Soleil Rouge

What Soleil Rouge does

Soleil Rouge is a French non-profit association (loi 1901, reconnue d'intérêt général) founded in 2000 in Grenoble by Hélène Hirtz and Sylvie Daillot. The association delivers professional hospital clown interventions at CHU Grenoble-Alpes (Hôpital Couple-Enfant), deploying 9 trained professional clowns in rotating duos across 12 pediatric departments including oncology, emergency, intensive care, and general pediatrics. Operating 3 days per week, year-round including holidays, the association conducts approximately 120 bedside clown encounters weekly and reaches over 10,000 hospitalized children and nearly 30,000 total individuals (children, families, and healthcare workers) annually.

The association's core service is entirely in-person, with no technology platform, app, or digital product component. The rotating duo model enables 36 possible artistic combinations, providing diverse improvisational approaches. Revenue is generated exclusively through donations, with four streams: individual donations, corporate mécénat (financial, in-kind, skills-based, and rounding-up programs benefiting from 60% tax deduction), institutional grants and subsidies (CAF, CPAM, municipalities, foundations), and annual membership fees. All interventions are provided free of charge to the hospital and families. Soleil Rouge is a co-founding member of the Fédération Française des Associations de Clowns Hospitaliers (FFACH, est. 2009) and maintains operational autonomy as an independent association governed by its members through annual general assemblies.

Name

Soleil Rouge

Legal name

Association Soleil Rouge

Website

https://soleilrougeclowns.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Soleil Rouge is a French non-profit association operating since 2000 that deploys 9 professional hospital clowns in rotating duos to deliver weekly improvisational clown interventions across 12 pediatric departments at CHU Grenoble-Alpes, reaching over 10,000 hospitalized children annually and funded entirely through donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Grenoble

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Soleil Rouge is entirely financed by donations from individuals. Donations are the primary and sole funding source for all clown interventions. No costs are passed to families or hospitals.
2. Corporate Mécénat (Corporate Philanthropy): Companies support Soleil Rouge through financial donations (mécénat financier), in-kind donations (mécénat en nature such as equipment or services), skills-based volunteering (mécénat de compétences), charity events, sponsorship, and rounding-up programs (arrondi solidaire). Corporate donations benefit from 60% tax deduction on corporate income tax.
3. Institutional Partnerships and Grants: Institutions, associations, and foundations provide financial support through subsidies, grants, and project-based funding calls. Additional forms include visibility and communication partnerships, event organizing, and solidarity mobilization.
4. Membership Fees: Individuals become members of Soleil Rouge through an annual adhesion (membership fee), providing them with a formal role in supporting the association's mission and contributing to its long-term sustainability.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Soleil Rouge is a non-profit association that deploys 9 professional hospital clowns in rotating duos to conduct weekly bedside visits across 12 pediatric services at CHU Grenoble-Alpes. The clowns deliver approximately 120 improvised encounters per week in patient rooms, hallways, waiting areas, and the hospital park, reaching over 10,000 hospitalized children annually alongside their families and healthcare staff. All services are provided free of charge to patients and the hospital, funded entirely through individual donations, corporate philanthropy, grants, and membership fees.

Product overview

Soleil Rouge is a non-profit association ( loi 1901 ) operating a single unified service: professional hospital clown interventions. The association deploys 9 professional clowns in rotating duos (forming 36 possible combinations) who conduct approximately 120 bedside visits per week across 12 pediatric services at CHU Grenoble-Alpes, reaching nearly 10,000 hospitalized children annually. The portfolio comprises the core clown intervention service, supplemented by a membership program (Adhésion), seasonal donation campaigns, volunteer engagement opportunities, and organized charitable events. All services are offered free of charge to families and the hospital, funded entirely through donations, memberships, and corporate partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Interventions de clowns hospitaliers Weekly hospital clown visits conducted by 9 professional clowns working in rotating duos at CHU Grenoble-Alpes, delivering approximately 120 improvised bedside encounters per week across 12 pediatric services (oncology, emergency, intensive care, surgery, general pediatrics), reaching over 10,000 hospitalized children and nearly 30,000 individuals (children, families, healthcare staff) annually. Provided free of charge to patients and the hospital.
• Adhésion Annual membership program allowing supporters to formally join the Soleil Rouge community and contribute to sustainable funding of clown interventions at the hospital.
• Campagnes de dons Seasonal and ongoing donation campaigns financing clown hospital interventions, including the annual summer campaign aimed at funding 40 days of clown visits during the holiday period.
• Bénévolat Volunteer engagement opportunities enabling individuals to support the association through communication, logistics, event organization, and other operational activities.
• Événements solidaires Organized charitable events such as concerts, exhibitions (e.g., Gal'Art), tombolas, and solidarity sports challenges that raise funds and awareness for hospital clown interventions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 120 weekly 'clown encounters' in patient rooms across 12 pediatric services at CHU Grenoble-Alpes
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Rotary Club Grenoble Dent de CrollesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 30 May 2026The Rotary Club Grenoble Dent de Crolles organized a charity classical and jazz concert on 30 May 2026 at Église St Jean in Grenoble, with proceeds benefiting Soleil Rouge. This event exemplifies service club partnerships for fundraising and visibility.
• Fédération Française des Associations de Clowns Hospitaliers (FFACH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Soleil Rouge is a co-founding member of the FFACH (formerly FAACH), the national federation that promotes and defends the quality, ethics, and professional recognition of the hospital clown profession in France. The federation brings together associations sharing a vision of professional, compassionate, and hospital-respecting clown interventions across France.
• CHU Grenoble-Alpes (Hôpital Couple-Enfant)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSoleil Rouge has operated at CHU Grenoble-Alpes since 2002, with formal authorization from the head of the Department of Pediatrics (Professeur Bost) and the support of Dr. Anne Pagnier and Dr. Corinne Armari-Alla. The hospital provides access to 12 pediatric departments for weekly clown interventions, entirely free of charge to the institution.
• L'Hôpital Couple-Enfant Medical Teams (Dr. Anne Pagnier, Dr. Corinne Armari-Alla, Professeur Bost)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndividual physicians and department heads who championed the authorization for regular clown interventions within CHU Grenoble-Alpes pediatric services, enabling the association's operational integration.
• Freddy Desvéronnières (Founder of 1,2,3 Soleil)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining partner who provided intensive training to the Soleil Rouge clown team in hospital environment protocols, alongside CHU medical staff, in June 2002.
• Service and Community Organizations (Rotary, Lions, Soroptimist, Croix Rouge, and 20+ others)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerService clubs and community associations that organize and support fundraising events and awareness campaigns for Soleil Rouge. Listed partners include: Acef, Amicale des donneurs de sang Champier, Amicale des Sapeurs-Pompiers, Association Cinema de La Mure, Association Courire, Association Culturelle Artistique Lesdiguières, Association des donneurs de sang de Voreppe, Association des Parents d'élèves de St Hugues, Association Dieze onze, Association Start people, Association Transacte, Association USEE St Egrève, Chorale Vocella, Comité des fêtes de Noyarey, Course Solidaire Raccurt, Courseton St Ismier, Croix Rouge Grenoble Vercors Grésivaudan, CSA Hardis, Espoir contre le cancer, Groupe Rencontre-Partage du Pin, Just Dance Chabons, La Sonnantine, Les Aériens du spectacle, Lions Grenoble Porte de France, Rotary Grenoble Bastille, Rotary Grenoble Dent de Crolles, Soroptimist, Sourire d'Enfant.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CliniClowns: Dutch foundation established in 1992, operating one of Europe's longest-running hospital clown programs with clowns visiting children in hospitals and care institutions throughout the Netherlands. Comparable to Soleil Rouge in professional-artist model, pediatric focus, and donation-funded non-profit structure.
• Association 1,2,3 Soleil: French hospital clown association founded by Freddy Desvéronnières, who provided the original training to the Soleil Rouge team in June 2002 alongside CHU medical staff. Operates the same professional hospital clown model in French pediatric wards and is a natural FFACH peer with overlapping artistic methodology.
• Le Rire Médecin: Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Paris, Le Rire Médecin is France's largest hospital clown association, deploying professional clowns in pediatric wards of partner hospitals nationwide. It is the closest direct peer to Soleil Rouge in mission (professional hospital clown interventions for hospitalized children), business model (loi 1901 non-profit funded by donations/mécénat), and operating geography (France).
• Dr Clown: Canadian non-profit founded in 2002 deploying professional therapeutic clowns in pediatric hospitals across Quebec and Canada. Directly comparable to Soleil Rouge in mission (emotional support for hospitalized children via trained clown artists), non-profit funding model, and partnership-based hospital access.
• Humour Foundation (Clown Doctors): Australian charity founded in 1996 running the 'Clown Doctors' program — professional hospital clowns who work alongside medical staff in pediatric wards. Directly comparable to Soleil Rouge in practitioner-led pediatric hospital clowning, charity funding model, and integration with public hospital systems.
• Fondation Theodora: Founded in 1993 in Switzerland, the Theodora Foundation operates one of Europe's largest networks of professional hospital clowns ('Dream Doctors') visiting hospitalized children across multiple countries. It is the leading international analogue to Soleil Rouge in scale, professional-artist methodology, and pediatric hospital focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/soleilrougeclowns
• Facebookfacebook.com/SoleilRougeClowns
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soleilrouge
• Instagraminstagram.com/association_soleil_rouge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Soleil Rouge