Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity

What Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity does

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity is a UK-registered charity (England and Wales no. 1137409, Scotland SC054293) founded in 1991 by Dame Felicity Dahl, Roald Dahl's widow. It funds and supports a network of more than 250 Roald Dahl Nurse Specialists embedded in over 85 NHS Trusts across the United Kingdom, providing specialist clinical and emotional care to more than 50,000 children and young people living with complex, lifelong conditions including epilepsy, sickle cell disease, thalassaemia, neuromuscular conditions, and syndromes without a name (SWAN). Beyond nursing provision, the charity operates the Marvellous Family Support Services (financial and emotional support for families), a Nurse Development Programme including the Florence Nightingale Leadership Programme, and a nurse-led innovation initiative called The Inventing Room. The organization is headquartered in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, with a small central team of 1–10 employees and Her Majesty The Queen serving as Royal Patron. The Roald Dahl name and brand characters are used under license from The Roald Dahl Story Company Ltd.

The charity's revenue model is entirely donation-based, with no products or services sold. Income streams include individual one-off and recurring donations (direct debit, payroll giving), challenge-event fundraising (London/Manchester/Cardiff marathons, Snowdon climbs, individual endurance events), corporate partnerships (multi-year deals with Stagecoach, The Portman Estate, Auntie Anne's, nChain, Serco Foundation, HCR Hewitsons/Chariots of Fire), schools fundraising through Roald Dahl Story Day, legacy gifts in wills, and newer channels including cryptocurrency donations and US tax-deductible giving via Chapel & York US Foundation. Distribution of fundraising services is omnichannel: website donations via Stripe and PayPal, phone donations via Worldpay, and third-party platforms including JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving. Operating technology is standard nonprofit infrastructure: Beacon CRM hosted on AWS, Mailchimp for email, CloudFlare for security/CDN, and Google Analytics for web analytics; no proprietary technology platform is built or sold. Strategic positioning is anchored on the licensed Roald Dahl brand, Royal Patronage, celebrity endorsement (Joanna Lumley, Claudia Winkleman, Julie Walters), and independently validated impact evidence (2021 Sheffield Hallam University evaluation showing reductions in consultant appointments, A&E attendance, urgent GP visits, and hospital admissions).

Name

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity

Legal name

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity

Website

https://roalddahlcharity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity is a UK charity funding more than 250 Roald Dahl Nurse Specialists across 85+ NHS Trusts, delivering specialist clinical and emotional care to over 50,000 children with complex, lifelong conditions, supplemented by family support and nurse development programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Specialist Nursing Charity

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Pediatric specialist nursing
• Children's charity services
• Family support programs
• NHS partnership nursing
• Charity fundraising events

Headquarters

HQ city

Amersham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Single donations, monthly or annual gifts from individual supporters. The charity states every penny donated goes directly to supporting seriously ill children and their families.
2. Regular Giving: Recurring monthly donations through Payroll Giving or direct debit, allowing supporters to give regularly through their salary (tax-effective) or bank account.
3. Challenge Events: Fundraising through sporting challenge events including London Marathon, Manchester Marathon, Cardiff Half Marathon, Snowdon climbs, and other challenge events. Participants commit to minimum sponsorship targets.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partners support through donations, employee fundraising, cause-related marketing (e.g., Auntie Anne's donating 10p per product sold), and multi-year partnerships.
5. Schools Fundraising: Schools participate through Roald Dahl Story Day and other educational fundraising activities.
6. Legacy Gifts: Donors can leave a gift in their Will to support the charity's work into the future.
7. Cryptocurrency Donations: The charity accepts donations in cryptocurrency.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity is a UK registered charity that funds and coordinates a national network of Roald Dahl Nurse Specialists — over 250 pediatric specialist nurses based in more than 85 NHS Trusts — to provide holistic, lifelong medical, emotional, and practical support to children with serious, complex, and rare conditions. The charity complements the nurses' clinical work with the Marvellous Family Support Service, a Nurse Development Programme, and Nurse-Led Innovation projects, and is funded through individual donations, corporate partnerships, legacies, community fundraising, and challenge events.

Product overview

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity is a UK-wide charitable organization providing specialist nursing care and family support for children with complex, lifelong conditions. The charity operates a network of over 250 Roald Dahl Nurse Specialists established in NHS Trusts across the UK, supporting more than 50,000 seriously ill children. The core offering consists of Roald Dahl Nurse Specialist positions that provide clinical and emotional support, complemented by the Marvellous Family Support Services for financial and emotional assistance. Additional support programmes include Nurse Development and Nurse Led Innovation initiatives, educational resources such as the Sickle Cell Challenge Games, engagement programmes like Marvin's Marvellous Club, and fundraising activities including Challenge Events and Corporate Partnerships. The charity does not offer a technology product or SaaS platform; its services are delivered through NHS partnerships and direct charitable activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Roald Dahl Nurses: Specialist nurse positions established by the charity in NHS Trusts to support children with complex, lifelong conditions.
• Marvellous Family Support Services
• Marvin's Marvellous Club
• The Inventing Room

Products and services

• Roald Dahl Nurse Specialists
• Marvellous Family Support Service
• Roald Dahl Nurse Development Programme
• Marvellous Nurse-Led Innovation Programme
• Sickle Cell Challenge Games An educational resource developed under the Marvellous Nurse-Led Innovation Programme to help children with sickle cell disease better understand and manage their condition through play-based learning. Targeted at seriously ill children supported by Roald Dahl Nurses and their families.
• Roald Dahl Story Day A school fundraising and engagement programme tied to Roald Dahl's birthday, through which schools can access resources, host activities, and fundraise for the charity. Targeted at UK schools, teachers, and pupils.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250 Roald Dahl Nurse Specialists support more than 50,000 seriously ill children across the UK
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and supporting.

• London Blockchain ConferencemajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 May 2024The London Blockchain Conference named Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity as its official charity partner for 2024, donating a portion of each ticket sale to the cause.
• Savour Food FestivalmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 July 2023Savour Food Festival in London partnered with the charity as official charity partner, featuring a Marvellous Auction and VR experience to raise funds for Roald Dahl Nurses.
• NHS Trusts (85+)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The charity establishes Roald Dahl Nurse Specialist positions in partnership with NHS Trusts across the UK. These highly trained nurses provide enhanced support for children with complex conditions within NHS hospitals and the community.
• Sheffield Hallam UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Sheffield Hallam University conducted an independent evaluation of the role, impact and contribution of Roald Dahl Nurses, demonstrating improvements in patient outcomes.
• Auntie Anne's UK & IrelandmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAuntie Anne's supports the charity through cause-related marketing, with 10p from every Cheesy Mini Dog sold donated to help provide Roald Dahl Nurses.
• StripesupportingTechnology or IntegrationStripe provides secure payment processing services for online donations through their secure server to process payment details.
• PayPalsupportingTechnology or IntegrationPayPal enables secure payment processing for donations made through the charity's website.
• JustGivingsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJustGiving is a third-party fundraising platform where supporters can create pages to raise money for the charity.
• Virgin Money GivingsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVirgin Money Giving provides an alternative third-party platform for supporters to raise funds for the charity.
• MailchimpsupportingTechnology or IntegrationMailchimp distributes email communications to subscribers of the charity's newsletter and marketing updates.
• Cardiff & Vale Citizens Advice BureausupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCVCA provides the charity's Financial Support Service, enabling families under the care of a Roald Dahl Nurse to access financial support.
• ContactsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContact provides the Emotional Support Service for families under the care of a Roald Dahl Nurse.
• Focus Games LtdsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoald Dahl Nurses collaborated with the charity and Focus Games Ltd to create educational games (board game, online game, card game) to help children learn about sickle cell disorder.
• BGC Partner's Charity DaymajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCelebrities supported the charity during BGC Partner's Charity Day, an annual trading event.
• Costello MedicalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe charity worked with Costello Medical to consult clinical experts and create a unified definition of Children with Medical Complexity and a unique SNOMED CT Code.
• Clarence House / Royal HouseholdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHer Majesty The Queen (as Royal Patron) hosts annual events at Clarence House where children and Roald Dahl Nurses decorate the royal Christmas tree.
• Chapel & York US FoundationsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe charity partnered with Chapel & York US Foundation to accept US donations, enabling tax-deductible giving for American supporters.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Children with Cancer UK: UK charity funding childhood cancer research and family support, including the funding of specialist nurses and posts in NHS paediatric oncology settings. Similar fundraising scale, NHS partnership model, and beneficiary focus on seriously ill children.
• Together for Short Lives: UK charity for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, supporting the children's palliative care nurse workforce and family services. Directly overlapping beneficiary population and NHS-integration model.
• Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent): UK charity dedicated to supporting children and young people with cancer and their families, including specialist nursing posts funded in partnership with NHS hospitals. Directly comparable mission, NHS-embedded nursing model, and UK-wide fundraising operation.
• Children's Heart Federation: UK charity supporting children with congenital heart disease and their families, including funding specialist cardiac nurses and family support services in NHS settings. Comparable specialist-nurse funding model and family-support mission.
• Rainbows Children's Hospice: UK charity providing care and support for children with serious, life-limiting conditions and their families across the East Midlands and beyond. Comparable paediatric complex-care beneficiary focus and family-support services.
• WellChild: UK charity supporting seriously ill children and their families, including the WellChild Nurse programme that funds specialist children's nurses in NHS hospitals and communities — directly comparable specialist nursing funding model.

Emerging players

• Sickle Cell Society: UK charity supporting people with sickle cell disorder — one of the specific conditions supported by Roald Dahl's Haematology Nurse Specialists (30+ posts). Comparable specialist nurse funding and family support focus for a specific blood condition.
• Epilepsy Action: UK charity for people affected by epilepsy, including campaigning and specialist nurse posts in NHS settings. The first Roald Dahl Nurse was a specialist epilepsy nurse, making this a condition-overlapping peer.

Others

• National Health Service (NHS) England — Children and Young People Programme: The NHS commissioning and policy arm that Roald Dahl's Charity partners with at 85+ Trusts. Not a peer in the fundraising sense, but the central public-sector counterpart and commissioning environment for the charity's specialist nurse placements.

Broad incumbents

• Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity: Major UK hospital charity raising funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital, including the SWAN nurse role established in partnership with Roald Dahl's Charity. Larger, broader paediatric healthcare scope but materially comparable NHS specialist nurse funding and UK family-support mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RoaldDahlFund
• Facebookfacebook.com/roalddahlcharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roalddahlcharity
• Instagraminstagram.com/roalddahlcharity

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity