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BirthFund is a United States-based non-profit organization that provides direct financial grants to expectant families for midwifery care, lactation support, and essential postpartum resources. The organization distributes capital to community birth centers and families facing financial hardship to expand access to holistic maternal healthcare without requiring formal proof of need. To date, the philanthropic initiative has raised over $3 million in capital, funding operations across 10 birth centers and supporting 54 families and 55 babies during its first year of operation. BirthFund secures its operational capital through individual donations and corporate matching partnerships with recognizable commercial entities such as SoFi, Pampers, and BabyList. The organization also receives significant financial backing from high-profile founding funders including Serena Williams and John Legend to support its national grant distribution network. BirthFund was originally established in 2023 by founder Elaine Welteroth.
BirthFund has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round.
BirthFund has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
BirthFund has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $1.0M Seed in June 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2024 | $1M Seed | — | Acrew Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Banana Capital, Cherry Ventures, Craft Ventures, Curie.bio, Curious Capital, Double Down, FJ Labs, Forerunner Ventures, Klossy, Makers Fund, Night Ventures, Operator Partners, Remus Capital, Serena Ventures, Seven Seven SIX, Sound Ventures, Timespan Ventures, Version ONE Ventures, ABE Burns, Aleksander Leonard Larsen, Baron Davis, Brian Sugar, Casey Neistat, Gokul Rajaram, IAN Borthwick, Jonathan Neman, Kevin Hart, Logan Paul, Nicolas Julia, Peter Sellis, PIR Granoff, Whitney Cummings, Yahya Mokhtarzada | Announced |
BirthFund has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
BirthFund's investors include Acrew Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Banana Capital, Cherry Ventures, Craft Ventures, Curie.Bio, Curious Capital, Double Down, FJ Labs, Forerunner Ventures, Klossy, Makers Fund.
birthFUND is a non-profit community fund, not a technology company, dedicated to addressing the U.S. maternal health crisis by providing direct financial grants for midwifery care, postpartum support, and essentials like diapers to families in need. Founded by Elaine Welteroth, it has raised over $3 million since its soft launch in December 2023 and official start in April 2024, supporting 54 families and 55 babies across 10 birth centers nationwide, including Puerto Rico.[1][3][4] Its mission emphasizes dignity in birth, culturally competent care, and community-based solutions over reliance on failing systems, with priorities on scalable direct care grants, infrastructure building, and advocacy for better maternal outcomes—especially amid stark disparities like Black mothers facing 3-4x higher mortality risks.[2][3][5]
birthFUND emerged from Elaine Welteroth's personal "harrowing" experiences with the U.S. maternal health system, culminating in a transformative home birth with midwives at Kindred Space LA.[3][5] Despite her advocacy through media like TIME and Today Show appearances, and meetings with lawmakers, Welteroth realized awareness alone was insufficient; families still faced trauma and deaths.[1][4] On her birthday in December 2023, she soft-launched via an Instagram fundraiser aiming to cover midwifery for one LA family—raising $16k in 16 hours to fund two, sparking nationwide requests.[4][5][6]
This led to birthFUND's official April 2024 launch as a coalition with founding funders like Serena Williams, Kelly Rowland, Karlie Kloss, John Legend, and Chrissy Teigen, plus corporate partners such as SoFi, Pampers, BabyList, Gates Foundation, and Pivotal Ventures.[3][6] Early traction included a pilot supporting 10 families, scaling to 54 by year-end, with Welteroth pausing briefly for her own birth while operations continued seamlessly.[1][3]
While not a tech firm, birthFUND leverages digital tools like Instagram fundraisers and its website for rapid scaling, riding the wave of tech-enabled social impact and mutual-aid platforms amid stagnant healthcare reform.[4][6] Its timing aligns with heightened post-pandemic scrutiny of U.S. maternal mortality—10x higher than peers, with traumatic births for nearly half of moms—fueled by market forces like corporate ESG commitments (e.g., Pampers, SoFi) and celebrity activism amplifying disparities.[2][3] By influencing the ecosystem through awareness, policy advocacy, and direct intervention, it pressures insurers and legislators while normalizing midwifery, potentially inspiring tech innovations in telehealth birth support or AI-driven maternal risk prediction.[5]
birthFUND's momentum—$3M raised, 55+ babies supported, and expanding rounds—positions it to double family aid annually via new pillars like prenatal/postpartum continuity.[1][3] Trends like rising demand for holistic care, policy shifts from advocacy (e.g., D.C. meetings), and birthFUND100's $1M goal will shape its path, evolving from crisis response to a scalable revolution in birth equity.[2][4] Its influence may grow by integrating tech for nationwide matching and data tracking, ultimately redefining maternal health standards and proving community funds can outpace broken systems—echoing its origins in one birthday post that funded two families and counting.
