Funding what works.
Building what’s missing.
NDF partners with nonprofits delivering evidence-based alternative therapies, connecting them to resources, to each other, and to the communities they serve.
501(c)(3) · Founded 2025 · Alexandria, VA
NDF vets, funds, and connects nonprofits delivering alternative and experiential therapies — and builds the field infrastructure they need to operate with discipline and focus.
We don’t just fund the work.
We fund the field.
Building
Most foundations write checks. NDF does more. We build the infrastructure and support those flow through.
Supporting
Alternative and experiential therapies have peer-reviewed research behind them, replicated outcomes, and measurable effects on anxiety, depression, PTSD, and suicidality. The studies are clear. The funding cycles haven’t caught up.
Expanding
Small, high-performing nonprofits delivering this work are locked out of institutional grant cycles dominated by larger incumbents. They lack the staff, the network, and the relationships to compete — even when their outcomes are stronger.
Funding
NDF closes that gap. We provide capital. We open networks. We commit multi-year funding so partners can stay focused on their mission. And we hold every dollar accountable through transparent reporting donors can verify.
This isn’t charity.
It’s infrastructure for the field
NDF is endowment-backed — designed for permanence, built to outlast the funding cycles partner organizations depend on.
This is how we operate.
Four commitments to every partner organization, every donor, and every community we serve
Access
Access to capital and access to networks. NDF provides multi-year grants and connects partners to expert relationships, donor pipelines, and the communities they serve.
Accountability
All partners sign a Mandatory Accountability Pledge. Donors receive regular, transparent reporting — every dollar traceable from gift to outcome.
Consistency
Three-year funding commitments backed by NDF's endowment, not annual fundraising. Stability that lets partners stay focused on their mission.
Community
Trauma is universal. Recovery happens locally. NDF backs community-rooted partners and connects them regionally so the field grows from the ground up.
This isn't feel-good.
It's evidence-based.
The Research
NDF only partners with programs whose outcomes are measurable, replicated, and peer-reviewed.
Reduction in anxiety symptoms in adults with diagnosed disorders through art therapy, attributed to strengthened emotion regulation.
Of total anxiety improvement attributed specifically to strengthened emotional regulation through consistent art therapy participation.
Increase in emotional wellness for at-risk youth through equine-assisted therapy — measurable, repeatable outcomes.
The funding system hasn't caught up. NDF exists to close that gap.
Where NDF
funding goes.
Current partners are Virginia-based — the start of NDF's regional cluster model. We consider qualified nonprofits across all 50 states. All partners are vetted alongside behavioral health experts and sign a Mandatory Accountability Pledge.
Enriching the lives of children, adults, and families through equine-assisted services — education, empowerment, healing, and hope.
Empowering veterans, military families, and broader communities to heal through art-based programs with measurable behavioral health outcomes.
The Founder
NDF was founded by Nicholas Dockery to do what no other foundation in this space is doing: treat the underfunded, evidence-backed therapy field as infrastructure worth building — with the discipline, accountability, and long-horizon thinking the work deserves.
Two decades across military, government, and academic institutions don't grant expertise in therapy. They grant something else: a working understanding of how systems either deliver for the people who depend on them or quietly fail them. Special Forces, the White House, Wharton, Yale, West Point — these are environments where outcomes are measured, accountability is real, and excuses don't survive long. NDF is built to operate by the same standard.
The premise is simple. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and suicidality are conditions the country has not solved. Alternative and experiential therapies are producing measurable, replicated results for populations that traditional clinical care reaches inconsistently or not at all. The organizations delivering this work are small, local, and chronically under-resourced. They don't need cheerleaders. They need capital, multi-year stability, expert networks, and a funder who treats their outcomes the way an investor treats returns — with rigor, transparency, and patience.
Built by someone who has seen the gap firsthand.
That's what NDF is. And that's what NDF will keep being — long after the launch announcements fade and the work of building the field actually begins
Does your organization deliver evidence-based experimental or alternative therapy?
NDF considers qualified nonprofits across all 50 states. Programs must serve people affected by trauma — children, veterans, first responders, families, or broader communities — and demonstrate measurable, research-backed outcomes.
Platinum Transparency from Candid, the highest nonprofit accountability rating, recognizing open, verifiable reporting.
Platinum Transparency from Candid, the highest nonprofit accountability rating, recognizing open, verifiable reporting.
Corporate Sponsors
& Community Partners.
NDF is actively building relationships within the veteran and military community to connect partner organizations to the people and networks they serve.
Financial Services
SoFi
SoFi’s partnership with NDF reflects a shared commitment to the financial and personal wellbeing of veterans and military families.
Digital Media
digitalCORE
digitalCORE provides NDF with digital media support, helping build our online presence and communicate our mission effectively.
Military Media
Military Times
Military Times provides NDF with print and digital advertising reach across the military community, helping amplify our mission to the audience we serve.
Business Services
Context
Connext’s support contributes to NDF’s operational infrastructure, enabling us to focus resources on our partnership mission.
Defense Media
Defense News
Defense News’ support gives NDF visibility within the defense and national security community, a key donor and partner audience for NDF.
Support NDF
Back what
works.
Your gift doesn't buy a single session. It capitalizes a system that funds, vets, and supports the organizations doing this work — for years, not transactions.
501(c)(3) · All donations tax-deductible · EIN: 33-4221474
- $250 Supporter. Underwrites partner reporting and accountability infrastructure.
- $500 Contributor. Funds program evaluation and outcomes measurement across NDF partners.
- $1,000 Advocate. Supports NDF's expert network — the relationships partners can't build alone.
- $5,000 Founding Donor Circle — Cornerstone. Direct updates from the founder, annual events, and visibility into program outcomes.
- $10,000 Founding Donor Circle — Builder. Strengthens the endowment that backs NDF's three-year commitments to partners.
- $25,000 Founding Donor Circle — Lead. Underwrites a full year of multi-year commitments to a partner organization. Naming opportunities and strategic input.
- $50,000+ Founding Partner. Program naming options. Direct partnership in field-building work.
Common questions.
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NDF supports equine and art therapy nonprofits with proven, evidence-based programs that show measurable results. We vet each organization alongside behavioral health experts. We're not interested in feel-good experiences, we partner with programs that deliver real outcomes.
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Giving through NDF means your dollars are vetted, tracked, and reported on by a team with deep expertise in the field. You benefit from NDF's due diligence across multiple organizations, and you receive transparent, regular reporting on exactly what your gift accomplishes. You're also supporting something no single donation to a single program can build: the network infrastructure that connects these organizations to each other, to the veteran and military community, and to the relationships that help them grow sustainably.
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Because they work, and our founder has experienced this firsthand. Nick Dockery found relief from both childhood and combat trauma through equine therapy's non-judgmental environment and art therapy's capacity for self-expression. The research supports these outcomes, and these approaches reach people that traditional therapy often cannot.
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Yes. The Nicholas Dockery Foundation is a 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax-deductible. EIN: 33-4221474. Checks can be mailed to NDF, 5006 Franconia Rd, Alexandria, VA 22310.
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All donors receive regular updates and an annual report. Founding Donor Circle members receive personal updates from Nick Dockery and invitations to in-person events with program participants. Accountability is core to how NDF operates, it's built into everything we do.
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NDF is planning a major exposition in Summer 2026 to celebrate our initial programming results. Founding Donor Circle members will receive priority invitations. Sign up below to stay informed.
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Yes. NDF considers qualified nonprofits across all 50 states. Programs must deliver evidence-based alternative therapies, equine-assisted, art therapy, or comparable approaches, with measurable outcomes, serving veterans, children, first responders, or others affected by trauma. Email info@dockeryfoundation.org with subject line “Grantee Inquiry.”
Stay informed on
NDF programming.
Updates on grantees, research, donor events, and the Summer 2026 exposition. No spam, meaningful news from the field.