What NABS does

NABS (National Advertising Benevolent Society) is an independent UK charity founded in 1913 that provides mental wellness, career, and financial support services to professionals working in the UK advertising, media, and marketing industry. The organization serves individuals at every career stage — interns, freelancers, the self-employed, senior leaders, and CEOs — alongside the businesses that supply specialist services to the industry. Core services are delivered free of charge and include a confidential Advice Line (0800 707 6607), the AI-assisted NABS SupportBot, mentoring, free workshops, financial Support Grants, and Upskilling Grants; paid offerings include Corporate Training (workshops, Connect therapist-led sessions, Explore coach-led sessions, and Manager's Mindsets), the Fast Forward pitch program, and timeTo sexual-harassment training. The charity is registered in England and Wales (charity number 1070556; company limited by guarantee number 03588945) and is led by CEO Sue Todd from a single London headquarters at 1st Floor, 8 Smart's Place, WC2B 5LW, with a team of 11–50 employees.

The underlying technology footprint is modest: the public-facing website at nabs.org.uk acts as the primary service entry point, integrates the SupportBot chatbot, and connects to JustGiving for donation processing. Workshops are delivered both virtually (Zoom) and in-person across multiple UK cities (London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle). Programs such as Connect and Explore are 90-minute therapist- or coach-led sessions, while Fast Forward is a structured six-week pitch training course. All workshops carry IPA CPD accreditation, and flagship events — Stranger Than Summer gala, Golf Open, The Big Bash, and Walk & Talk — double as community engagement and fundraising touchpoints.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of channels: individual and corporate donations processed via JustGiving, paid Corporate Training contracts on a quote-based multi-year basis, ticketed and sponsored fundraising events (e.g., Stranger Than Summer tables at £4,800 + VAT; Golf Open Four Ball teams at £2,500), community fundraising pledges, and institutional partnerships (Campaign magazine for the Yay List; WACL for the Talent Awards; Lucky Generals for The Grief Project; timeTo for harassment training). In 2025, the organization reports serving 18,000 individuals, handling 5,300 advice-line calls, and producing workshop attendance growth of 41% year-on-year.

Name

NABS

Legal name

NABS

Website

https://nabs.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NABS (National Advertising Benevolent Society) is a UK charity founded in 1913 that provides free mental wellness, career, and financial support services to professionals in the UK advertising, media, and marketing industry, supplemented by paid corporate training and ticketed fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: NABS receives donations from individuals and organizations in the advertising and media industry. Donations are processed via JustGiving platform with 100% of donations going to NABS.
2. Corporate Training Sales: NABS sells its workshop, training, and support programs to corporations and businesses. All profits from corporate training go back to NABS to support the community.
3. Event Revenue: Paid ticketed events including Stranger Than Summer gala (£4,800 per table of 10), Golf Open (£2,500 for Four Ball team, £500 per person for Beginners Experience), and other fundraising events.
4. Sponsorship: Companies can sponsor NABS events such as Stranger Than Summer, Golf Open, and Walk & Talk, with various sponsorship tiers available.
5. Fundraising: Community fundraising activities organized by individuals and companies including bake sales, quizzes, fitness challenges, and creative events. Fundraisers can pledge their activities and get featured on the Yay List.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

NABS is a registered UK charity that provides free mental wellness, career, financial, and workplace support services to professionals working in the UK advertising, media, and marketing industry. Its core offerings include a confidential Advice Line, a 24/7 AI-powered SupportBot, Support Grants and Upskilling Grants, free workshops and mentoring, plus paid corporate training programs and signature fundraising events such as the Stranger Than Summer gala and Golf Open.

Product overview

NABS (National Advertising Benevolent Society) is an independent charity offering a comprehensive suite of mental wellness and support services for the UK advertising, media, and marketing industry. The organization operates as a unified service model combining free confidential advice (via the Advice Line and SupportBot), financial assistance (Support Grants and Upskilling Grants), and professional development (Workshops, Corporate Training, Fast Forward, Connect, Explore, and Manager's Mindsets programs). Major product lines include: the NABS Advice Line providing 1:1 confidential guidance; Support Grants and Upskilling Grants for financial assistance; Workshops covering resilience, confidence, personal branding, and career development; Corporate Training for businesses; Fast Forward pitch training for early talent; therapist-led Connect sessions and coach-led Explore sessions; timeTo sexual harassment training; and The Grief Project partnership. NABS also runs signature fundraising events including Stranger Than Summer, Golf Open, and The Big Bash. The organization provides podcasts and talks, and manages The Yay List donor recognition programme.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NABS Advice Line Free, confidential phone advice line (0800 707 6607) offering 1:1 guidance on mental wellness, career issues, redundancy, financial worries, workplace conflict, discrimination, and bereavement for professionals in the UK advertising and media industry.
• NABS SupportBot 24/7 AI-powered chatbot available on the NABS website that provides instant answers, guidance, and signposting to services for users seeking mental wellness or industry support.
• Support Grants Financial assistance grants helping people in the advertising/media industry manage financial pressures that make it difficult to keep working, including help with food, phone, internet, and basic job-hunting tools.
• Upskilling Grants Grants for people out of work or whose role is at risk, helping them re-energize and accelerate their career by adding new skills through NABS-approved training courses.
• Workshops Free online and in-person workshops covering resilience, confidence, personal branding, career development, and stress management, IPA CPD-accredited for industry professionals.
• Corporate Training Tailored in-house training programs sold to businesses, offering workshops, Explore coach-led sessions, Connect therapist-led safe spaces, and Manager's Mindsets training, with all profits reinvested into the charity.
• Fast Forward Six-week pitch training course helping junior and mid-level talent in advertising and media develop skills, strategic thinking, and professional network through team-based work on live briefs focused on real-world social issues.
• Connect Sessions 90-minute therapist-led safe spaces covering Making Sense of Grief, Unravelling Neurodivergence, Navigating Redundancy, and Managing Anxiety, available via NABS training programmes.
• Explore Sessions 90-minute coach-led conversations helping participants work through work-life balance, holding safe spaces, career development, and neurodivergence topics.
• Manager's Mindsets Practical learning programme helping managers lead with empathy and confidence while protecting their own mental wellness, covering leading through change and mental wellness conversations.
• timeTo Training Sexual harassment awareness and active bystander intervention training programmes fulfilling legal duty requirements with practical, scenario-driven content, offered through NABS corporate training.
• Golf Open Annual golf tournament at Foxhills Country Club offering Four Ball Team (Stableford on Bernard Hunt Course, £2,500 per team) and Beginners Golf Experience (£500/person) packages, with all proceeds supporting NABS mental wellness services.
• Stranger Than Summer NABS's flagship annual gala featuring cocktail reception, three-course meal, beer, wine and soft drinks, fairground rides and entertainment; tables of 10 priced at £4,800 + VAT, raising funds for the industry's mental wellness support.
• The Big Bash NABS's legendary annual party event, previously held as a Fashion Show, now reimagined and heading to Manchester to delight adland party-goers.
• Podcasts & Talks Ongoing series of honest conversations about mental wellness featuring inspiring people from across the advertising and media industry, covering burnout, career development, neurodiversity, and workplace challenges.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18,000 people supported for mental wellness in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Campaign MagazineflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerStrategic media partnership for the annual Yay List recognition program. Campaign magazine publishes the Yay List annually in December, celebrating companies and individuals supporting NABS and mental wellness in the advertising and media industry.
• WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications London)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the WACL Talent Awards, supporting and empowering women as they grow, lead, and shape the future of the advertising and media industry. Awards celebrate women in the industry and next generation of industry leaders.
• Lucky GeneralscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint initiative called 'The Grief Project' to support employers and the industry with understanding how to navigate grief in the workplace and beyond. NABS has input into and endorses The Grief Project's Open Source Policy.
• timeTocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNABS offers timeTo training programmes including awareness raising and bystander intervention sessions. timeTo is a dedicated sexual harassment training initiative that NABS incorporates into its corporate training offerings to fulfill legal duty requirements.
• JustGivingcoreTechnology or IntegrationJustGiving platform is used for donation processing. 100% of donations through JustGiving go to NABS to support mental wellness in the advertising and media industries.
• All Ears Community Consultation ParticipantsminorOthersCommunity consultation project that revealed an industry in need of practical, inclusive mental wellness support. NABS conducted research with all corners of the advertising and media industry to understand community experiences.
• Grief Project Open Source Policy ContributorsminorOthersOrganizations that contributed to The Grief Project's Open Source Grief Policy, available as a template for organizations to support employees experiencing grief.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Retail Trust: UK charity offering mental health, wellbeing and financial support for retail workers — closely comparable vertical-specific benevolent society model.
• Hospitality Action: UK charity delivering mental health, financial and welfare support to hospitality workers; same industry-specific benevolent society structure and similar advice line, grants and training offering as NABS.
• The Lighthouse Charity: UK-registered charity providing emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support specifically to the construction workforce — the closest direct analogue to NABS's industry-specific benevolent society model.
• Help Musicians: UK charity for professional musicians providing mental health, financial and career support; another industry-specific benevolent society with the same advice-grants-training flywheel as NABS.
• The Film and TV Charity: UK charity supporting the mental health and wellbeing of behind-the-camera film, TV and cinema workers — directly mirrors NABS's mental-wellness focus and vertical-specific support model.
• The Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Association: UK charity supporting chartered accountants with mental health, wellbeing and financial assistance — another industry-bounded benevolent society with comparable service catalogue.
• The Licensed Trade Charity: UK charity providing welfare, wellbeing and hardship support to pub, bar and brewery workers; nearly identical funding, grants and advice-line model to NABS.

Broad incumbents

• Samaritans: Long-established UK listening and emotional support charity; competes for awareness, donations and trained volunteer capacity across overlapping beneficiary cohorts.
• Mind (the mental health charity): UK's largest mental health charity; competes for the same donor pool and corporate mental wellness budgets but serves the general population rather than a single vertical — represents the broad incumbent alternative.

Emerging players

• Spill: UK-based digital mental wellness platform offering workplace therapy and manager training via Slack/Teams; an emerging B2B competitor to NABS's newly-launched corporate training line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NABSChannel
• Facebookfacebook.com/NABSUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nabs-2
• Instagraminstagram.com/nabs_uk
• Xx.com/NABS_UK

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 NABS