What Once Upon a Time Foundation does

Once Upon a Time Foundation (OUAT) is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) foundation (EIN 75-2765224) headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, founded in 1998 by a single individual who serves as the foundation's primary funder. The foundation holds approximately $275 million in assets and has made contributions and commitments exceeding $120 million since inception, with a long-term focus on health and medicine, education, and community services. Its core activities are organized around four grant-funded programs: The Philanthropy Lab (experiential philanthropy education at universities where students direct real grants to nonprofits); the Raynor Cerebellum Project (cerebellar disorder research launched in 2022 with over $40 million committed); Child Apraxia Treatment (resources and research for childhood apraxia of speech, including DTTC treatment); and Electronic Data & Mental Health Research (three $1 million grants at Harvard/McLean, Johns Hopkins, and UPenn studying electronic communications in psychiatric care). Grant applications are invitation-only, strategic priorities are set by board review, and indirect costs on research grants are capped at 10%.

The foundation operates through strategic partnerships with leading universities and medical institutions rather than any commercial product or service. Its deepest relationship is with UT Southwestern Medical Center, which has received a $5 million gift for the OUAT Human Genomics Center, $10 million in research grants, and a $25 million commitment for the Raynor Cerebellum Project. Other core grantees include Harvard, Stanford, University of Texas, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, Mount Sinai, MD Anderson, Texas Health Resources, and Baylor All Saints. OUAT is run by a small team of 7-8 staff led by President Bethany Cale (promoted in 2024), with no parent company and no subsidiaries.

The foundation's revenue model is fundamentally an endowment-and-grant-cycle structure rather than a commercial sales model. Revenue is generated through returns on its ~$275 million investment portfolio, and these returns fund programs across health and medicine, education, arts, humanities, community affairs, and human services. There are no products sold, no pricing models, and no traditional customers; the organization is not a technology company and does not develop proprietary software or AI systems. Its grant-making capacity is bounded by board-approved annual budgets and the funding priorities of its single primary funder.

Name

Once Upon a Time Foundation

Legal name

Once Upon a Time Foundation

Website

https://onceuponatime.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Once Upon a Time Foundation is a Fort Worth-based 501(c)(3) private foundation with ~$275M in assets that funds medical research, philanthropy education, and community programs through strategic grants to universities, hospitals, and nonprofits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Grant Making

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Private foundation grants
• Philanthropic grant funding
• Medical research grants
• Experiential philanthropy education
• Health and medicine grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Worth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment/Investment Returns: As a private 501(c)(3) foundation with approximately $275 million in assets, the organization generates revenue through returns on its investment portfolio. The foundation uses these returns to make grants and fund programs in health, medicine, education, and community services. EIN: 75-2765224.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Once Upon a Time Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) grant-making foundation that funds and operates programs in health and medicine, education, and community services. It awards research grants to universities and medical institutions (cerebellar disorders, mental health, genomics, cancer, multiple sclerosis, childhood apraxia of speech), supports experiential philanthropy education through the Philanthropy Lab at leading universities, and provides free clinical resources to families and speech-language pathologists. The foundation holds approximately $275 million in assets and has committed over $120 million since 1998.

Product overview

Once Upon a Time Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation (501(c)(3)) rather than a technology company with commercial products. The foundation operates four distinct grant-making and educational programs: The Philanthropy Lab (undergraduate philanthropy education), Raynor Cerebellum Project (cerebellar disorder research), Child Apraxia Treatment (childhood speech disorder resources and research), and Electronic Data & Mental Health Research (mental health treatment research using electronic communications data). These programs are internally managed initiatives funded through grants rather than commercial technology products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Philanthropy Lab: Engages college students in philanthropy by giving them the tangible responsibility of directing real money to nonprofit organizations in the context of full-credit undergraduate courses. Over $19 million has been distributed to nonprofits, directed by undergraduate students.
• Raynor Cerebellum Project
• Child Apraxia Treatment
• Electronic Data & Mental Health Research

Products and services

• The Philanthropy Lab An experiential philanthropy education program that engages college students by giving them the responsibility of directing real money to nonprofit organizations in the context of full-credit undergraduate courses at partner universities including Stanford, Harvard, UT, and Notre Dame. Each class is awarded up to $110,000 for students to give away to 501(c)(3)s of their choosing.
• Raynor Cerebellum Project A research initiative focused on finding the shortest path to improving the lives of patients affected by cerebellar disorders. Over $40 million has been awarded to fund cutting-edge cerebellar research projects and a schedule of regular conferences bringing together researchers in the field. The project is a top strategic priority for the foundation.
• Child Apraxia Treatment

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $40 million awarded for cerebellar research through Raynor Cerebellum Project
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017EDMH Research partner studying 'The Use of Electronic Communications-based Automated Technologies to Augment Traditional Mental Health Care.' Enrolling patients from Johns Hopkins Health Systems diagnosed with mood/anxiety disorders, collecting data through Bark platform including text messages, email, browser history and social media activity.
• McLean Hospital (Harvard)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017EDMH Research partner studying 'Electronic Media and Its Application in Psychotherapy.' Enrolling patients diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety, focusing on text messaging data collection through keyword and emotion identification.
• University of PennsylvaniacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017EDMH Research partner studying 'The Use of Patients Electronic Communication in Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment.' Enrolling patients diagnosed with depression/anxiety, collecting Facebook, Google Takeout, text, and phone activity data for clinical dashboards.
• Columbia UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Funded preparation of comprehensive white paper by Paul Appelbaum, MD and Carl Fisher, MD exploring issues related to mental health professionals and access to patients' electronic communications.
• UT Southwestern Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Strong and enduring partnership with UT Southwestern Medical Center. In 2016, provided a $5 million gift towards establishment of the Once Upon a Time Foundation Human Genomics Center for personalized cancer therapies. Funded $10 million in research grants for cutting edge research including bacterial disease, stem cell function, and multiple sclerosis. In 2022, $25 million commitment created the Raynor Cerebellum Project at UTSW.
• University of SydneyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for DTTC 'Block' versus 'Standard' Trial study on childhood apraxia of speech with Elizabeth Murray, Ph.D. and Donna Thomas, Ph.D. as principal investigators.
• Marquette UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for multiple CAS studies including DTTC treatment outcomes with Jenya Iuzzini-Seigel, Ph.D., CCC-SLP as principal investigator.
• University of VermontminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for DTTC studies with Shelley Velleman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP as co-investigator on multiple CAS research projects.
• New York UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for Parent/Caregiver Training study on DTTC treatment outcomes in CAS with Maria Grigos, PhD as principal investigator.
• Hofstra UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for Parent/Caregiver Training study on DTTC treatment outcomes with Julie Case, PhD as principal investigator.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university for Philanthropy Lab program where students learn philanthropy by directing real money to nonprofits. Each class awarded up to $110,000 for students to give away.
• Harvard UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university for Philanthropy Lab program. Students direct grant funding to 501c(3)s as part of undergraduate courses.
• University of TexascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university for Philanthropy Lab program. Part of foundation's initiative to support experiential philanthropy classes at leading universities.
• Notre DamecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university for Philanthropy Lab program. Students learn philanthropy through directing real grants to nonprofits.
• Texas Health ResourcesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeven figure contributions to leading medical institutions in north Texas for health and medicine initiatives.
• Baylor All SaintsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeven figure contributions to medical institution in north Texas for health research.
• Mount SinaiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeven figure contributions to leading medical institution in New York City.
• MD Anderson Cancer CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeven figure contributions to leading cancer center in Houston, Texas.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Starr Foundation: Large private foundation funding education, medical research, and cultural institutions with substantial university partnerships. Comparable in scale and multi-domain grantmaking strategy with elite academic partners.
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Major private foundation funding scientific research and higher education. Comparable in funding targeted scientific research and graduate education at leading universities.
• The Marcus Foundation: Private foundation funding medical research, education, and Jewish causes with similar multi-program structure. Comparable as a single-funder private foundation making large multi-year institutional grants in health and education.

Emerging players

• The Pinkerton Foundation: Private foundation with concentrated programmatic focus on youth development. Comparable as a single-funder private foundation with a tight programmatic portfolio.
• American Brain Foundation: Nonprofit funding brain disease research. Adjacent peer in funding neurological disease research with academic medical center partnerships.

Direct peers

• The Dana Foundation: Private foundation funding neuroscience and brain research with grants to academic institutions. Comparable in funding specialized brain/neurological research (cerebellum) at top universities.
• National Ataxia Foundation: Nonprofit funding cerebellar ataxia research and patient support. Directly comparable as a funder of cerebellar disorder research, though focused on a specific ataxia subset.
• The Greenwall Foundation: Private foundation supporting biomedical research, particularly in areas with limited federal funding. Directly comparable in its focus on niche medical research grantmaking at leading academic medical centers.
• Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA): Nonprofit dedicated to CAS awareness, education, and research funding. Directly comparable in funding CAS research and providing education/resources to families and SLPs.
• Brain Research Foundation: Private foundation funding neuroscience research grants to academic institutions. Directly comparable in funding brain-related research at top US universities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Once Upon a Time Foundation