Little Hercules Foundation

What Little Hercules Foundation does

Little Hercules Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, founded in 2013 by Kelly Maynard after her youngest son was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The foundation serves the rare disease community—primarily Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) patients and families—by providing direct assistance with insurance navigation, treatment access, and policy advocacy. Its operational portfolio includes a Family Assistance Program, a Resource Finder directory, an annual Ohio Rare Disease Summit, a retail merchandise shop, and, until 2026, the RACE (Rare Access & Coverage Education) Program.

In 2026 the foundation underwent a strategic restructuring, transferring the RACE Program to the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases and recentering its mission on Duchenne-specific advocacy and direct family support. The organization operates with approximately six employees and is funded primarily through individual donations, a round-up fundraising partnership with Harness Giving (Change Duchenne), merchandise sales priced at $20–$35 per item, and event sponsorships. It maintains relationships with industry sponsors (NS Pharma, ITF Therapeutics), peer advocacy organizations (Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy), and the Ohio Bleeding Disorders Council.

Little Hercules Foundation relies on community-led and event-driven go-to-market motions with no proprietary technology platform, delivering services through website-based applications, email outreach, the annual policy summit, and direct casework. Its leadership team consists of individuals with personal connections to Duchenne, combining lived experience with professional backgrounds in state government, healthcare policy, special education, and insurance regulation.

Name

Little Hercules Foundation

Legal name

Little Hercules Foundation

Website

https://littleherculesfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Little Hercules Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2013 in Dublin, Ohio, that advocates for Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy patients and families through insurance navigation, policy engagement, and direct support services including a Family Assistance Program and Resource Finder.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rare Disease Patient Advocacy

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Rare Disease & Special Needs Support Organizations (BPAGACAM)

Keywords

• Rare disease advocacy
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• Patient access support
• Nonprofit patient advocacy
• Health policy advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: The foundation relies on donations from individuals around the world who believe in the mission to support Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients and families. Donations can be one-time or recurring.
2. Change Duchenne Round-Up Program: Partnership with Harness Giving enables supporters to round up debit/credit card purchases to the nearest dollar, with spare change donated directly to support access to Duchenne treatments, care programs, and advocacy efforts.
3. Merchandise Sales: The foundation operates a retail shop selling merchandise including t-shirts and tumblers with prices ranging from $20 to $35.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Little Hercules Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves the rare disease community through access advocacy and direct family support. Its core offerings include the Family Assistance Program that helps Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy families navigate insurance coverage and treatment access, plus awareness-building merchandise and community events supporting its Duchenne advocacy mission.

Product overview

Little Hercules Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides a portfolio of services focused on Duchenne muscular dystrophy advocacy and support. The foundation operates multiple interconnected programs including a retail merchandise shop for awareness promotion, a family assistance program for insurance navigation, the RACE (Rare Access & Coverage Education) training program for advocacy organizations, the Change Duchenne round-up fundraising campaign, the annual Ohio Rare Disease Summit for policy engagement, a resource finder directory for families, and research funding for DMD therapies. These offerings work together to support the foundation's mission of ensuring rare disease patients access to medically necessary treatments and care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RACE Program: Rare Access & Coverage Education Program - a training program developed for rare disease advocacy organizations to help them assist their communities with access to medically necessary therapies and equipment.

Products and services

• Family Assistance Program Free assistance program helping individuals and families affected by Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy navigate insurance issues including commercial/employer plans, Medicaid, Medicare, or combinations thereof. Provides application support and coverage navigation for denied treatments.
• RACE Program (Rare Access & Coverage Education) Training program originally developed by Little Hercules Foundation to teach other rare disease advocacy organizations how to assist their communities with access to medically necessary therapies and equipment, with focus on insurance navigation and coverage barriers. (Note: transferred to EveryLife Foundation in 2026.)
• Change Duchenne Round-up fundraising campaign partnered with Harness Giving that allows supporters to link their debit/credit cards and round up purchases to the nearest dollar, with spare change donated to support access to Duchenne treatments, care programs, and advocacy efforts.
• Ohio Rare Disease Summit Annual policy summit co-hosted with Ohio Bleeding Disorders Council to engage and educate stakeholders (patient advocacy organizations, legislators, government officials, self-insured employers and health plans) about rare disease care issues. Held at Columbus Zoo Africa Center.
• Resource Finder Online searchable directory connecting Duchenne families with national, state, regional, private and public programs offering free or reduced cost services including medical care, co-pay assistance, food, utility assistance, transportation, and Medicaid waiver programs.
• Little Hercules Foundation Retail Shop Online merchandise store selling branded apparel and accessories including Youth Crew Neck T-Shirts ($20), Long-Sleeve T-Shirts ($35), V-Neck T-Shirts ($25), and Tervis Tumblers ($20-$30) to promote Duchenne muscular dystrophy awareness and raise funds.
• Research & Development Support Funding and support for early-stage Duchenne research including AAV Re-Administration, Follistatin, Quercetin, Halofuginone/HT-100, GalGT2, CRISPR-Cas9, and Relaxin therapies, in collaboration with organizations such as Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.

Quantifiable outcome

• RACE Program has trained 15 rare disease advocacy organizations including FSHD Society, National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation, Maisie's Army, Dravet Syndrome Foundation, and others
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers14 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

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Harness GivingcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHarness Giving is a secure donation platform trusted by nonprofits nationwide. Through this partnership, Little Hercules Foundation offers the Change Duchenne round-up program where supporters can link their debit/credit cards and round up purchases to the nearest dollar, with spare change donated to support access to Duchenne treatments, care programs, and advocacy efforts. Harness provides bank-level encryption for security.
• EveryLife Foundation for Rare DiseasescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe RACE (Rare Access & Coverage Education) Program, developed by Little Hercules Foundation with 50 years of experience in Medicare/Medicaid, commercial insurance, social services and insurance regulation, will continue through EveryLife Foundation's Rare Access program. Amy Aikins is partnering with EveryLife Foundation as a consultant after her tenure with LHF. EveryLife has been a terrific partner committed to the RACE Program's expansion.
• Ohio Bleeding Disorders CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the annual Ohio Rare Disease Summit with target audience including patient advocacy organizations, legislators, government officials, self-insured employers and health plans. Summit focuses on engaging and educating key stakeholders about issues impacting rare disease patient care.
• Parent Project Muscular DystrophymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Duchenne Superhighway project to make clinical trial process faster and more efficient. Also supported CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing therapy research project. LHF references PPMD as a nationally recognized organization for physical, emotional and family-centered support.
• NS PharmaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the resource finder tool on the Little Hercules Foundation website, providing visibility for their Duchenne-related products and services.
• ITF TherapeuticsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the resource finder tool on the Little Hercules Foundation website, providing visibility for their therapeutic products and services.
• Columbus Zoo - Africa CenterminorOthersVenue partner for Ohio Rare Disease Summit, located at 4850 W Powell Rd, Powell, OH 43065. Recommended hotels nearby include AC Hotel by Marriott, SpringHill Suites, and Home2Suites by Hilton.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Organization for Rare Disorders: National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is the largest US umbrella organization for rare diseases, providing advocacy, research funding, and patient assistance. It is comparable to LHF as a rare disease policy and family-support counterpart but operates at significantly broader scope.
• Muscular Dystrophy Association: Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is a large, established nonprofit covering all neuromuscular diseases including Duchenne. It overlaps with LHF on family services, research funding, and access advocacy but operates at much larger scale and broader scope.

Direct peers

• Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy: Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) is the largest US nonprofit focused exclusively on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, funding research, providing family support, and advocating for access. It is LHF's most directly comparable peer and a current strategic partner on the Duchenne Superhighway and CRISPR research.
• CureDuchenne: CureDuchenne is a Duchenne-specific nonprofit funding research and clinical trials, with a strong venture philanthropy model. It directly competes with LHF for Duchenne donor dollars and biotech partnerships and is highly comparable in disease focus and advocacy orientation.
• Charley's Fund: Charley's Fund is a parent-founded nonprofit funding Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy research and access initiatives. It is comparable to LHF's research funding program and its parent-driven, disease-specific advocacy model.
• EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases: EveryLife Foundation is a broad rare disease advocacy organization that recently took over LHF's RACE Program. It is directly comparable as a rare disease policy and access advocate and now an active strategic partner for LHF.
• Jett Foundation: Jett Foundation is a Duchenne-focused family support and advocacy organization providing direct family assistance, camps, and access programs. It directly overlaps with LHF's family assistance program in target beneficiary and mission.

Emerging players

• Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics: FAST is a rare disease advocacy organization that has completed the RACE Program training offered by LHF. It is comparable as a peer trained on the same access-and-coverage curriculum and serves a similar patient advocacy use case.
• National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation: NNPDF is a rare disease patient advocacy organization that has completed LHF's RACE Program training. It is comparable as a peer beneficiary of LHF's access training curriculum and a similar rare-disease family-support organization.
• FSHD Society: FSHD Society is a facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy advocacy organization that completed LHF's RACE Program training. It is comparable as a muscular dystrophy advocacy peer and another RACE-trained organization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/littleherculesfoundation.org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Little Hercules Foundation