Children with Cancer UK

What Children with Cancer UK does

Children with Cancer UK is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number: 298405) founded in 1988 by the O'Gorman family following the loss of both their children to cancer. Originally launched as "Children with Leukaemia" with Princess Diana's inauguration on 12 January 1988, the organisation was renamed in 2011 to reflect its broadened mandate across all childhood cancers. The charity operates as a non-profit entity with 11-50 employees headquartered in Holborn, London, governed by a board of trustees and a Scientific Advisory Panel. Its mission centres on funding pioneering research, providing direct family support, and raising awareness of childhood-specific cancers.

The charity's core offerings are organised around three pillars. First, research funding: over 300 childhood cancer research projects have been funded since inception, including a £3.7m investment in 2017 into the Precision Medicine programme for genetic tumour profiling, and over £3m committed in 2025 alone to ten new research projects. A flagship outcome is the Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) test, co-funded by the charity and adopted as standard NHS care from 2000, now used internationally to tailor leukaemia treatment. Second, family support: services include patient accommodation ("homes from home") near treatment hospitals, financial hardship grants, medical equipment provision, the Beads of Courage UK emotional support programme (partnered since 2019), and "amazing days out" reaching over 75,000 patients and family members. Third, awareness and advocacy, currently anchored by the "2 BIG" campaign highlighting that adult cancer treatments are inappropriately large for children's bodies.

Children with Cancer UK generates income through a diversified portfolio: individual donations (single and monthly direct debits at £10/£25/£50 suggested tiers), a weekly lottery with a £1,000 jackpot, seasonal Grand Draws with a £25,000 top prize, corporate partnerships (payroll giving, matched giving, commercial profit-share), challenge events tied to London Marathon, Great North Run, and Tough Mudder Kids, merchandise sales via collaborations such as Kitbrix, and retail affiliate income through Easyfundraising's 8,000+ retailer network. Operating geographies are concentrated in the United Kingdom, with research beneficiaries distributed across 21 specialist children's cancer treatment centres and funded institutions including UCL Cancer Institute and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Name

Children with Cancer UK

Legal name

Children with Cancer UK

Website

https://childrenwithcancer.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Children with Cancer UK is a UK-registered charity founded in 1988 that funds childhood cancer research, provides family support services, and runs awareness campaigns. It has raised over £300m, funded 300+ research projects, and supports the 4,200 children diagnosed with cancer annually in the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Childhood Cancer Charity and Nonprofit Healthcare Research

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Child and Youth Services (62411), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Maternal, Child & Family Health Organizations (BPAGACAF), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Childhood cancer research
• Charitable fundraising
• Family support services
• Cancer research grants
• Nonprofit healthcare

Headquarters

HQ city

London

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. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual supporters via website, direct mail, and telephone fundraising. Includes direct debit setups and single gifts.
2. Weekly Lottery: Weekly winners lottery with £1,000 jackpot prize. Participants purchase tickets for chance to win weekly prizes.
3. Grand Draws: Seasonal raffle events with prizes including £25,000 first prize, £2,500 second prize, £1,000 third prize, plus runner-up prizes.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Bespoke corporate partnership programmes including employee engagement, payroll giving, matched giving schemes, commercial partnerships pledging percentage of profits, and event sponsorship.
5. Events and Challenges: Fundraising through challenge events including cycle tours, runs, treks, and social events. Entry fee refunds for Rat Race events.
6. Merchandise Sales: Sale of merchandise including limited edition products through Kitbrix collaboration and general merchandise via the charity shop.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Children with Cancer UK funds pioneering childhood cancer research (over 300 projects since 1988), delivers family support services including welfare grants, accommodation near hospitals, and days out for affected families, and runs awareness campaigns focused on the distinct biological nature of childhood cancers. Revenue is generated through individual donations, weekly and seasonal lottery draws, corporate partnerships, challenge fundraising events, merchandise, and platform partnerships (JustGiving, Easyfundraising).

Product overview

Children with Cancer UK operates as a charitable organisation offering a portfolio of interconnected programmes focused on childhood cancer. The core offering comprises research funding (with over 300 projects funded since 1988), family support services (including welfare grants, accommodation, and days out), and awareness raising. The charity's fundraising products include Grand Draws lotteries, weekly lotteries, challenge events, and corporate partnerships. Key research programmes include the Precision Medicine Programme (£3.7m investment in 2017) for genetic tumour profiling, and the Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) testing programme now used in NHS standard care. Family support includes the Beads of Courage UK programme and practical welfare assistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Funding Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Survival rates improved from 67% to 85.2% since 1990
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

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

• Everton Football ClubflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Club partnership for the 2 BIG campaign launch, with player Kaiden Edwards serving as mascot wearing oversized '2 BIG' shirt symbolising adult treatments for children.
• Tough Mudder KidscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Official charity partner for Tough Mudder Kids 2026, raising awareness and funds to support children and families affected by cancer.
• Beads of Courage UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership to bring strength and support to families through the Beads of Courage UK Oncology Programme, helping families navigate life through treatment and beyond.
• JustGivingcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with JustGiving to provide secure online fundraising pages enabling supporters to create personal pages and collect donations quickly and easily.
• EasyfundraisingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with over 8,000 retailers who donate part of customer purchases to the charity at no extra cost to the shopper.
• Work For GoodminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPlatform enabling small businesses to pledge donations from specific products, joining a community of like-minded businesses giving simply and sustainably.
• Spread a SmilecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to help improve the wellbeing of seriously ill and hospitalised children, providing emotional and practical support.
• Great Ormond Street HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported two major capital projects including the Paul O'Gorman Centre and patient hotel accommodation near the hospital for families.
• UCL Cancer InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of five research centres in England and Scotland funded by the charity, supporting infrastructure for childhood cancer research.
• Bradley Lowery FoundationminorOthersBoth Everton and Sunderland have long-standing connections with the foundation established in memory of Bradley Lowery who died from neuroblastoma aged six.
• The Bone Cancer Research TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funded £1 million research project to develop next-generation immunotherapy for Ewing sarcoma led by Professor Wenhudi Song at UCL.
• CCLG: The Children & Young People's Cancer AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly co-funded over £700,000 across three innovative research projects aimed at improving treatments and long-term outcomes for children with cancer.
• Rat Race EventsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOver 30 events worldwide on all seven continents; participants fundraising for the charity are eligible for entry fee refunds.
• KitbrixminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerCollaborated on exclusive limited edition dry robe and totebrix bag with portion of sales donated to the charity.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Teenage Cancer Trust: UK charity funding specialist treatment and support for teenagers and young adults with cancer. Comparable as a UK-registered childhood/young-person cancer nonprofit with overlapping beneficiary population, hospital-based specialist units, and family support services.
• Bone Cancer Research Trust: UK charity dedicated to bone cancer research and patient support, including Ewing sarcoma — a childhood cancer the subject company co-funds. Directly comparable as a disease-specific cancer research and support nonprofit operating in the same UK funding ecosystem, with a co-funding partnership already in place.
• Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent): UK charity supporting children and young people with cancer and their families, providing financial grants, accommodation near treatment centres, and emotional support. Directly comparable as a UK childhood-cancer-focused nonprofit with overlapping family-support services and donor base, though their research funding is smaller.
• Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity: UK hospital charity that co-funds paediatric cancer research and family accommodation at GOSH, where the subject charity has funded the Paul O'Gorman Centre and patient hotels. Comparable as a UK children's health nonprofit with overlapping beneficiary population and research co-funding relationships.
• Anthony Nolan: UK charity focused on blood cancer and stem cell transplantation, including childhood leukaemia cases the subject charity also addresses. Comparable as a disease-specific UK cancer research and patient-support nonprofit with similar donor, lottery, and event fundraising motions.
• CCLG: The Children & Young People's Cancer Association: UK professional association and charity supporting children and young people's cancer research, treatment, and care, with whom Children with Cancer UK has jointly co-funded over £700,000 across three research projects. Directly comparable as a childhood-cancer-focused UK charity operating in the same research funding and clinical community.

Broad incumbents

• Cancer Research UK: The UK's largest cancer research charity (£700M+ income), funding research across all cancer types including childhood cancers. Comparable as a UK-registered health research nonprofit with similar donation, lottery, and corporate partnership revenue models, but operates at much greater scale and across all cancers rather than focusing exclusively on children.
• Wellcome Trust: Major UK-based charitable foundation funding biomedical research including childhood cancer projects. Comparable as a large UK health-research grantmaking entity operating in the same research-funding ecosystem, though far larger and broader in scope.
• Macmillan Cancer Support: Major UK cancer charity providing practical, emotional, and financial support to people affected by cancer. Comparable as a large-scale UK cancer nonprofit with similar fundraising channels (donations, lotteries, events, corporate partnerships), but serves all cancer patients rather than focusing on children.
• British Heart Foundation: One of the UK's largest health charities, funding research and supporting patients with cardiovascular disease. Comparable as a UK-registered health research and support charity with similar lottery, donation, and retail fundraising infrastructure, though focused on heart disease rather than cancer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CwC_UK
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQ4hoBQrF4aWQ5L0G9MmP7g
• Facebookfacebook.com/childrenwithcanceruk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/children-with-cancer-uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Children with Cancer UK