Scleroderma Canada

What Scleroderma Canada does

Scleroderma Canada is a federally registered Canadian charitable organization (Registration #869588772RR0001) headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1999 to support Canadians affected by scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune disease with no known cure. The charity operates a small staff of 9 employees and runs a portfolio of programs including the ScleroCare patient resource program, The Sclerosphere blog, a quarterly e-newsletter, a monthly 'Living Well With Scleroderma' email series, and social/video content aimed at patients, caregivers, and the general public. Its core revenue model is donation-driven, supplemented by merchandise sales through the HardWord apparel line (produced in partnership with Liberty Clothing, with 100% of proceeds funding the charity) and event-based fundraising. The organization channels significant capital into a research grants program that has cumulatively disbursed over CA$1,000,000 to Canadian investigators and institutions including Dr. Katherine Siminovitch (Mount Sinai), Dr. Sindhu Johnson (Sick Kids/U of T), the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group, and SPIN.

The charity's go-to-market is community- and event-driven rather than commercial: it runs the annual Make A Move campaign across 13 in-person events nationally, a virtual Move Your Way challenge, and the bi-annual National Scleroderma Conference (the 22nd edition scheduled for Ottawa, August 20-22, 2026). Distribution is primarily domestic through the organization's own e-commerce storefront, the CanadaHelps donation platform, organic social media, and direct community fundraisers, with affiliated provincial organizations in Ontario and Saskatchewan extending reach. Strategic positioning centers on acting as the national voice for Canadian scleroderma patients, funding research, and convening the patient-caregiver-researcher community, with no disclosed use of AI, proprietary technology platforms, or commercial product lines beyond merchandise.

Name

Scleroderma Canada

Legal name

Scleroderma Canada

Website

https://scleroderma.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Scleroderma Canada is a federally registered Canadian charity, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, that supports Canadians living with scleroderma through patient education, advocacy, community events, and a research grants program that has cumulatively funded over CA$1,000,000 in scleroderma research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Patient Advocacy and Disease Support Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Scleroderma patient advocacy
• Autoimmune disease research funding
• Patient education resources
• Healthcare charity programs
• Community fundraising events

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations: Scleroderma Canada relies on donations from thousands of generous supporters. Donations are processed through CanadaHelps platform. The organization has raised over $1,000,000 to date.
2. Merchandise Sales: The organization sells HardWord merchandise (apparel including hoodies, t-shirts, shorts, beanies, sweaters) in collaboration with Liberty Clothing. 100% of proceeds go directly to Scleroderma Canada to fund programs and initiatives.
3. Research Grants: Scleroderma Canada funds research grants for scleroderma research. The organization has provided significant funding to researchers and institutions including Dr. Katherine Siminovitch, Dr. Sindhu Johnson, Canadian Scleroderma Research Group, and SPIN.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Scleroderma Canada is a registered Canadian charitable organization that provides programs and services to support Canadians affected by scleroderma, including patient education resources (ScleroCare), a research grants program funding Canadian scleroderma research, awareness merchandise sold in collaboration with Liberty Clothing, an annual Make A Move fundraising campaign, and a biennial National Scleroderma Conference.

Product overview

Scleroderma Canada is a registered charitable organization (#869588772RR0001) focused on supporting those affected by scleroderma through awareness, research funding, and community programs. The organization operates several interconnected programs: a Hard Word Merch merchandise line (in collaboration with Liberty Clothing) for awareness and fundraising; The Sclerosphere blog platform providing research updates and patient stories; ScleroCare patient resources; annual Make A Move fundraising campaigns; a bi-annual National Scleroderma Conference; and a research grants program that has funded over $1,000,000 in scleroderma research across Canadian institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sclerosphere: The official blog of Scleroderma Canada featuring research updates, patient stories, awareness content, advocacy, and fundraising news.
• Hard Word Merch

Products and services

• Hard Word Merchandise

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $1,000,000 raised to support scleroderma research and programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 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

One partnership is on record.

• Liberty ClothingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorScleroderma Canada partnered with Liberty Clothing, a proudly Canadian and ethically-driven company, to create the HardWord merchandise line. 100% of proceeds from all merchandise sales go directly to Scleroderma Canada to fund programs, initiatives, and scleroderma awareness across Canada.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada: Major Canadian chronic disease nonprofit funding research and delivering patient programs nationwide; comparable national-scale operations, events, and grant-making model.
• Arthritis Society of Canada: Canada's largest charity funding rheumatic disease research and patient support, including scleroderma; highly comparable model of national events, research grants, and patient education programs.
• Lupus Canada: Canadian national nonprofit supporting patients with another rare autoimmune disease (lupus) via research funding, awareness events, and patient resources — directly comparable operating model in the same disease-category ecosystem.
• ALS Canada: Canadian rare-disease nonprofit combining donor-funded research grants, national awareness campaigns, and patient support services — a closely matched rare-disease charity archetype.
• Cystic Fibrosis Canada: Canadian rare-disease nonprofit with a mature national research-grant and patient-support program; an established comparable in the same disease-specific charity category.
• Crohn's and Colitis Canada: Canadian disease-specific nonprofit funding research, hosting national walks/events, and providing patient resources — a closely analogous operating model in autoimmune/chronic disease.
• Scleroderma Research Foundation: US-based nonprofit exclusively funding scleroderma research at top academic centers; directly comparable research-grant-making mission and disease focus.
• Scleroderma Foundation: US-based national scleroderma patient advocacy and research-funding nonprofit with the same disease-specific mission, national event programming, and research grant program as Scleroderma Canada.

Broad incumbents

• Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada: Major Canadian health nonprofit funding large-scale research and running national awareness campaigns; comparable broad-population health-charity model but at vastly greater scale.
• Canadian Cancer Society: Largest Canadian health charity operating a national research-grant and patient-support program at materially greater scale; a broader incumbent in the disease-specific charity category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scleroderma-canada

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Scleroderma Canada