3) certified nonprofit charitable organization (EIN 92-192-7887) that distributes handmade greeting cards to hospitalized children across the United States. The organization operates a volunteer-driven, community-led model in which individuals, families, schools, Girl Scout troops, sororities, community groups, and corporate employee programs host card-making events; the resulting cards are mailed to CFHK headquarters and then distributed monthly to Children's Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in all 50 US states. Since inception, CFHK reports reaching more than 500,000 hospitalized children through its General Cards Program, Holiday Cards Program (covering all major holidays), and urgent card drives mobilized for individual patients with terminal prognoses. A complementary Toys for Kids program extends the in-kind offering to toys.

CFHK's product surface is intentionally non-technological: there is no proprietary software platform, no mobile application, no AI/ML components, and no disclosed patents or trademarks. The operational backbone consists of the organizational website, a press kit, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube), an email newsletter, and integration with the Benevity corporate volunteering platform for volunteer-hour logging. Distribution follows a volunteer-to-headquarters-to-hospitals flow, supplemented by celebrity supporters including Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Jake Dalton, and Chellsie Memmel, Lauren Conrad, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and the University of Florida Women's Gymnastics Team, who contribute autographed cards. Corporate partners such as LabCorp, Target, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Hershey, Anytime Fitness, Sephora, Kohl's, and UPS host employee card-making events.

The business model is donation-only. CFHK provides cards free of charge to hospitalized children and does not charge hospitals, volunteers, or recipients; revenue is derived entirely from tax-deductible charitable contributions from individuals, organizations, and corporate sponsors, with a sponsorship program offered for larger supporters. The organization operates with approximately 21 employees, has no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, subsidiaries, or institutional investors, and is independently registered as a US nonprofit.

Name

Cards for Hospitalized Kids

Legal name

Cards for Hospitalized Kids, Inc.

Website

https://cardsforhospitalizedkids.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cards for Hospitalized Kids is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that distributes handmade greeting cards from volunteer card-makers to hospitalized children across all 50 US states, having reached more than 500,000 kids since inception.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) certified nonprofit, CFHK operates entirely on donations from individuals, organizations, and corporate sponsors. The organization receives tax-deductible contributions to support card-making materials and distribution operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cards for Hospitalized Kids (CFHK) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that distributes uplifting, handmade greeting cards to children receiving medical care at hospitals across the United States. Its core offering combines a monthly General Cards Program, a Holiday Cards Program covering major holidays (e.g., 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas), and a Toys for Kids Program, all delivered through a volunteer-driven community model that supplies cards free of charge to Children's Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in all 50 states.

Product overview

Cards for Hospitalized Kids (CFHK) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operating as a single, unified charitable program rather than a platform architecture. The core offering is the distribution of handmade greeting cards to hospitalized children, delivered through multiple channels: a General Cards Program for monthly distribution, a Holiday Cards Program for seasonal distributions, and a Card-Making Event Hosting service enabling volunteers to create cards. Additional programs include Toys for Kids and Sponsorship opportunities. The organization distributes to Children's Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses across all 50 US states, having reached over 500,000 children since inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CFHK General Cards Program Monthly distribution of uplifting, handmade greeting cards to Children's Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses across all 50 US states; designed for hospitalized pediatric patients including those undergoing chemotherapy, heart transplants, and other serious treatments.
• CFHK Holiday Cards Program Seasonal distribution of handmade holiday cards (including 4th of July, Halloween, and Christmas) to hospitalized children in Children's Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses.
• CFHK Toys for Kids Program Program providing toys to hospitalized children alongside CFHK greeting cards to supplement emotional support during hospital stays.
• CFHK Card-Making Event Hosting Service enabling individuals, families, companies, schools, Girl Scout troops, sororities, and community groups to host CFHK-branded card-making events; CFHK provides guidelines, checklists, and promotional materials, and cards are mailed to CFHK headquarters for distribution to hospitals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500,000 hospitalized children have received cards from CFHK since inception
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• BenevityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCFHK is approved on the Benevity platform, which allows corporate partners to log volunteer service hours for CFHK card-making events. Benevity is a corporate giving and volunteering platform that enables employee engagement programs.
• LabCorpminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLabCorp has hosted CFHK card-making events at multiple corporate locations as part of employee volunteer programs.
• TargetminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTarget has hosted CFHK card-making events at multiple locations as part of corporate employee volunteer programs.
• Bank of AmericaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBank of America has hosted CFHK card-making events at corporate locations as part of employee volunteer programs.
• Wells FargominorGTM or Marketing PartnerWells Fargo has hosted CFHK card-making events at corporate locations as part of employee volunteer programs.
• HersheyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHershey has hosted CFHK card-making events at corporate locations as part of employee volunteer programs.
• Anytime FitnessminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnytime Fitness has hosted CFHK card-making events at corporate locations as part of employee volunteer programs.
• SephoraminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSephora has hosted CFHK card-making events at corporate locations as part of employee volunteer programs.
• Kohl'sminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKohl's has hosted CFHK card-making events at corporate locations as part of employee volunteer programs.
• UPSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUPS has hosted CFHK card-making events at corporate locations as part of employee volunteer programs.
• Aly RaismancoreOthersOlympic Gold Medalist and CFHK celebrity supporter who provides autographs and personalized cards for hospitalized children. Has provided support to multiple patients including Camden, Tyler, Ally, Everly, Henley, Lily, and Axel.
• Lauren ConradcoreOthersCFHK celebrity supporter who has provided autographs for hospitalized children, including patients Callie and Erin during their cancer treatments.
• Jake DaltonminorOthersOlympic athlete and CFHK supporter who has provided autographs for hospitalized children.
• Chellsie MemmelminorOthersOlympic athlete and CFHK supporter who has provided autographs for hospitalized children including Henley.
• Dallas Cowboys CheerleadersminorOthersThe entire Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad wrote personalized cards for CFHK patient Camden at Lurie Children's Hospital, brightening his day during a 180-day hospitalization.
• University of Florida Women's Gymnastics TeamminorOthersUniversity of Florida Women's Gymnastics Team sent cards to hospitalized children including patient Tyler at Lurie Children's Hospital.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ronald McDonald House Charities: CFHK actively distributes cards into Ronald McDonald Houses. RMHC serves the same families of hospitalized children with housing and in-hospital programs but at vastly larger scale and budget.
• Make-A-Wish Foundation: The largest US nonprofit granting wishes to children with critical illnesses; overlaps with CFHK's pediatric hospital beneficiary base and corporate donor universe but operates a much larger, more capital-intensive wish-granting model.
• National Children's Cancer Society: Nonprofit supporting children with cancer and their families through financial assistance, education, and emotional support; serves a heavily overlapping oncology-pediatric population but with a much wider service portfolio.

Direct peers

• Starlight Children's Foundation: National nonprofit delivering programs (gaming, toys, content) to hospitalized children across pediatric hospitals in the US, with a similar hospital-distribution footprint and donor/corporate partner ecosystem.
• Kids Wish Network: Nonprofit granting wishes and providing uplifting experiences to hospitalized children with life-threatening illnesses — comparable mission, hospital partnerships, and donation-driven funding model.
• Chai Lifeline: Nonprofit providing emotional, social, and recreational support programs to seriously ill children and their families — directly comparable mission and volunteer-led service delivery model.
• Project Sunshine: A nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers to provide supportive programming (art, crafts, play) to children with medical needs in hospitals — closely aligned volunteer-driven, hospital-distribution model serving the same pediatric population.

Regional players

• Children's Cancer Research Fund: Nonprofit funding pediatric cancer research and family support programs; overlaps with CFHK's beneficiary base but is primarily research-focused rather than emotional-support focused.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Crds4HosptlKids
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CardsForHospitalizedKids
• Facebookfacebook.com/CardsForHospitalizedKids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cards-for-hospitalized-kids
• Instagraminstagram.com/cardsforhospitalizedkids

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Cards for Hospitalized Kids