VN CARES

What VN CARES does

VN CARES (Vietnamese Cancer Awareness Research and Education Society) is a non-profit student-run healthcare organization founded in 2001 at the University of California, Davis, in response to NCI SEER data showing Vietnamese American women had the highest incidence rate of cervical cancer — five times greater than Caucasian women. The organization operates two branches: a Clinic Branch delivering free primary care every Saturday and specialty services on rotating Sundays/monthly cancer screenings, and a Research and Education Branch producing health education resources and community outreach programs. VN CARES serves uninsured and underinsured Vietnamese-speaking community members in the greater Sacramento area, including Sacramento, Yolo County, and Elk Grove, providing primary care, cancer screenings (breast, cervical, prostate, colorectal, liver), specialty clinics (neurology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, cardiology, diabetes, women's health), free Hepatitis vaccinations, liver ultrasounds, and brand-name medications through a Patient Assistance Program.

The organization's core offering is human-delivered, culturally competent healthcare powered by UC Davis undergraduate and medical student volunteers recruited via twice-annual application cycles, with physician oversight from a Medical Director (Dr. Ilya Khamishon) and Faculty Advisor (Dr. Julie HT Dang). VN CARES operates from a clinic co-located with the Paul Hom Asian Clinic at 6341 Folsom Blvd, Sacramento, and maintains strategic partnerships with UC Davis School of Medicine, Paul Hom Asian Clinic, Lạc Hồng Vietnamese School, the Vietnamese School of Mary Help of Christians Center, and several community service organizations (Challah For Hunger, Davis Community Meals, Grace Gardens).

VN CARES generates no revenue from patient services — all clinical offerings are provided free of charge. The organization's funding model consists entirely of donations accepted via PayPal, Square, and physical mail. Patient acquisition is community-led through Vietnamese schools, health fairs, word-of-mouth, and social media (Instagram, YouTube). The business model is structurally a charitable healthcare delivery organization rather than a commercial enterprise, with a 2025-2026 undergraduate officer board governing operations under academic-year cycles.

Name

VN CARES

Legal name

Vietnamese Cancer Awareness Research and Education Society

Website

https://vncares.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

VN CARES is a UC Davis student-run nonprofit founded in 2001 that provides free primary care, cancer screenings, and specialty clinic services to uninsured and underinsured Vietnamese community members in the greater Sacramento area through a volunteer-driven, culturally competent care model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: VN CARES operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through donations. The organization accepts both monetary donations via PayPal and Square, as well as physical donations mailed to their UC Davis PO box. No revenue is generated from patient services as all healthcare services are provided free of charge.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

VN CARES is a UC Davis student-run nonprofit clinic that provides free healthcare services to uninsured and underinsured Vietnamese community members in the Sacramento area. Its core offerings include Saturday primary care walk-in clinics, monthly Sunday cancer screening clinics (breast, cervical, prostate, colorectal, liver), rotating specialty clinics (neurology, psychiatry, cardiology, ophthalmology, diabetes, women's health), free hepatitis vaccinations, liver ultrasounds, EKGs, spirometry, and a Patient Assistance Program providing free brand-name medications. A parallel Research and Education branch produces health education materials and conducts community outreach.

Product overview

VN CARES is a student-run nonprofit organization with two main branches: the Clinic Branch providing primary care, cancer screening, and specialty clinics (vaccination, liver ultrasound, cardiopulmonary, ophthalmology, diabetes, neurology, psychiatry, and patient assistance); and the Research and Education Branch focused on health education through committees including Play for Thought, Patient Advocate Committee, Health Resource Committee, and Vietnamese Interactive Community Educator (VICE). Together these branches serve the Vietnamese community in Sacramento with free healthcare services and health education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Primary Care Clinic
• Cancer Screening Services
• Patient Assistance Program
• Vaccination Clinic
• Enrollment Clinic
• Liver Ultrasound
• Cardiopulmonary Clinic
• Ophthalmology Clinic
• Diabetes Clinic
• Neurology Clinic
• Psychiatry Clinic
• Research and Education Branch

Quantifiable outcome

• Free cancer screenings provided to both male and female patients; Breast cancer screening for females 40+, cervical cancer 21-65, prostate cancer 50+, colorectal cancer 45+/50+, liver cancer screening for all ages

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

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Paul Hom Asian CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005In 2005, VN CARES partnered with Paul Hom Asian Clinic to serve the Asian population in Sacramento. This collaboration provides primary care, cancer screening services, and select specialty clinics to create a more holistic healthcare experience for patients. The partnership conducts monthly Sunday cancer screening clinics.
• Challah For HungerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVN CARES partners with Challah For Hunger to bake and distribute bread at local food banks to fight food insecurity in the community.
• Davis Community MealsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVN CARES works with Davis Community Meals to prepare and serve food to low-income and homeless populations in need.
• Grace Gardens (Davis United Methodist Church)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVN CARES partners with Grace Gardens to maintain a community garden that helps feed the hungry and educate the community about environmental and sustainable practices.
• Lạc Hồng Vietnamese SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVN CARES partners with Lạc Hồng Vietnamese School in Elk Grove to inform the community about available clinic resources and to help educate families on health-related topics through fun activities. This partnership is used for patient recruitment and health education outreach.
• Yolo County Library and Friends of the Davis LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVN CARES Play for Thought committee presents educational events for children at Yolo County Library and Friends of the Davis Library, aiming to instill healthy lifestyle ideas through hands-on activities.
• Vietnamese School of Mary Help of Christians CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Patient Advocate Committee collaborates with this Vietnamese school where interns educate high school students about prevalent health issues in the Vietnamese community and provide Vietnamese language translation practice.
• UC Davis School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical students from UC Davis School of Medicine participate in the monthly Sunday cancer screening clinics alongside VN CARES volunteers and supervising physicians.
• HLUB ClinicminorOthersListed as a related student-run clinic within the same network, operated independently.
• Bayanihan ClinicminorOthersListed as a related student-run clinic within the same network, operated independently.
• Shifa ClinicminorOthersListed as a related student-run clinic within the same network, operated independently.
• Clinica TepatiminorOthersListed as a related student-run clinic within the same network, operated independently.
• Imani ClinicminorOthersListed as a related student-run clinic within the same network, operated independently.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Asian Health Services: Oakland-based community health center providing culturally-competent healthcare to Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Comparable to VN CARES in cultural-competency and language-access focus, but operates at a much larger scale across multiple sites.
• Elica Health Centers: Sacramento-area Federally Qualified Health Center serving uninsured and underinsured populations including immigrants and refugees. Comparable to VN CARES in mission and target population, but operates at significantly larger scale with multiple clinic sites and broader service lines.
• WellSpace Health: Sacramento-based Federally Qualified Health Center network providing low-cost and free healthcare across multiple Sacramento locations. Operates at much larger scale than VN CARES and offers comparable primary care, women's health, and specialty services to underserved populations in the same geography.

Others

• Vietnamese American Medical Association: National professional association supporting Vietnamese American physicians and community health initiatives. Comparable to VN CARES in serving the Vietnamese American health-disparity mission, but functions as an enabling/membership organization rather than a direct service provider.

Direct peers

• HLUB Clinic: Student-run free clinic operating in the same Sacramento-area network as VN CARES. Sister organization listed as part of the UC Davis student-run clinic ecosystem, providing comparable volunteer-driven free healthcare services.
• Imani Clinic: UC Davis student-run free clinic serving the African American community in Sacramento. Sister clinic within the same network as VN CARES, using an identical volunteer-driven model to address health disparities in an underserved community.
• Bayanihan Clinic: UC Davis student-run free clinic serving the Filipino community in Sacramento. Listed as a sister student-run clinic within the same network as VN CARES, sharing the volunteer-driven, culturally-competent, free-care delivery model.
• Paul Hom Asian Clinic: UC Davis student-run free clinic that has partnered with VN CARES since 2005 to deliver primary care and cancer screening to the Asian population in Sacramento. Operates the same volunteer-driven, free-care model and shares clinical infrastructure with VN CARES.
• Shifa Clinic: UC Davis student-run free clinic serving the Muslim and South Asian community in Sacramento. Sister clinic within the same UC Davis student-run network as VN CARES, operating an analogous weekend walk-in free-care model.
• Clinica Tepati: Sister student-run free clinic at UC Davis serving uninsured and underinsured populations in Sacramento. Listed in VN CARES' network of related clinics and operates the same UC Davis-affiliated, volunteer-staffed, free-care model targeting underserved communities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights3 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@vncares
• Instagraminstagram.com/vncares?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vn-cares

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about VN CARES