Palhaços d' Opital

Name

Palhaços d' Opital

Legal name

Palhaços d'Opital, Associação com Estatuto de Utilidade Pública

Website

https://pdo.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Humanization Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support (BPAGACAK)

Keywords

• Hospital clowning services
• Healthcare humanization programs
• Therapeutic performing arts
• Nonprofit charitable services
• Elderly patient support

Headquarters

HQ city

Coimbra

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual supporters contribute through one-time donations via MBWay (938 780 202) or bank transfer (IBAN PT50 0010 0000 58266520002 43). Monthly donations are also accepted through direct debit arrangements.
2. Amigo d'Opital Annual Subscription: Annual membership program ('Amigo d'Opital') priced at €60 per year, providing supporters with exclusive content, news, a PdO badge, and merchandise discounts. This generates recurring revenue to support weekly hospital visits to 8 partner hospitals.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including the PdO clown nose at €2 per unit. Production supported by volunteer work from corporate partners like SIRMAF. Provides supplemental revenue while promoting brand awareness.
4. Corporate Sponsorships and Institutional Funding: Funding from corporate investors categorized as Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers, as well as social investors and foundations. Includes support from Portugal 2020 and Lisboa 2030 (Portugal Inovação Social) programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Palhaços d'Opital is a Portuguese nonprofit association that delivers weekly in-person hospital clown visits by professionally trained artists to adult and elderly patients across 10 partner hospitals. The organization also operates an online merchandise store selling branded clown noses and runs an annual membership program (Amigo d'Opital) to fund its free-of-charge hospital services.

Product overview

Palhaços d'Opital is a non-profit association with Public Utility Status that operates a hospital clown visiting program. The organization offers its services entirely free to hospitals. Its commercial offerings consist of a merchandise store (Loja d'Opital) selling products like the Nariz Palhaços d'Opital clown nose for €2, and an annual Amig@ d'Opital membership subscription for €60. The core service is the hospital clown visiting program, which includes initiatives like TOCAR MAGIA that brings music and magic to elderly patients. The organization works with 8-10 partner hospitals including CHTV, HDFF, IPOC, ULSM, CHUSJ, ULS Amadora-Sintra, and IPO Lisboa, conducting weekly visits with professional artist clowns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hospital Clown Visits Program Weekly in-person visits by professional clown artists to hospitalized adults and elderly patients in 10 partner hospitals across Portugal, delivering laughter, music, and emotional support as part of the humanization of healthcare.
• Amig@ d'Opital Annual Subscription

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,232,870 people reached since founding
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IPO Lisboa (Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2026Protocol signed January 16, 2026 in presence of IPO Lisboa's Board President and executives. PDO's 10th hospital partner, marking significant expansion to Lisbon. Supported by Lisboa 2030 and Portugal Inovação Social funding.
• MPG (MPG Lisboa)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2025Partnership announced May 15, 2025 providing PDO with a training and rehearsal space in Lisbon. MPG's auditorium is used for internal team training and rehearsals, enabling PDO to strengthen its artist development in the Lisbon region.
• CHTV (Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeekly in-person visits to adult and elderly patients across two CHTV hospital locations. One of PDO's longest-standing hospital partnerships, supporting the core mission of humanizing healthcare.
• HDFF (Hospital Distrital da Figueira da Foz)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeekly visits bringing joy to patients at the District Hospital of Figueira da Foz. Part of PDO's 8-hospital partner network for weekly visits.
• IPOC (Instituto Português de Oncologia de Coimbra)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOncology institute partnership delivering emotional support to cancer patients through regular artistic visits.
• ULSM (Unidade Local de Saúde da Matosinhos)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal health unit partnership for weekly hospital visits to adult and elderly patients in the Matosinhos region.
• CHUSJ (Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity hospital partnership bringing clown visits to patients at one of Portugal's largest hospital centers.
• ULS Amadora-SintracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram initiated June 6, 2024 with a celebration event attended by friends, investors, and local and national institutions. Extends PDO's presence to the Lisbon metropolitan area.
• Coca-Cola PortugalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerChristmas 2025 campaign partnership ('Acende um coração') bringing additional visibility and resources to PDO's mission during the holiday season.
• Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra (IPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for PDO's headquarters (Escola Agrária). Provides institutional support and partnership infrastructure for the organization's operations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Red Noses International: International umbrella organization coordinating hospital clown programs across multiple European countries, including training, research, and advocacy. Comparable as a larger, established incumbent in the hospital clowning space, with overlapping artist-training methodology.
• Theodora Children's Foundation: Swiss-founded international hospital clown charity operating in multiple countries with professional artist visits to children. Comparable business model (paid artist visits, hospital partnerships, donor funding) and one of the most recognized hospital-clown brands globally.

Direct peers

• CliniClowns (CliniClowns Nederland): Dutch nonprofit running professional hospital clown visits across the Netherlands, with both child and adult programs. Closely comparable delivery model — professional artists providing weekly in-hospital visits through hospital partnerships — and a useful European benchmark for organizational scale.
• Le Rire Médecin: Founded in 1991 in France, this is one of Europe's largest hospital clown nonprofits, deploying professional clowns to hospitalized children. Highly comparable professional-artist hospital-clowning model, though pediatric-focused, providing a useful benchmark for scale and operational practices in a similar European healthcare context.
• Hearts & Minds: UK-based charity deploying professional artists (clowns, storytellers, musicians) to hospitalized children and adults. Comparable artistic-quality, hospital-partnership model; smaller in scale than PDO and provides a benchmark for adult-focused programs similar to PdO's.
• Operação Nariz Vermelho: Portuguese nonprofit hospital clown organization founded in 2002, operating in pediatric wards across Portugal. Direct peer operating the same hospital clowning model in the same country; key difference is PDO's focus on adults and elderly versus ONV's pediatric focus.
• Doutores Palhaços: Portuguese-speaking (Portugal-based) hospital clown association serving hospitalized patients, with overlapping mission and operating geography. Closest regional peer to PDO, competing for similar hospital partnerships and donor mindshare.

Others

• Stichting Ambulance Wens Nederland: While not a hospital clowning organization, it is a Dutch nonprofit using professional entertainment to improve wellbeing of seriously ill and elderly patients — adjacent thematic peer operating in the same donor-funded, healthcare-wellbeing niche.

Regional players

• Fundación Theodora Spain: Spanish chapter of Theodora Children's Foundation operating hospital clown visits in Spanish hospitals. Comparable artist-driven model and adjacent Iberian market, providing a regional benchmark for cross-border scaling potential from Portugal.
• Doutores da Alegria: Brazilian hospital clown organization founded in 1991, deploying professional actors to hospitalized children. Highly comparable methodology (professional artists with specialized training) but operates in a different Portuguese-speaking market, illustrating possible international expansion pathways.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PalhacosdOpital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/palhacosdopital
• Instagraminstagram.com/palhacos_d_opital

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 Palhaços d' Opital