National Collaborative for Health Equity

What National Collaborative for Health Equity does

The National Collaborative for Health Equity (NCHE) is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 (incubated since 2005 as the Health Policy Institute at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies) that works to eliminate racial and health inequities through three integrated strategies: leadership development, research and data, and racial healing. Its portfolio is unified by the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) framework — a five-pillar model (Narrative Change, Racial Healing & Relationship Building, Separation, Law, Economy) — and includes the Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing (CoHLI), a 12-month virtual cohort program with a $10,000 per-leader stipend; the Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE) Initiative data tool; the annual Heart of America National Survey conducted with Burson; the Hope in Action podcast; and the TRHT Places local network. NCHE operates as a national convener rather than a commercial vendor, serving community leaders, health-focused community-based organizations (CBOs), and local TRHT-implementing places across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and tribal nations.

NCHE's business model is grant-funded philanthropy, not commercial revenue. Income flows from foundations (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as the anchor funder for CoHLI and the Transforming Public Health Data Commission, MacArthur Foundation for Leveraging HOPE CoP, historically W.K. Kellogg Foundation) and increasingly from corporate partners (Pfizer's Multicultural Health Equity Collective supported the 2025 NORC CBO survey). Programs are delivered free to participants; selected CoHLI cohort members receive stipends. Strategic research partnerships with NORC at the University of Chicago and Burson provide analytical and survey infrastructure, while convening partnerships with entities such as the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation extend place-based reach. The organization has an 11–50 person staff and is led by Executive Director Dr. Gail C. Christopher (since November 2019) and Co-Founder/Deputy Director Carla Gullatt.

Name

National Collaborative for Health Equity

Legal name

National Collaborative for Health Equity

Website

https://nationalcollaborative.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NCHE is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advances racial and health equity through leadership development, research, and the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) framework, serving community leaders, health-focused CBOs, and local TRHT places across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and tribal nations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Equity Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Equity, Community Health & Social Determinants Policy (HLAJAMAG), Community Health & Health Equity/Social Determinants Units (HLAJAAAO), Health Equity & Social Determinants Program Funding (HLAJALAK)

Keywords

• Health equity research
• Racial healing programs
• Leadership development
• Community organizing
• Equity data tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Grant Funding: NCHE receives support from foundations such as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and previously W.K. Kellogg Foundation to fund leadership programs, research initiatives, and the TRHT movement building work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

National Collaborative for Health Equity is a nonprofit national convener that delivers racial and health equity programs built around the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) framework. Its core offerings include a 12-month virtual leadership institute (Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing), equity-focused data tools (Health Opportunity and Equity / HOPE Initiative and the annual Heart of America National Survey), policy series (Healing Through Policy, Transforming Public Health Data Systems), place-based TRHT initiatives, and the Hope in Action podcast. Programs and resources are provided free to community leaders and practitioners, with foundation grants funding operations.

Product overview

The National Collaborative for Health Equity (NCHE) operates as a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs centered on racial and health equity. The core offerings include the Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing (CoHLI) - a 12-month virtual leadership program, the Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE) Initiative - a data tool for equity indicators, the annual Heart of America National Survey, and the Hope in Action Podcast Series. These programs are unified by the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Framework, which provides the theoretical structure for five foundational pillars: Narrative Change, Racial Healing and Relationship Building, Separation, Law, and Economy. Supporting offerings include TRHT Places (local initiatives), Healing Through Policy, Transform Public Health Data Systems, and the NCHE Weekly Bulletin. Legacy programs include Culture of Health Leaders (2016-2023) and Collaboratives for Health Equity. The organization also hosts annual convenings and the Selma Jubilee commemorative events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing (CoHLI): A 12-month virtual engagement experience using the TRHT framework to strengthen practitioners advancing racial and health equity.
• Hope in Action Podcast
• Heart of America Survey
• Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE) Initiative
• Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT)

Products and services

• Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing (CoHLI) A 12-month virtual engagement experience that uses the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) framework to strengthen practitioners advancing racial and health equity; provides participants with a $10,000 stipend, mentoring, coaching, and resources. Cohort 4 applications open July 1, 2026 with a focus on the Law Pillar and practitioners in voting rights and immigration.
• Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE) Initiative A data tool that provides equity-focused indicators to help move beyond measuring disparities by providing data that can inform action; through its opportunity framework, the tool helps leaders, advocates, and communities identify where gaps exist, set equity goals, and understand what it will take to improve outcomes for all families.
• Heart of America National Survey Annual national survey conducted in partnership with Burson examining American attitudes on unity, empathy, racial healing, immigration, diversity, and economic/social justice; the 3rd Annual Survey reached 1,301 respondents in 2025.
• Hope in Action Podcast Series Podcast series featuring authentic stories of healing, policy transformation, and community resilience through conversations with leaders, artists, and advocates; available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
• Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Framework Comprehensive framework depicting an approach to addressing racism as both an embedded belief system and a structural legacy; built on five foundational pillars — Narrative Change, Racial Healing and Relationship Building, Separation, Law, and Economy.
• Transform Public Health Data Systems (TPHD) Initiative to transform public health data systems to better capture and address health equity information; sponsored with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 89% of Americans are seeking deeper human connection and trust (+11% from 2023)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NORC at the University of ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2025NCHE partnered with NORC at the University of Chicago to conduct a national survey of nearly 500 health-focused community-based organizations. The survey found that 37% of CBOs lack sufficient funds for planned programming and revealed a significant trust gap between CBOs and policymakers.
• BursoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBurson partnered with NCHE to conduct the 3rd Annual Heart of America Survey (2025), reaching 1,301 adults nationwide. The survey revealed strong desire for unity, empathy, and racial healing across the nation.
• Joint Center for Political & Economic StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCHE was originally incubated in 2005 as the Health Policy Institute at the Joint Center for Political & Economic Studies before becoming an independent organization in 2014.
• CommonHealth ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCHE, in partnership with CommonHealth Action, was named the National Program Center for the Culture of Health Leadership Institute in 2017.
• Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and ReconciliationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration around Selma Jubilee 2025 commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee, advancing Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation work.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Trust for America's Health: Trust for America's Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy organization that researches and advocates on public health and equity—sharing NCHE's research-to-policy translation model and DC-based advocacy posture.
• Prevention Institute: Prevention Institute is a nonprofit focused on community health, equity, and prevention—comparable to NCHE in building tools, frameworks, and partnerships that advance upstream health-equity outcomes.
• PolicyLink: PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity—directly comparable to NCHE in mission, advocacy style, and use of equity frameworks to influence public systems.
• Families USA: Families USA is a national nonprofit advocacy organization focused on health equity and consumer health—closely comparable in operating as a coalition-builder that uses data and policy to advance equity for marginalized populations.
• CommonHealth Action: CommonHealth Action is a national nonprofit partnering with NCHE on the Culture of Health Leadership Institute since 2017—a directly comparable health-equity convening and leadership organization, and NCHE's named program partner.

Broad incumbents

• NAACP: NAACP is a large civil rights organization addressing health disparities among many other equity issues—overlapping with NCHE on racial equity advocacy and CBO mobilization but with a much broader portfolio than NCHE's health-specific focus.
• National Urban League: National Urban League is an established civil rights and equity organization running national programs serving historically marginalized communities—comparable to NCHE in CBO empowerment and racial-equity policy work, though at greater scale.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO): NACCHO represents local health departments and is a relevant peer because it works on social determinants of health and local capacity-building—directly comparable to NCHE's Transform Public Health Data Systems and Healing Through Policy agendas.
• APHA (American Public Health Association): APHA is a large, established membership organization governing the broader field in which NCHE operates—overlapping on health-equity advocacy, policy, and convening, but at substantially greater scale and with a focus on professional credentialing.

Emerging players

• Morehouse School of Medicine - National Center for Primary Care: Morehouse School of Medicine operates national programs (e.g., National COVID-19 Resiliency Network) on health equity in communities of color—an academic peer overlapping with NCHE's HOPE Initiative and CBO-capacity-building mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@nationalcollaborative
• Instagraminstagram.com/nche_4all
• Facebookfacebook.com/natlcollaborative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-collaborative-for-health-equity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Collaborative for Health Equity