UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation

What UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation does

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization (EIN 94-1657474) operating as the philanthropic arm of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals within the University of California San Francisco academic medical center. The foundation solicits individual, corporate, and institutional donations — including monthly giving, planned/legacy gifts, donor-advised funds, and corporate partnerships — to support two hospital campuses in San Francisco (Mission Bay) and Oakland, and to fund clinical programs, research, and capital projects. A 7-story new hospital building in Oakland is planned for 2031 as part of a multi-phase modernization launched in 2015.

The foundation underwrites a clinical and research portfolio that includes the UCSF500 Cancer Gene Panel for precision oncology, the Living Therapeutics Initiative for cellular and gene therapies (CAR T-cell, gene therapy, microbial therapeutics), and a first-in-human CRISPR-Cas9 clinical trial for sickle cell disease conducted with UC Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute and UCLA. It also supports specialized centers in fetal therapy, pediatric liver disease, and epilepsy, and operates the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Portal (CAPP) for virtual pediatric mental health. AI/ML is deployed in clinical workflows, notably a machine-learning tool that reportedly doubles physician accuracy in detecting fetal heart defects on routine ultrasounds.

The foundation's go-to-market is event- and storytelling-driven, using patient ambassadors, impact publications, social media, and corporate partnerships (e.g., Pixar) to drive donor acquisition and retention. It is governed by a Board of Directors led by Board Chair Shahan Soghikian (since 2017) and operates with a lean 29-person staff; financial information is not publicly disclosed. The entity is the legal successor of Children's Hospital & Research Center Foundation and is a subsidiary of the public University of California system.

Name

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation

Legal name

Children's Hospital & Research Center Foundation

Website

https://give.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises philanthropic funds to support UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals' pediatric clinical care, research (including CRISPR and genomic programs), and capital projects across its San Francisco and Oakland campuses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Hospital Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF), Advancement Services & Donor Operations (CRM, Gift Processing, Stewardship) (EDALAOAD)

Keywords

• Pediatric hospital philanthropy
• Children's hospital fundraising
• Pediatric medical research
• Nonprofit healthcare foundation
• Planned charitable giving

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropy and Charitable Donations: The foundation raises funds through individual donations, monthly giving programs, donor-advised funds, stocks and securities, and planned giving/legacy gifts. Donors contribute to the Children's Fund, specific programs, or capital projects.
2. Corporate Foundation Giving: Corporate partners and foundations provide grants and sponsorships for hospital programs, research initiatives, and capital projects.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Strategic partnerships with corporations including cause marketing, employee giving programs, and in-kind donations such as airline miles for patient travel.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation (EIN 94-1657474) that raises philanthropic capital from individual donors, corporate partners, and institutional grantmakers to underwrite pediatric patient care, translational research, and capital projects at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco (Mission Bay) and Oakland. The Foundation solicits and stewards gifts through annual giving, major gifts, planned/legacy giving, corporate partnerships, signature events, and foundation grants, and disburses restricted and unrestricted program support to the two hospital campuses.

Product overview

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation supports a comprehensive pediatric health system offering advanced medical programs and research initiatives. The portfolio includes the UCSF500 Cancer Gene Panel for precision genomic diagnosis, the Living Therapeutics Initiative for cellular and gene therapies, and specialized centers for epilepsy, liver disorders, and fetal medicine. Mental health services are delivered through the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Portal (CAPP), while groundbreaking research includes a CRISPR-based sickle cell gene therapy clinical trial. These programs work together to deliver integrated pediatric care spanning cancer treatment, genetic disorders, organ transplantation, and mental health services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UCSF500 Cancer Gene Panel
• Living Therapeutics Initiative Translational research program developing living-cell and gene-editing therapies for pediatric diseases; for pediatric patients with rare and serious conditions.
• Machine Learning Fetal Heart Defect Detection Artificial intelligence tool that analyzes fetal imaging to detect congenital heart defects; for expectant families, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and pediatric cardiologists.
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Portal (CAPP) Digital portal providing child and adolescent psychiatry evaluation, consultation, and telepsychiatry services; for children, adolescents, families, and referring pediatricians.
• Sickle Cell CRISPR Gene Therapy Clinical Trial Clinical trial using CRISPR-based gene editing to treat pediatric sickle cell disease; for pediatric patients with sickle cell disease and their families.
• Pediatric Liver Center of Excellence Multidisciplinary center providing specialized pediatric hepatology care, including liver transplantation; for pediatric patients with liver disease and their families.
• Pediatric Epilepsy Center of Excellence Multidisciplinary center providing specialized pediatric epilepsy diagnosis, treatment, and surgery; for pediatric patients with epilepsy and their families.
• Fetal Therapy Program Comprehensive fetal diagnosis and in-utero therapy program for complex fetal conditions; for expectant families and referring maternal-fetal medicine specialists.

Quantifiable outcome

• First in utero stem cell transplant for alpha thalassemia (2018)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Battle Osteosarcoma / St. Baldrick's FoundationminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Family-founded fundraising initiative that raised $1.43 million for Dr. Sweet-Cordero's osteosarcoma research laboratory at UCSF.
• UCSF, UC Berkeley, UCLA ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC San Francisco, UC Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute (founded by Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna), and UCLA are jointly conducting the first-in-human CRISPR clinical trial for sickle cell disease. The consortium combines CRISPR technology, genetic analysis expertise, and decades of transplant experience to develop an accessible, curative gene therapy treatment.
• Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI)coreTechnology or IntegrationA joint UC Berkeley-UCSF initiative founded by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Jennifer Doudna, PhD. IGI developed the CRISPR-Cas9 technology being used in the sickle cell clinical trial and provides bioinformatics and genomics support for the research.
• PixarminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner that donated airline miles to help families travel to Oakland campus for patient appointments, making care more accessible.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Seattle Children's Hospital Foundation: Philanthropic arm of Seattle Children's, a peer academic pediatric hospital foundation on the West Coast with comparable capital campaigns, research fundraising, and donor-advised fund offerings.
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles Foundation: Foundation supporting CHLA, one of the leading pediatric academic medical centers on the West Coast. Comparable as a peer academic children's hospital foundation operating donor-advised funds, corporate partnerships, and planned giving programs in California.
• Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health: Philanthropic foundation supporting Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, a direct Bay Area peer academic children's hospital. Highly comparable as a neighboring academic pediatric health system foundation with a donor-advised fund program and capital campaigns.
• Cincinnati Children's Foundation: Foundation supporting Cincinnati Children's, a peer academic pediatric medical center known for research fundraising in rare diseases and gene therapy. Direct comparable in mission and donor program structure.

Regional players

• Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation: Foundation supporting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a major pediatric health system. Comparable in pediatric fundraising model but operates in a different geography (Southeast U.S.).

Broad incumbents

• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation: Foundation supporting CHOP, the largest and oldest children's hospital in the U.S. and a peer in pediatric gene therapy and oncology research fundraising. Operates a substantially larger national endowment and fundraising program.
• Texas Children's Hospital Foundation: Foundation supporting Texas Children's Hospital, one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the U.S. Comparable as a peer in pediatric oncology and cardiac research fundraising, with substantially larger scale.
• Boston Children's Hospital Trust: Philanthropic arm of Boston Children's Hospital, the #1-ranked U.S. pediatric hospital. A direct peer in pediatric research fundraising with a national donor base and substantially larger endowment.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital / ALSAC: The largest pediatric research fundraising organization in the U.S., supporting St. Jude. Comparable as a peer in pediatric cancer and catastrophic disease philanthropy, but operates at much larger national scale.

Others

• Children's Miracle Network Hospitals: A national children's hospital fundraising consortium that aggregates corporate and individual donations across 170+ pediatric member hospitals. Comparable as a peer in pediatric philanthropy infrastructure rather than direct competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UCSFBenioffOAK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ucsfbchfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/ucsf_bch_foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation