What Sunday Assembly does

Sunday Assembly London is a volunteer-led charitable company limited by guarantee (company number 08818905; charity number 1162995) registered in England and Wales, founded in January 2013 by comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans. Its core product is a twice-monthly secular community assembly — held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays at Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green — combining a live house band performing pop songs, guest speakers, poetry readings, and tea-and-cake socialisation. The organisation also runs a portfolio of sub-brands and add-on programmes including the annual Yule Rock Christmas singalong (up to 200 attendees at Rich Mix), Article Club (75+ meetings since inception at the National Theatre), comedy nights in partnership with Quantum Leopard, a pop-up community choir, and Summer Sync-Up social activities.

The underlying technology is intentionally lightweight: a WordPress website (sundayassembly.com), Ticket Tailor for ticketed events, Enthuse for donation processing, JustGiving and Facebook Fundraisers for community fundraising, Redbubble for merchandise, and Bookshop.org for the speaker bookshop. Communications rely on email newsletters and organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn). There is no proprietary platform, no mobile application, no developer API, and no AI/ML components.

The business model is a donation-led nonprofit. Assemblies are free to attend with voluntary donations encouraged; ticketed events (Yule Rock, comedy at £15 / £5 concession, choir at £5 per rehearsal) and merchandise generate modest revenue. The charity supplements inflows via Gift Aid (25% HMRC top-up), affiliate shopping programmes (Amazon Smile, easyfundraising, Give as You Live), and grants — most recently a £5,000 award from The BKL Foundation in 2025. The go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on word-of-mouth, social media, and volunteer networks rather than paid acquisition. Headcount is entirely volunteer-based, organised through a Co-Ordination Crew led by Gwawr Thomas, with dedicated volunteer leads for Front of House, Music, Community Engagement, Events, and Communications, plus a Board of Trustees.

Name

Sunday Assembly

Legal name

Sunday Assembly

Website

https://sundayassembly.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Sunday Assembly London is a volunteer-led charity that runs twice-monthly secular community gatherings in Bethnal Green featuring live music, talks, and poetry, supported by donations, ticketed events, merchandise, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: Sunday Assembly London relies on voluntary donations from attendees during assemblies. Donations cover essential costs such as venue hire, refreshments, and insurance. The organization also accepts one-time and monthly recurring donations through their Enthuse donation platform.
2. Event Revenue: Special events such as Yule Rock and comedy nights generate ticket revenue. Yule Rock accommodates up to 200 attendees at Rich Mix venue, with tickets at various price points including concessions.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of merchandise including t-shirts, tote bags, fridge magnets, and phone cases through Redbubble, with proceeds supporting activities.
4. Fundraising Platforms: Community fundraising through Facebook Fundraisers and JustGiving, as well as affiliate shopping programs (Amazon Smile, easyfundraising, Give as you Live) where retailers donate a percentage of purchases.
5. Grants: The BKL Foundation awarded a grant of £5,000 to support Sunday Assembly London's operations and community engagement programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sunday Assembly London is a volunteer-led charity that runs free, secular community gatherings twice a month at Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green, featuring a live house band performing pop songs, guest speakers, poetry readings, and socializing. The charity supplements its core assemblies with annual ticketed events (Yule Rock, comedy nights), ongoing social activities (Article Club, picnics, choir, museum visits), and charitable fundraising programs including donations, Gift Aid, merchandise sales, and community fundraisers.

Product overview

Sunday Assembly London operates as a single, unified community program rather than a platform-with-modules architecture. The core offering is the twice-monthly Sunday Assembly event featuring live band performances of pop songs, guest speakers, and poetry readings. Supporting products and services include Not Just Sunday Activities (social events like Article Club and picnics), Yule Rock (annual Christmas singalong), comedy nights, a pop-up community choir, and charitable giving mechanisms (donations via Enthuse/JustGiving, Gift Aid, Amazon Smile, merch via Redbubble, and a bookshop via Bookshop.org). The organization is volunteer-led with structured roles managed by the Co-Ordination Crew.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Yule Rock: Annual large-scale Christmas pop singalong event held at venues like Rich Mix in Shoreditch, featuring 20 songs performed by a live band with room for 200 attendees.
• Article Club
• Summer Sync-Up
• Laugh Your Assembly Off
• Age of Reason

Products and services

• Sunday Assembly London (regular assemblies) Secular community gathering held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month at Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green, featuring live pop song performances by a house band, guest speakers, poetry readings, and community socializing with tea and cake. Free to attend with voluntary donations encouraged.
• Not Just Sunday Activities Ongoing community activities outside the main Sunday assemblies, including Article Club, picnic lunches, board games, summer socials, ice cream crawls, swimming outings, museum visits, and karaoke events designed to deepen community bonds.
• Yule Rock Annual large-scale Christmas pop singalong event held at venues like Rich Mix in Shoreditch, featuring 20 songs performed by an expanded live band, audience participation, raffles, and seasonal festivities with capacity for up to 200 attendees.
• Laugh Your Assembly Off Comedy Nights Comedy night events featuring professional stand-up performers, hosted in partnership with organizations like Quantum Leopard (six Chortle Awards winner), with ticket sales supporting the charity. Tickets priced at £15 standard and £5 concession for low income or precariously employed attendees.
• Community Choir One-off and pop-up choir events where community members rehearse and perform songs at Sunday Assemblies, with rehearsal sessions priced at £5 per person including sheet music and practice recordings.
• Donation and Fundraising Platform Online donation processing via Enthuse, fundraising through JustGiving and Facebook Fundraisers, and retail donation programs through Amazon Smile, easyfundraising, and Give as You Live where retailers donate a percentage of purchases.
• Merch Store Branded merchandise including t-shirts, tote bags, fridge magnets, and phone cases sold through Redbubble, with proceeds supporting the charity's activities.
• Book Store Online bookshop featuring titles by Sunday Assembly speakers, poets, and authors who donate their time, powered by Bookshop.org, providing a way to thank speakers and support both the authors and the charity.
• Gift Aid Scheme UK taxpayer donation scheme enabling Sunday Assembly London to claim a 25% top-up from HMRC on eligible cash and card donations, supplementing donor contributions to fund operations like band rehearsals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 75 Article Club meetings held, demonstrating sustained community engagement
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Oasis: Large UK charity running community projects, schools, and housing programs. Comparable as a sizable UK charitable organization with community-building programming across multiple cities and audiences.

Direct peers

• Humanist UK: UK's leading humanist and secular organization providing ceremonies, education, advocacy, and community for non-religious people. Directly comparable as a UK-based secular organization addressing the same 'nones' demographic that Sunday Assembly London serves.
• Sunday Assembly NYC: New York branch of the Sunday Assembly movement offering secular community gatherings with music and talks. Comparable as a sister assembly operating the same volunteer-led format and playbook as Sunday Assembly London.
• Sunday Assembly (Global Movement): The global Sunday Assembly movement coordinating 40+ independent secular assemblies. Comparable as the umbrella brand that Sunday Assembly London co-founded and continues to anchor as the original and largest chapter.
• Sea of Faith UK: UK network for religious and philosophical exploration beyond traditional religion. Comparable as a UK-based community organization offering secular exploration through talks, discussions, and local groups.

Regional players

• Sunday Assembly Birmingham: UK sister assembly operating the Sunday Assembly model of secular community gatherings outside London. Comparable as a peer chapter in the same global movement, using the same volunteer-led format in a different UK region.
• Conway Hall: London-based humanist venue and ethical society hosting lectures, concerts, and community gatherings. Comparable as a London secular community hub where Sunday Assembly London has its registered office and has previously held assemblies.

Emerging players

• The Satanic Temple: US-based secular organization advocating separation of church and state and providing community for non-religious individuals. Comparable as a high-profile secular activist and community organization with strong media presence in the same 'nones' space.
• Recovering from Religion: Organization supporting people leaving religious faith and building secular community. Comparable as a community network addressing loneliness and identity needs in non-religious populations, overlapping with Sunday Assembly's value proposition.
• Black Nonbelievers: US-based secular community organization supporting Black atheists, agnostics, and humanists. Comparable as a community-building secular organization addressing connection and belonging in non-religious populations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/londonsundayassembly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunday-assembly
• Instagraminstagram.com/sundayassemblylondon/?hl=en
• Xx.com/sundayassembly

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Sunday Assembly