Pilot Concept Website — Association in Formation.
No board has been constituted, no courses are currently offered, no certification program is accepting enrollment, and no membership is yet open.
Financial Sustainability
Building an organisation
that can last.
IAHC is a not-for-profit organisation in formation, headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. This page explains our approach to funding, financial independence, and the path toward a properly resourced and compensated organisation.
Where things stand right now
IAHC is not currently accepting donations. The organisation is in its formation stage, and we believe it would be wrong to ask for financial support before the governance and legal structures are in place to receive and manage it responsibly.
What we are doing right now is building the foundation: the governance framework, the standards documents, the legal registration pathway, and the relationships with the field that will make IAHC worth funding. When we are ready to accept contributions, this page will say so clearly.
The path forward
From volunteer effort to sustainable institution
This is not a vague aspiration. It is a planned progression, and each phase has clear prerequisites before the next begins.
Laying the groundwork
IAHC is currently operating on a volunteer basis. The founding team is donating its time to establish the governance framework, legal structure, and organisational identity. No funds are being solicited at this stage. This is intentional: we want the structure to be sound before we ask anyone to contribute to it.
Legal and financial structure in place
Once the organisation is formally ratified as a not-for-profit in Canada, with governance documents adopted by the founding board, IAHC will be in a position to accept donations and apply for grants. At that point, a transparent financial framework will be published, including how funds are held, how they are allocated, and how the board is accountable to members and donors.
Building a real operating base
A functioning international standards body cannot run indefinitely on goodwill alone. IAHC's goal is to build an operational fund substantial enough to cover the real costs of doing this work well: board compensation, administrative staffing, translation, legal counsel, communications, and the infrastructure that makes a credible global organisation possible.
Compensating the people who do the work
As funding grows, IAHC will move toward compensating board members for their governance responsibilities and creating paid staff positions to cover logistics, administration, member services, and programme delivery. This is not a distant aspiration. It is a planned milestone, and the people who build and sustain this organisation deserve to be paid for that work.
How we will handle money
Financial principles
These commitments are not aspirational language. They are the conditions under which IAHC will accept and manage funds.
Independence before income
IAHC will not accept funding that compromises its independence as a standards body. Donors and funders will not have influence over certification decisions, curriculum standards, or governance.
Transparency as a default
Once operational, IAHC will publish annual financial statements and a clear breakdown of how funds are used. Members and donors will know where the money goes.
Respect for the field
Healthcare clowning is a profession built largely on passion and underpayment. IAHC will not replicate that pattern internally. The goal is an organisation that models the values it asks of its members.
Canadian not-for-profit structure
IAHC is being established as a Canadian not-for-profit organisation, headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. This structure provides a clear legal and financial framework and positions the organisation to receive charitable donations and apply for public and private grants.
Why this matters
Underfunded organisations produce underfunded outcomes.
The healthcare clowning field has historically operated on passion, goodwill, and the personal resources of its practitioners. That is a testament to the people in it. It is not a model for a sustainable international standards body.
IAHC's goal is to raise enough operational funding to do this work properly: to pay the people who govern and administer the organisation, to translate materials into multiple languages, to maintain legal and financial compliance across jurisdictions, to support members in regions where the field is emerging, and to invest in the research and evidence base that gives the profession its credibility.
That requires real money. We are not embarrassed to say so. An NGO that pretends it can operate on nothing will eventually fail the people it was built to serve. We would rather be honest about what this takes.
A note on current support
The costs associated with IAHC's current online presence - including this website, its hosting, and the time invested in building it - are being covered by a private individual who wishes to remain anonymous. This support is offered as a contribution to the field, with no conditions attached and no expectation of recognition.
We are grateful for it, and we name it here because transparency about how an organisation is resourced matters - even at the earliest stage.
Once IAHC is formally ratified and the appropriate structures are in place to accept donations, issue tax receipts, and manage funds in compliance with Canadian not-for-profit law, full financial disclosure will follow as a matter of course. That means published accounts, clear reporting on operational costs, and transparent disclosure of all income sources - including salaries, board compensation, and any ongoing private support. There will be no ambiguity about where the money comes from or where it goes.
Interested in supporting IAHC's development?
We are not yet in a position to accept donations, but we are very much in a position to have a conversation. If you represent a foundation, a healthcare organisation, or a professional body with an interest in supporting the development of this field, we would like to hear from you.
Get in touch[email protected] · subject: "Funding and support inquiry"