The Creative Youth Network

What The Creative Youth Network does

The Creative Youth Network (CYN) is a UK registered charity (Charity No. 266318) and company limited by guarantee (Company No. 01099684) operating across Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Founded in 1992 and headquartered at the Kingswood Estate in Bristol, the organization delivers youth services through a network of 9 local youth clubs and four dedicated sites: The Courts and The Station in central Bristol, The Kingswood Estate (which also houses 30+ arts and charity tenants), and Hanham Youth Centre in South Gloucestershire. Its core offerings are open-access Youth Sessions for ages 11–19, Creative Programmes (creative-sector skills development and early-career pathways), and Youth Voice initiatives that embed young people's perspectives in organizational decision-making, supplemented by targeted interventions including Proud to Be (LGBTQIA+ youth services), Chilled Out Tuesdays (referral-only quieter sessions), South Bristol Young Carers, Made Forever (after-school in Kingswood), and DORIS, a mobile youth bus launched in 2025 to reach the Kingswood community.

The underlying technology layer is intentionally light. CYN does not operate a proprietary platform, mobile app, or documented API. Service delivery and back-office functions rely on third-party SaaS: MailChimp for newsletter distribution with email-engagement tracking, Raising IT for box-office ticketing and website hosting, Google Analytics for anonymous site analytics, PayPal for payment processing, and Spider Group Ltd for WiFi infrastructure at CYN sites. Audience reach in 2025 is reported at 13,500+ attendances and 2,500 young people targeted for direct engagement, with 93% of young people reporting a trusted adult at the organization.

CYN's revenue model rests on three legs. The dominant stream is charitable and public-sector funding — notably multi-year National Lottery Community Fund grants (including an extension under the South Gloucestershire Youth Work Partnership), funding from South Gloucestershire Council and Kingswood Town Council, and other grants. A second stream is commercial venue and office hire at Kingswood Estate (Studios 1, 4, 5 and Westcott) and Hanham Youth Centre (whole complex, sports hall), priced by the hour at £15.60–£35 with a 20% discount for registered charities. A third stream is voluntary donations and community fundraising. Services to young people aged 11–19 are free at point of use. The operating region is restricted to Bristol and South Gloucestershire with no global footprint claim. Quality credentials rest on an 'Outstanding' rating from the National Youth Agency and an 'award-winning' reputation in the West of England.

Name

The Creative Youth Network

Legal name

Creative Youth Network

Website

https://creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Creative Youth Network is a UK registered charity operating across Bristol and South Gloucestershire, delivering free youth services — open-access youth clubs, creative-sector skills programmes, and targeted support for LGBTQ+ young people, young carers, and refugees — through 9 youth clubs and four dedicated sites, funded primarily by charitable grants, local councils, venue hire, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Community Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ)

Keywords

• Youth support services
• Youth community programs
• Creative arts education
• Youth venue hire
• Community youth work

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Funding and Grants: Primary revenue from charitable funding, grants, and public funding bodies including National Lottery Community Fund, Kingswood Town Council, and South Gloucestershire Council to support youth programs and operational costs.
2. Venue and Space Hire: Rental income from hiring out event spaces, studios, and meeting rooms at Kingswood Estate and Hanham Youth Centre to community groups, businesses, and individuals.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Voluntary donations from supporters and community fundraising activities to supplement core funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Creative Youth Network is a registered charity that operates open-access youth sessions, targeted 1-2-1 support, and creative arts programmes for young people aged 11-19 across Bristol and South Gloucestershire. It runs 9 youth clubs and dedicated spaces (The Courts, The Station, The Kingswood Estate, Hanham Youth Centre), supplemented by specialised programmes such as Proud to Be (LGBTQIA+), Chilled Out Tuesdays, Made Forever, and the DORIS mobile youth bus. The charity also hires out studios, meeting rooms, sports halls, and event spaces to community groups and businesses.

Product overview

Creative Youth Network operates as a multi-service youth charity offering a portfolio of interconnected programmes and hireable facilities across Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The core offering consists of Youth Sessions (open-access youth clubs for ages 11-19), Creative Programmes (skills development and early career support in the creative sector), and Youth Voice initiatives (embedding young people's voices in organisational decision-making). The organisation also provides targeted support programmes including Proud to Be (LGBTQIA+ youth sessions), Chilled Out Tuesdays (referral-only quieter sessions), and DORIS Youth Bus (mobile youth club). Venues include The Courts and The Station in central Bristol, The Kingswood Estate (headquarters with multiple hireable studios), and Hanham Youth Centre. The organisation generates revenue through venue and office space hire, with facilities including professional dance studios, meeting rooms, conference spaces, and event venues available for community and commercial rental.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Sessions

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of young people have a trusted adult at Creative Youth Network
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• South Gloucestershire Youth Work Partnership (SGYWP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivering youth work across South Gloucestershire. Secured additional three years of funding from National Lottery Community Fund for much-needed youth work.
• Diversity TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organisation collaborating on LGBTQ+ youth programs including Proud to Be sessions and joint presence at Bristol Pride events.
• Bristol Interfaith Group and Multiple Community OrganisationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of organisations including faith communities and secular groups united in standing against hate and supporting vulnerable communities in Bristol.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• UK Youth: National membership body for youth organisations in the UK, working directly with local youth charities like Creative Youth Network to deliver and advocate for open-access youth work. Highly comparable mission and beneficiary focus (young people aged 11–25).
• Catch22: Major UK social-purpose charity delivering services for vulnerable young people (including alternative education, employability, and wellbeing programmes). Operates many of the same programme archetypes as CYN — youth work, targeted support, and creative engagement — at much larger scale.
• YoungMinds: UK charity focused on children and young people's mental health, providing direct support (helpline, peer programmes) and policy/advocacy work. Closely overlaps with CYN's Wellbeing Practitioner role, Proud to Be sessions, and broader mental-health-adjacent youth work.
• The Together Trust: Regional charity delivering specialist education, children and young people's services, and community-based youth programmes across the North West. Comparable service mix (open-access youth work, targeted support, creative/education programmes) under a similar non-profit governance model.
• Centrepoint: National UK charity supporting disadvantaged young people aged 16–24 with housing, wellbeing, and employability services. Overlaps significantly with CYN's targeted youth support and creative/employment-focused work, though focused on an older and more housing-vulnerable cohort.
• Groundwork UK: Federation of regional charities delivering environment, youth, and community programmes across the UK. Overlaps with CYN's model of combining local youth engagement (including outdoor/creative workshops at Kingswood Park) with venue and community services in regional hubs.

Broad incumbents

• The Prince's Trust: Large UK-wide youth charity focused on employability, education, and enterprise for 11–30-year-olds. Operates in an overlapping but much broader portfolio (training, grants, mentoring); relevant as a comparable funder- and policy-facing incumbent in the youth development space.

Regional players

• St Basils: West Midlands-based charity working with young people aged 16–25 at risk of homelessness. Has a broadly similar regional-charity delivery model (youth hubs, targeted support, creative/education pathways) to CYN but in a different UK geography.

Emerging players

• The Mix: UK charity providing digital-first information, counselling, and peer support for under-25s on mental health, relationships, and wellbeing. Direct overlap with CYN's wellbeing and LGBTQ+ support work, with a contrasting digital-first delivery model that complements CYN's physical-space approach.

Others

• National Youth Agency: UK statutory sector body for youth work, responsible for quality accreditation (including CYN's 'Outstanding' rating), training, and policy advocacy. Comparable as an ecosystem participant rather than direct service competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/creativeyouthnetwork
• Xx.com/creative_youth
• Facebookfacebook.com/creativeyouthnet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creative-youth-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Creative Youth Network