The Boston House

What The Boston House does

The Boston House: Hope and Healing for Children with Cancer is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1979 and headquartered at 229 Kent Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, within walking distance of Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Jimmy Fund Clinic. The organization provides no-cost temporary housing and wraparound support services — including meals, laundry, transportation, and a community environment — for families of children undergoing cancer treatment (and related life-threatening hematological illnesses) who live at least 40 miles from the greater Boston area. Its physical footprint comprises the Main House, a Victorian mansion accommodating up to nine families in shared bedrooms, plus the Carriage House (Transplant Recovery House) and Annex with 13 fully furnished studio apartments for bone marrow and stem cell transplant recovery patients with severely compromised immune systems, yielding total capacity of 22 families per night.

Service delivery is direct and first-come, night-by-night, with families self-referring or being referred by hospital staff at the two partner institutions. The organization ended its affiliation with Ronald McDonald House Charities in 2017 and now operates as a fully independent community-supported nonprofit, funded 100% by contributions from companies, foundations, and individual donors. Long-standing strategic partnerships with Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber — including board representation, monthly Patient Satisfaction Rounds, and in-kind support — anchor both referral pipelines and operational resources. The Boston House is staffed by six core personnel supplemented by more than 100 volunteers, with primary fundraising channels including the annual ASICS Falmouth Road Race team, an annual Golf Tournament, Amazon Wishlist in-kind giving, and multi-platform social media outreach. In 2025, the organization served 151 families with nearly 6,000 nights of no-cost housing.

Name

The Boston House

Legal name

The Boston House: Hope and Healing for Children with Cancer

Website

https://thebostonhouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Boston House is a Brookline, Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing no-cost housing and support services for families of children undergoing cancer treatment at Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, operating a 22-family-per-night capacity across a Victorian mansion and 13 transplant-recovery studio apartments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Patient and Family Housing (Pediatric Oncology Hospitality Services)

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Community Housing Services (62422), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical & Healthcare Travel Housing (Travel Nurses, Locums, Patient/Family) (THAMAHAD)

Keywords

• Nonprofit patient housing
• Pediatric oncology lodging
• Hospitality family services
• Transplant recovery housing
• Charitable accommodations

Headquarters

HQ city

Brookline

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, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As an independent community-supported nonprofit organization, The Boston House receives 100% of its funding from companies, organizations, foundations, and individual donors. Ended affiliation with Ronald McDonald House Charities in 2017.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Boston House provides no-cost overnight accommodations and wraparound support services to families of children (birth through age 21) receiving cancer and hematological treatment at Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Service delivery includes the Main House (nine communal bedrooms), the Transplant Recovery House and Annex (13 studio apartments for immune-compromised post-transplant patients), free shuttle transportation to the hospitals, volunteer-prepared meals, shared kitchens, laundry, play areas, and a supportive peer community.

Product overview

The Boston House is a nonprofit charitable organization that provides no-cost temporary housing and support services for children with cancer and their families. The organization operates two physical facilities: the Main House (a restored Victorian mansion with nine family bedrooms in a communal setting) and the Transplant Recovery House/Carriage House (thirteen studio apartments for bone marrow and stem cell transplant recovery). Additional services include free hospital shuttle transportation, laundry facilities, fully equipped kitchens, play areas, and volunteer-cooked meals. The organization does not operate a software product; all offerings are physical hospitality and support services for families traveling to receive pediatric oncology treatment at affiliated Boston-area hospitals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Main House Accommodations

Quantifiable outcome

• 151 families provided with nearly 6,000 nights of no-cost housing in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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 core, major, minor and founding.

• Boston Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1979Long-standing medical partnership since 1979. Hospital staff communicates with The House to ensure service to patients who need accommodations for medical reasons. Staff attends monthly Patient Satisfaction Rounds with Clinical Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation Center. Top administrators serve on Board of Directors and Medical Subcommittee.
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - Jimmy Fund CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1979Long-standing medical partnership since 1979. Top administrators serve on The Boston House Board of Directors and Medical Subcommittee. Institutions assist with operating costs and in-kind services. Hospital staff volunteers time and services to support House events.
• Elaine ConstructionmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerKey partner in vital construction project and grand re-opening renovation. Completed capital improvements to ensure families receive comfort and convenience during their stay. Named recipient of Boston Business Journal Corporate Citizenship Award for work with The Boston House.
• Ronald McDonald House CharitiesminorOthersHistorical affiliation ending in 2017. The Boston House was originally the eighth Ronald McDonald House in the country when it opened in 1979. Now operates as independent community-supported nonprofit.
• Friends of the Jimmy FundfoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding organization - a group of parents whose children were treated for cancer at Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Jimmy Fund Clinic. Their dream and tireless work combined with local McDonald's Restaurant owner/operators' support led to The Boston House opening in 1979.
• ASICS Falmouth Road RacemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual partnership for the ASICS Falmouth Road Race. The Boston House fields a team of runners who raise funds for the organization. 2025 team raised a record-breaking $200,794. The Numbers for Nonprofits Program requires minimum $1,500 fundraising commitment per participant.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ronald McDonald House Charities: National umbrella organization providing 'home away from home' lodging for families of sick children near hospitals. The Boston House was originally the eighth RMH (1979) before ending affiliation in 2017; they share the same core operating model and beneficiary population.
• The Children's Inn at NIH: Residential facility providing free lodging to families of children participating in NIH pediatric research protocols, including oncology. Closely comparable 'home away from home' model for pediatric patients at a major specialty medical center.
• Brent's Place: Long-stay housing in Denver for immunocompromised patients (especially post bone-marrow/stem-cell transplant) and their families. Closest functional peer to The Boston House's Carriage House/Annex transplant-recovery studios.
• Hackerman-Patz House: Housing at Sinai Hospital (Baltimore) for families of pediatric and adult oncology patients receiving treatment. Comparable mission and operating model serving oncology families near a treatment center.
• Ronald McDonald House Boston Harbor: Sibling Boston-area Ronald McDonald House serving families of pediatric patients at Boston-area hospitals. Closest geographic peer; overlaps in mission and beneficiary population while remaining distinct organizationally.

Broad incumbents

• Fisher House Foundation: National network of 90+ comfort homes serving families of military veterans and seriously ill patients near major medical centers. Comparable 'home away from home' model at much larger scale, though focused on military/Veterans Affairs populations.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: Leading pediatric cancer treatment center that also provides free housing (Target House, Ronald McDonald House within campus) for families of its patients. Adjacent peer in mission and shared beneficiary population.

Others

• Healthcare Hospitality Network: Industry association of nonprofit lodging houses serving patients and families near hospitals. Relevant as the trade body connecting The Boston House with peer hospitality houses across the U.S.
• Joe's House: Nonprofit aggregating lodging options for cancer patients traveling for treatment. Adjacent rather than directly competing — a referral/discovery layer rather than a facility operator.

Regional players

• Ronald McDonald House of Providence: Regional RMH serving families of pediatric patients at Hasbro Children's Hospital and Women & Infants in Rhode Island. Similar operational model but different geographic catchment from The Boston House.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@thebostonhousehopeandhealing
• Facebookfacebook.com/thebostonhousehope
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-boston-house
• Instagraminstagram.com/thebostonhousehopeandhealing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 The Boston House