Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe

What Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe does

Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1997 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts. The organization delivers therapeutic medical-clowning services — performed by trained clowns working in pairs under hospital protocols — to hospitalized children and older adults across the Greater Boston area. It operates two core service lines: Pediatric Clowning, reaching 3,000+ hospitalized children annually, and Elder Clowning, serving geriatric and dementia populations in rehabilitation and long-term care settings. Beyond direct bedside delivery, the organization runs a Training program that makes its therapeutic-clowning methodology available to external participants.

The organization delivers services through embedded partnerships with eight named Greater Boston healthcare institutions, including Boston Medical Center, MassGeneral Brigham for Children, Franciscan Children's, Tufts Children's Hospital, Spaulding Rehab, Hebrew Rehab Roslindale, NewBridge, and Seven Hills. These institutional relationships anchor the operating model, with clowns coordinated alongside child-life and therapeutic-recreation teams on each site. Service reach therefore depends on maintaining credentialing, scheduling integration, and clinical-protocol alignment across these partner systems.

The revenue model is that of a traditional nonprofit: funding is sourced from individual donations, employer gift matching, and foundation grants from institutional philanthropies such as the Boston Foundation, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, and Fidelity Charitable Giving Fund. The leadership team is headed by Executive Director Cheryl Lekousi, supported by an 11-person staff. There is no software, technology platform, or AI component to the service; the value proposition rests entirely on the trained clown talent pool, the proprietary therapeutic methodology, and the hospital relationships built over more than two decades.

Name

Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe

Legal name

Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe, Inc.

Website

https://heartsandnoses.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1997 in Needham, MA that delivers trained-pair therapeutic clowning to hospitalized children and older adults across Greater Boston hospitals and offers a training program in its methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Therapeutic Arts Services

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Stand-Up Comedy Shows (MPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Therapeutic medical clowning
• Hospital clowning services
• Pediatric patient support
• Elder care clowning
• Nonprofit arts programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Needham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Primary revenue stream from individual donors providing one-time gifts, monthly recurring donations, and legacy/planned giving. The organization relies on donor support to train clowns, expand reach, and sustain operations.
2. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations and charitable trusts including Boston Foundation, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, Fidelity Charitable Giving Fund, and other philanthropic organizations listed as supporters.
3. Employer Gift Matching: Corporate matching gift programs where employers match employee donations, doubling the impact of individual contributions.
4. 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Status: As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, enabling charitable giving incentives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers therapeutic medical clowning services to hospitalized children and older adults (including people living with dementia) at partner healthcare facilities throughout Greater Boston. Trained artist-clowns work in pairs, guided by professional training and hospital protocols, to provide relief from fear, boredom, and pain; reinforce patient agency; and create moments of joy, laughter, and human connection. The organization also offers professional training programs for clowns and conducts community events for children with illness, disabilities, and homelessness.

Product overview

Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering therapeutic medical clowning services. The organization provides two core service offerings: Pediatric Clowning for children in hospital settings and Elder Clowning for people living with dementia. Both services use the art of therapeutic medical clowning to bring lightness, relief, laughter, and human connection to patients. The organization also provides Training programs to develop professional clowns in hospital protocols and performance techniques. The services are delivered by trained artist-clowns who work in pairs, guided by professional training and hospital protocols.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pediatric Clowning

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ hospitalized children reached annually

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Boston Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor pediatric healthcare facility in Boston serving as a primary partner for therapeutic medical clowning visits to hospitalized children.
• MassGeneral Brigham for ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading pediatric hospital receiving regular therapeutic clowning services as part of patient care programs.
• Franciscan Children'scoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPediatric healthcare facility with ongoing partnership for clown visits bringing laughter and joy to patients.
• Tufts Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPediatric hospital partner receiving therapeutic medical clowning services.
• Seven HillscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPediatric rehabilitation and care services partner receiving clown visits.
• Spaulding RehabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRehabilitation hospital partner for therapeutic clowning services.
• Hebrew Rehab RoslindalecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElder care facility receiving visits focused on connecting with people living with dementia through music, rhythm, and non-verbal communication.
• NewBridgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPediatric care facility partner.
• Boys & Girls Club of BostonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership supporting children with illness, disabilities and homelessness.
• Christmas In The CityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership supporting children through local events.
• Rotary Club of NeedhamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerService club partnership supporting community programs.
• Volante FarmsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal business community partnership.
• Catching JoyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partnership for supporting children.
• RettSyndromeAngelsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partnership supporting children with Rett Syndrome.
• Richi CampminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCamp organization partnership for children.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Le Rire Médecin: Founded in 1991 in France, Le Rire Médecin is one of the largest and oldest therapeutic medical clowning nonprofits in the world, sending trained clowns into pediatric hospitals. Highly comparable mission, methodology, and hospital-embedded delivery model to Hearts & Noses.
• Clowns Without Borders: International nonprofit sending performing artists into crisis-affected communities including hospitals and refugee settings. Comparable as a performing-arts-led healing nonprofit, though their scope is broader than clinical settings.
• Dream Doctors Project: Israeli nonprofit that places medical clowns in hospitals alongside doctors and medical staff, with a research-driven approach to therapeutic clowning. Strong peer on methodology, training rigor, and institutional integration.
• Cliniclowns (CliniClowns): Dutch therapeutic clowning organization operating in hospitals and care settings for children and older adults. Directly comparable in dual pediatric/elder focus and nonprofit funding model.
• Caring Clowns International: A US-based volunteer clown organization focused on visiting hospitalized children and elderly in care facilities. Directly comparable mission and volunteer-driven hospital clowning model.
• Prescription Laughter: UK-based charity providing therapeutic clown visits in hospitals and hospices for sick children. Closely analogous in mission, in-person hospital delivery model, and small-nonprofit operating profile.

Broad incumbents

• Ronald McDonald House Charities: Major nonprofit supporting families of hospitalized children with housing and services. Operates at much greater scale in the pediatric hospital space, including many of the same partner institutions as Hearts & Noses.
• Starlight Children's Foundation: Larger national nonprofit delivering entertainment, distraction tools, and programs to hospitalized children across the US. Comparable target beneficiary (sick children) but broader programmatic remit than medical clowning.
• Big Apple Circus (Clown Care Unit, historical): The Big Apple Circus historically operated one of the most famous US hospital clowning programs (Clown Care). Comparable mission and methodology; the circus filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and restructured, illustrating sector fragility that bears watching for Hearts & Noses.

Emerging players

• Gesundheit! Institute (Patch Adams): Founded by Patch Adams, the Gesundheit! Institute advocates for medical clowning and holistic healing. Comparable in philosophy and methodology, but operates more as a movement/advocacy organization than a hospital-embedded service provider.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/heartsandnoseshospitalclowntroupe
• Instagraminstagram.com/heartsandnoses
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hearts-&-noses-hospital-clown-troupe

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe