The Gifted

What The Gifted does

The Gifted (legally The Gifted Organisation Limited, Charity No. 1151327, Company No. 08380063) is a UK-registered charity that delivers structured youth-development programmes to disadvantaged children and young people aged 11–25, primarily across North London, Hertfordshire, and Essex. Founded in 2012, the organisation is headquartered in Cheshunt and operates as a Company Limited By Guarantee, led by CEO/Programmes Director Kemi Bamidele with a team of 11–50. The core offering is the Butterfly suite: a six-week confidence-building foundation programme (Butterfly Project), an 8–12-session extended programme for participants with additional needs (Butterfly Extra), creative-arts stress management (Butterfly Arts), a follow-on leadership pathway (Butterflyette), one-to-one mentoring (Butterfly 1-2-1), and a self-paced online version hosted on Thinkific (Butterfly Digital). Complementary programmes include Enterprise Wings (entrepreneurship for NEET young women 16–25), Introduction to Youth Work (with Enfield Council), Parent Plug-In, and legacy heritage projects such as Clothmakers' Wings.

The underlying delivery model is a workshop-based methodology combining interactive tools, arts and crafts, narrative therapy, and evidence-based exercises, delivered face-to-face in schools, Pupil Referral Units, care homes, and community settings, alongside digital delivery via Thinkific and Zoom-supported group sessions. The organisation operates with a technology stack of mainstream SaaS tools (Thinkific, Mailchimp, Eventbrite, Quriobot, YouTube, social platforms) and has documented outcome metrics including 95% skill acquisition and 90% self-reported goal-belief improvement across 7,000+ cumulative beneficiaries since 2012, with 535 served in 2024/25.

The Gifted is a non-profit with no commercial pricing; all programmes are free to beneficiaries. Income is sourced from individual donations via JustGiving, grants from charitable foundations and government bodies (Children in Need, Heritage Lottery Fund, London/Hertfordshire/Essex Community Foundations, The Fore, Lawrence Atwell, Arts Council England, National Lottery Good Causes, Peoples Health Trust, Building Life Chances, MW Community Chest), and in-kind delivery partnerships (NEXUS Enfield, Enfield Council, Edmonton Community Partnership, Lowewood Museum, FullSpektrum). Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the organisation is not a candidate for traditional PE/VC investment; the relevant diligence framework is charitable impact, grant sustainability, and operational capacity.

Name

The Gifted

Legal name

The Gifted Organisation Limited

Website

https://thegifted.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Gifted is a UK charity delivering the Butterfly suite of confidence-building, creative-arts, and enterprise programmes to disadvantaged children and young people aged 11–25 across North London, Hertfordshire, and Essex, funded by grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services (Charitable)

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social-Emotional & Counseling Services for Gifted/2e (EDAKALAF)

Keywords

• Youth development programs
• Creative arts workshops
• Confidence building courses
• Youth mentoring services
• Enterprise training for young women

Headquarters

HQ city

Cheshunt

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations through JustGiving platform and charitable giving.
2. Grants and Funder Partnerships: Funding from charitable foundations, government bodies, and corporate foundations including Hertfordshire Community Foundation, Stevenage Community Trust, Children in Need, Heritage Lottery Fund, and others.
3. Programme Delivery Fees: Schools and organizations book programmes including assemblies and workshops. Services are likely funded through school budgets and grants rather than direct fees to beneficiaries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Gifted is a UK-registered charity that delivers creative workshops, mentoring, and skills programmes to disadvantaged children and young people aged 11–25. Its flagship Butterfly suite of programmes builds confidence, self-esteem, and aspirations through arts-based and evidence-based interactive exercises, delivered in schools, community settings, and online. Supporting offerings include enterprise training (Enterprise Wings), youth-work training, parent support, and specialist projects for vulnerable groups including child refugees and care-experienced young people.

Product overview

The Gifted operates as a single unified charity offering multiple interrelated youth development programmes. The core offering centres on the Butterfly suite of programmes: the Butterfly Project (6-week foundation programme for girls 11-18), Butterfly Extra (extended 8-12 session programme for those with complex needs), Butterflyette (follow-on leadership training), Butterfly Arts (creative arts for stress management), Butterfly Digital (online self-paced version), and Butterfly 1-2-1 (individual mentoring). Supporting programmes include Enterprise Wings (entrepreneurship training for young women 16-25), Introduction to Youth Work (career training), Workshops and Assemblies (school-based sessions), and Parent Plug-In (parent support). Legacy projects such as The Fatherhood Project, Clothmakers' Wings, and Flying Start extend the portfolio. The organisation delivers across North London, Hertfordshire, and Essex in schools, community settings, and online.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Butterfly Project Six-week confidence-building programme primarily aimed at young women and girls aged 11-18, designed to increase confidence, raise aspirations, and develop a sense of community. Delivered both online and face-to-face in schools and community settings.
• Butterfly Extra Eight to twelve-session specialist programme providing longer-term support for children and young women aged 10-18 with additional needs and complex lives. Uses evidence-based interactive tools to help participants identify issues affecting self-esteem and design realistic paths to achieving goals.
• Butterflyette Follow-on programme for Butterfly Project graduates, training young people to become workshop leaders and share skills with other girls through after-school clubs or community drop-ins. Participants learn arts, crafts, blogging, or tech skills.
• Butterfly Arts Programme for all young people (non-gender specific) providing space to manage stress and anxiety through crafts and creative expression. Works with schools and arts organisations to deliver projects curated by experienced arts and crafts professionals.
• Butterfly Digital Online self-paced version of the Butterfly Project. Allows girls and young women to work through the programme at their own pace with optional 1-2-1 sessions, small group sessions via Zoom, and check-in points. Available for those not based in Hertfordshire, Essex, or London.
• Enterprise Wings Six-week online training programme for young women aged 16-25 interested in starting or building their dream business. Includes hour-long weekly online sessions with personal mentor and business coach support. Topics include business ideas, marketing, branding, planning, budgeting, and social media for business.
• Introduction to Youth Work Meridian Water Project course taking applicants through different aspects of youth work, with view to being hired as sessional youth worker. Covers session worker effectiveness, professional boundaries, safeguarding, communication skills, unconscious bias training, and impromptu creativity.
• Workshops and Assemblies Interactive assemblies and creative workshops for schools covering topics including bullying and self-harm (40-60 mins), careers and aspirations (90 mins), abuse, boundaries and consent (40-60 mins), and stress and anxiety management (40-60 mins).
• Parent Plug-In Parent support programme delivered via weekly Instagram Live chat forums, weekly meet-ups at Edmonton Green Library, and monthly parent and teen events. Created to give parents space to discuss parenting challenges and share best practice.
• Flying Start Project Project working with child refugees and asylum seekers to build resilience and improve future prospects. Part of Trinity Arts Awards programme enabling NEET participants to obtain qualifications. Includes creative elements for self-expression, reflection, and awareness.
• Butterfly 1-2-1 One-to-one mentoring support for young women experiencing particular difficulties where group settings are challenging or inappropriate. Often a starting point before graduating to group programmes or running alongside Butterfly Extra.
• Improving Employment Prospects Programme 28-week employability programme improving employment prospects for care-experienced young people in Stevenage, funded by Hertfordshire Community Foundation and Stevenage Community Trust.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of participants report learning a new skill
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NEXUS EnfieldcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership since 2019 to reduce school exclusions among girls and young women across 19+ secondary schools in the Enfield borough. Addresses youth violence and exploitation through the Butterfly Project.
• Edmonton Community PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Flying Start Project working with child refugees and asylum seekers in Enfield to build resilience and improve future prospects through creative arts.
• Enfield CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeridian Water Project partnership providing Introduction to Youth Work training to Enfield residents, with view to hiring graduates as sessional youth workers.
• Lowewood MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Seventy Sewn Stories and Clothmakers' Wings heritage projects, culminating in exhibitions at the museum.
• FullSpektrumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for whitepaper on challenges faced by SEN girls in secondary schools, with collaboration on understanding and addressing hidden struggles.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Centrepoint: UK charity supporting disadvantaged young people aged 16-25 with housing, employability, and personal development services — overlapping age range and disadvantaged-youth focus.
• Catch22: UK social business running youth employability, mental health, and education programmes for disadvantaged young people. Comparable grant-funded model addressing school exclusion and NEET outcomes similar to The Gifted's Butterfly suite.
• The Mix: UK charity delivering support and early-intervention services for under-25s including mental health, relationships, and wellbeing — directly overlapping Butterfly Arts and Butterfly Project scope.
• Tender: UK charity using arts and education to prevent domestic abuse and healthy relationship exploitation among young people. Directly comparable to The Gifted's work on exploitation prevention and abuse/boundaries workshops delivered in schools.
• Prince's Trust: UK's largest youth charity supporting 11-30 year-olds facing disadvantage through mentoring, enterprise programmes (similar to Enterprise Wings), and confidence-building — closely comparable model and target demographic.
• YWCA England & Wales: Women's empowerment charity offering housing, training, and personal development programmes for young women — directly comparable focus on young women facing disadvantage and pathways to employment.

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: Largest UK children's charity, supporting disadvantaged children, young people, and families across the country. Overlaps on trauma-informed youth support and creative intervention programmes but at a national scale far beyond The Gifted.
• The Children's Society: Large UK children's charity working on exploitation, mental health, and disadvantage for vulnerable children and young people. Overlapping mission focus on disadvantaged youth but operates at significantly larger scale and scope.
• NSPCC: UK's leading children's protection charity. Overlaps with The Gifted's safeguarding focus and abuse/boundaries workshop delivery, but operates nationally across much broader safeguarding activities.

Emerging players

• Smart Works: UK charity helping women into employment through interview training and workwear. Comparable to Enterprise Wings in the employability outcomes dimension, though narrower service offering than The Gifted.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thegifteduk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvjuLXWzHUCVJH_wF5127cA
• Facebookfacebook.com/thegifteduk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-gifted
• Instagraminstagram.com/thegifteduk

Compliance2 records

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 The Gifted