Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke

What Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke does

Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke (NICHS) is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, founded in 1946 and headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The charity is dedicated to supporting people affected by chest, heart, and stroke conditions across Northern Ireland, serving over 36,000 people annually against an addressable population of approximately 600,000 adults—roughly 40% of Northern Ireland's adult population living with one or more chest, heart, or stroke conditions. NICHS operates three core service streams: care services (annual income £1.39M), prevention programmes (£576k), and research funding (£736k), and has invested over £8 million in local research since 1994.

NICHS's service portfolio spans the Post-Rehabilitation Exercise Programme (PREP), workplace wellness initiatives, school-based vape and smoking prevention programmes, and a community ambassador network. The charity reports spending 80p of every £1 raised directly on services, with FY2024 income of £3.35 million against an annual fundraising target of £4.5 million. CEO Declan Cunnane leads an organisation of 51–100 employees operating exclusively within Northern Ireland.

The business model is donation-driven: approximately 90% of income is sourced from public donations, with the remainder from corporate partnerships and fundraising events. A 10-year retail fundraising partnership with MACE (since 2016) anchors corporate engagement, and the charity's policy advocacy has demonstrably contributed to the UK Tobacco and Vapes Act, extending its reach into regulatory channels. NICHS does not disclose any technology platform, digital product, or AI capability; its core "product" is grant-funded care, prevention, and research delivery supported by community fundraising infrastructure.

Name

Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke

Legal name

Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke

Website

https://nichs.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke is a Belfast-based health charity, founded in 1946, that supports over 36,000 people annually affected by chest, heart and stroke conditions across Northern Ireland through care services, prevention programmes and research funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Charity Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Health charity services
• Cardiac care support
• Stroke rehabilitation
• Community health prevention
• Medical research funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Donations: Individual donations from the public form approximately 90% of NICHS income. Donations are accepted as one-time gifts or regular monthly contributions through direct debit. The charity Gift Aids donations at 25% additional value from UK tax payers.
2. Legacies and Gifts in Wills: A third of NICHS income comes from gifts in wills, making legacies a significant revenue stream.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with businesses like MACE generate funds through employee fundraising, customer donations, percentage of sales (e.g., 50p from Frank and Honest coffee during International Coffee Day), and in-store collections.
4. Fundraising Events: Registration fees and minimum fundraising targets from events including marathons, treks, skydives, and abseils. Example: London Landmarks Half Marathon requires £50 registration and £500 minimum fundraising.
5. Retail Shopping: Support as you shop program generates commissions from online purchases through partner retailers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke is a registered health charity delivering condition-specific care and rehabilitation services (chest support, heart support, stroke support, PREP, Family Support, caregivers programmes, ACTivate Your Life, Taking Control, Inspire Choir), alongside prevention services (community and workplace health checks, Well You behaviour change programme, school and workplace wellness education), local research funding via its grants programme, public health campaigning, and donation/fundraising infrastructure. Operations are entirely focused within Northern Ireland and funded predominantly by public donations and legacies.

Product overview

Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke operates as a healthcare charity offering a portfolio of interconnected care, prevention, research, and fundraising services. The core care services include condition-specific support for chest, heart, and stroke patients through programmes like PREP (Post Rehab Exercise Programme), Family Support Service, and wellness sessions. Prevention services encompass health checks, workplace wellness programmes, and school education initiatives. Research activities are supported through internal research and external grants funding. Fundraising is facilitated through events, corporate partnerships, and a donation platform with Direct Debit and Gift Aid capabilities. The organisation functions as a single unified charitable operation rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chest Support Services Condition-specific support services for individuals living with chest conditions, including the Breathing Better Education Programme and Breathing Better Wellness Sessions, delivered free at the point of use and funded by donations.
• Heart Support Services Cardiac care and support including the Heart Strong Education Programme for heart condition management, delivered free at the point of use to patients across Northern Ireland.
• Stroke Support Services Comprehensive stroke rehabilitation and support including the PREP (Post Rehab Exercise Programme), Surviving Stroke Wellness Sessions, and Young Stroke Support, delivered free of charge to stroke survivors across Northern Ireland.
• PREP (Post Rehab Exercise Programme) A 6-week physiotherapy-led community-based course helping rebuild lives after stroke through exercise and education, offered free to stroke survivors across Northern Ireland.
• Family Support Service Coordinated support helping families navigate life with chest, heart or stroke conditions, delivered free to family members and carers across Northern Ireland.
• Caregivers Support Support services for caregivers including the Caregiver's Video Programme, offered free to those caring for people with chest, heart or stroke conditions.
• ACTivate Your Life Wellness programme for individuals living with chest, heart or stroke conditions, delivered free at the point of use as part of NICHS's care portfolio.
• Taking Control Self-Management Programme Self-management programme helping individuals take control of their health condition, offered free to people living with chest, heart or stroke conditions.
• Inspire Choir Therapeutic choir programme providing peer support and emotional wellbeing benefits for people affected by chest, heart or stroke conditions.
• Health Checks Gold, Silver and Bronze Well Checks offered throughout Northern Ireland for cardiovascular and general health risk assessment, delivered as part of NICHS's prevention services.
• Well You Behaviour Change Programme Community-based programme helping individuals in Northern Ireland make healthier lifestyle choices to reduce their risk of chest, heart and stroke conditions.
• Schools Prevention Programmes Health education programmes for Primary Schools, Post Primary Schools, and the You And Me N.I. Vape Free campaign aimed at preventing smoking and vaping among young people.
• Workplace Health Programmes Corporate wellness services for Northern Ireland employers, including Work Well Live Well, Well Mind, Well Talks, Well Checks for Workplaces, and Well Webinars, delivered directly to workplaces.
• Research Grants Programme Grants programme funding external local research into chest, heart and stroke conditions, managed through the Scientific Research Committee, with almost £8 million invested in local research since 1994.
• Fundraising Events Event-based fundraising including the Belfast City Marathon, Belfast City Half Marathon, London Landmarks Half Marathon, Mighty Mournes Challenge, Skydive, Europa Abseil, Red Dress Fun Run, and various challenge events, with registration fees and minimum fundraising targets.
• Donation Services Online donation platform supporting single and recurring donations via Direct Debit with Gift Aid scheme integration, enabling UK taxpayers to add 25% to the value of their gift at no extra cost.

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MACEflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016A ten-year partnership (since 2016) with MACE convenience food retailer. MACE stores across Northern Ireland have raised £52,000 in 2025 through staff fundraising, customer donations, raffles, golf days, karaoke events, coffee mornings, and in-store collections. MACE donates 50p from every Frank and Honest coffee sold during International Coffee Day over a three-day period to NICHS. MACE actively supports NICHS blood pressure awareness campaigns through social media and in-store promotions, and hosts pop-up blood pressure check events in stores. Hundreds of people have been signposted to their GP after availing of pop-up checks.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland: Scottish sister charity with near-identical mission, name, and service portfolio (advice, rehabilitation, research, campaigning). The most directly comparable peer — same disease triad, similar service model, but serving Scotland.

Regional players

• Irish Heart Foundation: Ireland's national heart charity with prevention, support, and CPR training programmes. Highly comparable mission and beneficiary profile across the island of Ireland.
• Northern Ireland Hospice: Northern Ireland's palliative and hospice care charity. Regional peer operating the same NI fundraising market, corporate partner pool, and donor base, but focused on end-of-life care rather than chronic disease.

Broad incumbents

• Stroke Association: The UK's leading stroke charity funding research and supporting survivors nationally. Overlaps directly with NICHS's PREP and stroke support programmes, with parallel fundraising and volunteering models.
• British Heart Foundation: The UK's largest heart disease charity, operating UK-wide with fundraising, research, and prevention programmes. Direct overlap on the heart side of NICHS's mission, but at vastly larger national scale.
• Asthma + Lung UK: UK national charity focused on respiratory and chest conditions. Closely comparable to NICHS's chest services (e.g., Breathing Better) and shares the same chronic disease research and prevention model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NICHScharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-ireland-chest-heart-and-stroke
• Instagraminstagram.com/nichs_charity
• Xx.com/nichstweet

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke