What 38 Degrees does

38 Degrees is a UK-based community campaigning organization founded in 2009 and structured as a private company limited by guarantee, with a separate charitable affiliate, the 38 Degrees Trust (charity number 1139325). It operates a digital platform that enables supporters to start petitions, sign campaigns, email Members of Parliament, and donate to fund advocacy on issues including public services, democracy, economic justice, housing, health, and the environment. The core technology stack comprises an online petition platform (you.38degrees.org.uk), an action-focused engagement platform (act.38degrees.org.uk), and supporting email campaign management tools used to mobilize more than one million supporters — the organization recorded 1 million supporter actions in January 2026 alone. The platform also supports interactive sub-products such as the Cost of Living Map.

The business model is donation-led rather than revenue-generating: 95.7% of funding comes from individual members, with a disclosed average contribution of approximately £8.45, and the organization explicitly markets its independence from corporate and government funding as a competitive and credibility advantage. Go-to-market is community-led: multi-channel engagement via email, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and occasional paid placements (e.g., The Telegraph) drives organic supporter acquisition and petition mobilization. Operations are run from a London headquarters with a headcount of 11–50 employees, and recent strategic activity (2026) shows vertical expansion into NHS procurement, BBC funding, and agricultural policy, alongside partnerships with aligned civil-society organizations such as Big Brother Watch.

Name

38 Degrees

Legal name

38 Degrees

Website

https://home.38degrees.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

38 Degrees is a UK-based, donation-funded community campaigning organization that runs petition and email-action platforms enabling more than one million supporters to mobilize on issues including public services, democracy, housing, health, and the environment, operated from London with 11–50 employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advocacy and Civic Engagement Platform

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Other Social Advocacy Organizations (813319)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Government Accountability, Ethics & Anti-Corruption Advocacy (BPAGAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB), Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD), Political & Advocacy Advertising (MPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Online petition platform
• Community campaigning
• Civic engagement
• Advocacy organization
• Member donations

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Member Donations: 95.7% of funding comes from individual donations from supporters. Members make small donations to power campaigns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

38 Degrees operates an online community-led campaigning platform that enables over a million UK supporters to start and sign petitions, email MPs and decision makers, and donate small amounts to fund collective action on political and social issues. The organization aggregates individual voices into mass mobilization campaigns targeting policy changes on topics like the NHS, BBC, housing rights, democracy, and economic justice.

Product overview

38 Degrees is a community campaigning platform comprising multiple interconnected tools. The core offering includes the 'Campaigns by You' petition platform (accessible via you.38degrees.org.uk) where supporters can start their own campaigns, the main petition signing platform (home.38degrees.org.uk), and a donation platform (act.38degrees.org.uk). Additional offerings include interactive tools like the Cost of Living Map. The platform is unified by its mission to aggregate individual voices into collective action for political and social change in the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 38 Degrees Trust: A charitable company limited by guarantee (charity number 1139325, company number 07038751) that funds charitable work including community-led projects, research, and education furthering the core values of fairness, sustainability, and respect.

Products and services

• Campaigns by You A self-service platform that allows individual supporters to start their own petitions and campaigns on issues they care about, with tools to share, collect signatures, and drive change.
• Petition Platform Core petition creation and signing platform that enables the 38 Degrees community of over a million people to take collective action on issues ranging from democracy and the NHS to housing rights and the BBC.
• Donation Platform Online donation system allowing supporters to chip in small amounts (averaging £8.45) to fund campaigns. 95.7% of the organization's funding comes from these individual supporters.
• Cost of Living Map An interactive map tool that records and visualizes the impact of the cost of living crisis on people across the UK, with each pin representing a real person's story.

Quantifiable outcome

• BritCard scrapped after 180,000 signatures
• +4 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Big Brother WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner38 Degrees teamed up with Big Brother Watch on the BritCard campaign, where 180,000 people demanded the Government ditch plans for a mandatory digital ID card. The joint campaign successfully led to the Government dropping the mandatory BritCard.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Change.org: Global online petition platform operating the world's leading petition site, with similar petition creation and signing functionality, member-driven campaigns, and donation-driven monetization — directly comparable model to 38 Degrees' petition platform but at international scale.
• Avaaz: Global citizen campaigning community that mobilizes members on issues ranging from climate to corruption via petitions, emails, and donations — direct functional analogue to 38 Degrees with a similar grassroots donor base, but operating across 30+ countries.
• SumOfUs: International consumer-focused advocacy organization running petitions and campaigns against corporate misconduct with a small-donor funding model — closely mirrors 38 Degrees' structure, technology stack, and grassroots mobilization approach.

Regional players

• Citizens UK: UK-based community organizing alliance running local civic campaigns on housing, wages, and public services via member institutions (churches, mosques, unions) — comparable UK civic-advocacy focus but uses in-person organizing alongside digital tools, distinct from 38 Degrees' pure digital model.
• Hope Not Hate: UK anti-extremism and civil society organization running donor-funded advocacy campaigns alongside research and community organizing — comparable on UK civic engagement and small-donor funding, but with a more focused thematic mandate on extremism and identity.

Broad incumbents

• Greenpeace UK: UK arm of global environmental campaigning organization running petitions, donor-funded campaigns, and direct-action advocacy — broader thematic scope than 38 Degrees, but overlapping on petition platform, donor model, and activist brand-building.
• Amnesty International UK: UK branch of global human rights organization running letter-writing, petition, and donor-funded advocacy campaigns — comparable on digital mobilization tools and member-supported advocacy but with a global thematic mandate vs. 38 Degrees' UK-domestic focus.
• Friends of the Earth: UK environmental advocacy charity running member-funded campaigns with a long-standing base of local supporter groups — comparable on member-supported advocacy model and brand-led mobilization, though 38 Degrees operates a fully digital footprint.
• Which?: UK consumer advocacy organization using member-supported funding to campaign on consumer rights, public services, and corporate accountability — comparable in member-funded advocacy model and headline-grabbing campaigns, though structured as subscription rather than donation.

Emerging players

• Big Brother Watch: UK civil liberties and privacy advocacy organization partnering with 38 Degrees on the BritCard campaign — comparable in scope (digital ID, surveillance, privacy rights) and uses similar petition/donor tactics, focused exclusively on civil liberties vs. 38 Degrees' broader issue portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/38_degrees
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@38DegreesTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/peoplepowerchange
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/38-degrees
• Instagraminstagram.com/38degrees_uk/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@38degrees_uk

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 38 Degrees