Disque Foundation Ltd

The Disque Foundation is a private operating foundation — it runs programs directly rather than awarding grants to other organizations. This is a critical distinction that shapes every interaction strategy. If you are seeking grant funding, the Disque Foundation is not the right target; if you are seeking a partnership to bring free healthcare certification training to your community, it may be an ideal collaborator.

The foundation's entire operational model revolves around the Save a Life Initiative (SALI), which provides free online life-support training courses — ACLS, PALS, BLS, CPR, First Aid, AED, and Bloodborne Pathogens — through partnerships with NHCPS (National Health Care Provider Solutions) and Advanced Medical Certification. The courses are developed by board-certified physicians, including founder Dr. Karl "Fritz" Disque, a cardiac anesthesiologist and pharmacist who launched the foundation after a medical mission to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

The most productive engagement path is through the SALI trainer network. The foundation actively recruits and deploys certified trainers for in-person events in underserved communities. If your organization serves healthcare workers, first responders, schools, or community health programs in underserved areas, proposing a training partnership — where SALI trainers deliver free certifications through your organization's existing infrastructure — aligns directly with the foundation's mission and operating model.

For organizations seeking to bring free certification access to their constituents without an in-person component, the foundation offers a course redemption system at disquefoundation.org that provides free access to the online curriculum. This requires no formal application — it is available to anyone with an internet connection.

The foundation's leadership is lean and accessible. Dr. Disque, Catherine Hickey (Secretary/Treasurer), and Alex Gutierrez (CRNA, Director) are all uncompensated, which signals a founder-driven organization where relationship-building matters more than formal proposal processes. Reach out directly through the foundation's contact page or social media channels.

The Disque Foundation's financial trajectory tells the story of a rapidly scaling operating foundation that reinvests program revenue into mission delivery while building a substantial asset base.

Total assets grew from $7.2 million in 2020 to $16.4 million in 2024 — a 128% increase in four years. This growth occurred even as the foundation maintained annual expenses between $2.8 million and $3.1 million, indicating that revenue consistently exceeds program costs. The 2024 fiscal year showed $4.05 million in revenue against $2.80 million in expenses, producing $1.25 million in net income added to the endowment.

Revenue composition reveals the foundation's unusual operating model: 92.7% of 2024 revenue ($3.76 million) came from "Other Income" — almost certainly licensing or partnership fees from the NHCPS/Advanced Medical Certification relationship — with only $1,727 (0.04%) from direct contributions. This is not a donation-dependent foundation; it is a self-sustaining social enterprise where a commercial certification business funds free training for underserved populations.

The foundation reported allocating 22.7% of 2024 expenses ($637,623) toward direct charitable purposes, with the remainder supporting the operational infrastructure that delivers free courses and maintains the online platform. Between 2015 and 2022, the foundation gave away more than $144 million in free certifications (measured at retail value), demonstrating the scale multiplier of its technology-driven delivery model.

Year-over-year revenue has been remarkably consistent in the $4–4.6 million range since 2022, after a spike to $6.55 million in 2021 (likely pandemic-driven demand for online healthcare certifications). The 2020 revenue of $2.99 million suggests the foundation was already on a strong growth trajectory before COVID-19 accelerated online healthcare training demand.

All three named officers — Karl Disque (President), Catherine Hickey (Secretary/Treasurer), and Alejandro Gutierrez (Director) — serve without compensation, which means virtually all expenses flow to program delivery and platform operations rather than executive salaries.

The Disque Foundation occupies a distinctive niche: a private operating foundation using technology to deliver free healthcare education at global scale. The comparison below positions it against peer health-focused foundations with similar asset ranges.

Key differentiators: The Disque Foundation's technology-first delivery model gives it a reach-to-assets ratio that no peer can match — 10.7 million people across 188 countries from a $16.4 million asset base. While Roanoke Chowan Foundation has nearly identical assets and revenue, its impact is limited to a single North Carolina region. The Disque Foundation's self-sustaining revenue model (92.7% from operating income, near-zero donations) also distinguishes it from conventional grantmaking foundations that depend on endowment draws or fundraising.

The foundation's uncompensated leadership further differentiates it: all three officers serve without pay, directing essentially 100% of operating budget to program delivery. This is unusual among foundations of this asset size, where executive compensation typically ranges from $150,000 to $400,000.

The Disque Foundation entered 2026 in an expansion phase, having surpassed its original goal of empowering 10 million people by 2025. The foundation now reports 10.7 million lives empowered and has set a new target of 30 million by 2030 — nearly tripling its current reach in four years.

In February 2026, the foundation announced having crossed the 10 million lives milestone, a significant benchmark that took roughly 12 years from its 2013 founding. The progression was nonlinear: the first million was reached in 2019, meaning the subsequent 9.7 million came in just six years, reflecting the compounding effect of the online platform and expanding SALI trainer network.

The foundation's partnership with Nawaloka Institute, highlighted in September 2024, exemplifies its international expansion strategy. By partnering with established healthcare training institutions in developing countries, the foundation extends its reach without proportional increases in operating costs — a scalable model that explains how it serves 188 countries from a relatively modest cost base.

The NHCPS partnership (National Health Care Provider Solutions) and Advanced Medical Certification continue as the foundation's primary course delivery partners. The recent rebranding of "Save a Life Certifications by NHCPS" to "Save Lives" suggests a broader positioning beyond healthcare providers to reach general public audiences with life-saving skills.

Financial momentum remains strong: the foundation's assets grew to $16.4 million in 2024 (up from $15.2 million in 2023), and the consistent $1+ million annual surplus suggests assets will continue compounding. The foundation's Charity Navigator profile shows perfect 100/100 scores for both Culture & Community and Leadership & Adaptability beacons, though it lacks a full rating due to limited electronically-filed 990 data.

The foundation continues to deploy humanitarian medical missions alongside its digital platform, traveling to underdeveloped areas both within and outside the United States for hands-on training and community aid.

1. Understand this is an operating foundation, not a grantmaker. The Disque Foundation does not award grants to other organizations. It delivers programs directly through its Save a Life Initiative. If you need grant funding, look elsewhere. If you want to bring free healthcare certification training to your community, read on.

2. Partner, don't apply. The most effective way to work with the Disque Foundation is to propose a partnership where your organization provides the venue, audience, and logistics while the foundation provides free certification training through its SALI trainer network. Contact the foundation directly through disquefoundation.org/contact or via social media.

3. Access free courses immediately — no application needed. If your organization simply needs free ACLS, PALS, BLS, CPR, or First Aid certification access for staff or community members, use the "Redeem a Free Certification" link on disquefoundation.org. The courses are available online to anyone with an internet connection, globally.

4. Target underserved populations. The foundation's mission explicitly focuses on underserved populations. Partnership proposals that demonstrate access to communities lacking healthcare education resources — rural areas, low-income urban communities, developing nations — will resonate most strongly with the foundation's leadership.

5. Leverage the trainer network for in-person events. Beyond online courses, the foundation deploys certified SALI trainers for community events. If your organization hosts health fairs, community days, workforce development programs, or similar events, requesting SALI trainer participation is a concrete, actionable partnership request.

6. Reach out to Dr. Disque directly. The foundation's lean, founder-driven structure means that relationship with Dr. Karl "Fritz" Disque (President/Executive Director) is the primary pathway. He is active on LinkedIn (karl-fritz-disque) and accessible through the foundation's website. A direct, concise message explaining your community's need and proposed partnership structure will be more effective than a formal grant proposal.

7. Align with the 30 million by 2030 goal. The foundation has publicly committed to empowering 30 million people by 2030, up from 10.7 million today. Any partnership proposal that quantifies how many additional people will gain life-saving skills through your collaboration directly supports this measurable institutional goal.