“A solution that does not work at the scale of the problem isn’t a solution.”

(Audacious Philanthropy, Harvard Business Review, “Lessons from 15 World-Changing Initiatives”)

HyGiene INNOVATION

At Hope & Comfort, we envision a future in which all youth have access to essential hygiene products. But, unfortunately, Massachusetts and the United States are dramatically underserving the market. It would require millions of products a year to resolve hygiene insecurity in Massachusetts, and billions more to address the issue nationwide.

Hope & Comfort’s commitment to finding a scalable solution has led to the creation of the Innovation Fund. In the coming years, our organization will engage in a comprehensive process to research, ideate, prototype and pilot next generation delivery systems. This could mean hygiene smart cards, web-based vouchers, or even a mobile app to sustainably address hygiene insecurity. Our ultimate goal is to offer the end users maximum choice, quality and dignity.

This is a journey we are just at the beginning of, stimulating future-forward thinking about models that may present more efficient and dignified means of distribution. In the meantime, we will continue to expand and optimize our current distribution model.

The Innovation Fund will also allow us to advocate for policy change. In recent years we have seen states pass legislation to improve access to menstrual products, and we would like to encourage Massachusetts to follow suit.

We were thrilled to launch the Innovation Fund in 2018 with the support of incredible major donors. This fund represents Hope & Comfort’s mission to “thinking big” about ultimate solutions and models to address the issue at scale.