What ashfoundation does

ASHFoundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation founded in 1951 and headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, operating as the philanthropic arm of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The foundation provides grants, scholarships, and clinical achievement awards to support research and clinical innovation in communication sciences and disorders, serving doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and early-career clinicians in speech-language pathology and audiology. Its program portfolio spans four categories: Research Grants (Clinical Research, New Century Scholars, New Investigators, and Speech Science), Graduate Student Scholarships (general, international, minority, NSSLHA, disability, and named awards), Clinical Achievement Awards (Kleffner, DiCarlo, Van Hattum, and State awards), and Need-Based Emergency Funding for researchers affected by federal grant terminations.

The foundation operates on a donations-based revenue model, receiving charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and organizations. Distribution is conducted through an online application portal integrated with ASHA's membership system, with co-marketing through ASHA, NSSLHA, and ASHA SIG 13 partnerships. Since inception, ASHFoundation has awarded over $15.6 million to more than 2,700 researchers, students, and clinicians, with annual disbursements of $705,000 in 2024 and a record-breaking $1.3 million in 2025. The go-to-market motion is community-led: outreach through the ASHA professional network, the foundation's website, blog content, email newsletters, annual events such as the Virtual Walk/Run, and donor publications (annual donor books and Year in Review reports).

ASHFoundation has a small staff of 1–10 employees led by Executive Director Sharon E. Moss and supported by a dedicated development function (Director of Development, Development Coordinator, Fundraising Communications Manager). It is governed by its own Board of Trustees, with ASHA's CEO serving ex officio. The foundation is financially and operationally interdependent with ASHA — sharing administrative infrastructure, branding, and distribution — while maintaining separate legal and governance identity.

Name

ashfoundation

Legal name

American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation

Website

https://ashfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ASHFoundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that funds research grants, scholarships, and clinical awards in communication sciences and disorders, serving doctoral researchers, graduate students, and clinicians in speech-language pathology and audiology as the philanthropic arm of ASHA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grant-Making Foundation (Communication Sciences and Disorders)

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Research grants
• Graduate scholarships
• Clinical achievement awards
• Nonprofit foundation
• Communication sciences

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: ASHFoundation operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations from individuals, corporations, and organizations. Donors contribute to support research grants, scholarships, and clinical achievement awards in communication sciences and disorders. The foundation conducts fundraising campaigns including the 'Amplifying Voices' campaign and accepts legacy/planned giving.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ASHFoundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that distributes competitive research grants, graduate student scholarships, and clinical achievement awards to support innovation in communication sciences and disorders (speech, language, and hearing). Programs are funded through charitable donations and include named research grant competitions, multi-category scholarships for graduate students, recognition awards for clinical professionals, and emergency need-based funding for researchers affected by federal grant terminations.

Product overview

ASHFoundation is a nonprofit foundation that operates as a single-purpose grant-making organization focused on supporting innovation in communication sciences. The organization offers three main program categories: (1) Research Grants supporting investigators at various career stages, including Clinical Research Grants, New Century Scholars Research Grants, New Investigators Research Grants, and Speech Science Research Grants; (2) Graduate Student Scholarships providing financial support across multiple categories including general, international, minority, NSSLHA, disability, and named scholarships; and (3) Clinical Achievement Awards recognizing outstanding contributions through the Frank R. Kleffner, Louis M. DiCarlo, and Rolland J. Van Hattum awards. The foundation also provides Need-Based Emergency Funding for researchers affected by grant terminations. All programs are funded through charitable donations and endowment funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Grants Program
• Graduate Student Scholarships
• Clinical Achievement Awards
• Need-Based Emergency Funding

Quantifiable outcome

• 90%+ of funded researchers go on to receive additional external funding
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASHFoundation and ASHA are described as 'two branches of the same tree' - ASHA focuses on professional practice support while ASHFoundation drives innovation through philanthropy. ASHA provides administrative infrastructure including membership systems used for ASHFoundation applications. The ASHFoundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliated with ASHA.
• National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASHFoundation partners with NSSLHA on the NSSLHA Scholarship, established in 2005, which funds undergraduate seniors pursuing degrees in communication sciences and disorders who will begin graduate study. The scholarship is supported by the ASHFoundation's NSSLHA Scholarship Fund.
• ASHA Special Interest Group 13 (SIG 13)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Swallowing Research Fund was established in 2009 by ASHA SIG 13 (then Division 13) and is available to support proposals for research topics in swallowing and swallowing disorders through ASHFoundation's New Century Scholars Research Grant competition.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association (NSDA): A patient-focused nonprofit that funds spasmodic dysphonia research grants and supports affected individuals. Comparable to ASHFoundation in operating a research-grant program in a narrow CSD subspecialty, but at a smaller scale and with a more patient-advocacy orientation.
• Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: A national nonprofit supporting listening, spoken language, and hearing health through education, advocacy, and scholarships. Comparable to ASHFoundation in serving the CSD/hard-of-hearing community and operating scholarship programs, but with a stronger advocacy and school-readiness mission rather than a research-grant focus.
• Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA): A nonprofit that funds apraxia research, provides scholarships for speech therapy, and supports affected families. Comparable to ASHFoundation in combining small research grants with student/clinical scholarships in a CSD subspecialty, though on a more disease-specific population.

Broad incumbents

• National Science Foundation (NSF): The principal federal agency funding fundamental research across science and engineering, including communication sciences. Comparable to ASHFoundation as a major source of follow-on research grants that ASHFoundation-funded investigators (>90%) typically secure, framing ASHFoundation as a stepping stone to NSF-scale awards.
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD): The U.S. federal government's primary funder of CSD research, distributing hundreds of millions annually. Comparable to ASHFoundation as the dominant alternative funding source for the same researcher pool, but at much larger scale and with federal rather than philanthropic dollars — contextually important as upstream pipeline funder.

Direct peers

• Hearing Health Foundation: The largest nonprofit funder of hearing and balance research in the U.S., awarding research grants and operating a national network. Directly comparable to ASHFoundation in grantmaking structure, donor-funded research model, and target beneficiary (researchers and patients in hearing/communication disorders).
• American Hearing Research Foundation: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds seed grants for hearing and balance disorders research. Closely comparable to ASHFoundation in mission (early-stage research funding), grantmaking model, and Chicago-area focus on a related but narrower subspecialty of communication sciences.
• American Academy of Audiology Foundation: The philanthropic arm of the American Academy of Audiology, funding research, scholarships, and education in audiology. Highly comparable to ASHFoundation in structure (profession-affiliated 501(c)(3)), program mix (research grants + student scholarships), and beneficiary population.

Others

• Give.org / BBB Wise Giving Alliance: A nonprofit charity evaluator providing donor trustworthiness assessments. Not a peer in grantmaking, but a relevant ecosystem counterpart — donors evaluating ASHFoundation versus other small health-research charities would consult this and similar evaluators, shaping competitive positioning.
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): The national professional association for audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and CSD scientists. While not a grantmaker itself, ASHA is structurally intertwined with ASHFoundation ('two branches, same tree'), providing membership infrastructure, board representation, and applicant reach — making it the most operationally relevant counterpart.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ashfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ashfoundation