Name

Cranfield Trust

Legal name

Cranfield Trust

Website

https://cranfieldtrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Romsey

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations from supporters, with Gift Aid scheme enabling reclaim of 25p per £1 donated from HMRC. As a charity, Cranfield Trust receives no statutory income and fundraises to meet 100% of expenditure needs.
2. Trusts & Foundations: Grants from trusts and foundations enable delivery of transformational services for charity clients.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with companies that bring valuable benefits to organisations and employees.
4. Major Gifts: Major gifts from philanthropic individuals to support the charity's work.
5. Legacy Gifts: Leaving a gift in will to Cranfield Trust as a lasting and highly impactful way to make a difference to small charities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cranfield Trust is a UK-registered charity that delivers free, pro bono management consultancy, mentoring, peer support, and on-call advice to small and medium-sized charities working in human welfare. Services are scoped and measured using its proprietary Journey to Excellence (J2E) framework and delivered by a network of more than 1,400 skilled volunteer consultants with commercial, public sector, and government backgrounds.

Product overview

Cranfield Trust is a UK-based charity providing pro bono management support services to small welfare charities. The organisation operates a platform of interconnected services comprising: Pro Bono Management Consultancy (their longest-standing service for over 35 years), Mentoring, Peer to Peer Exchange, On Call telephone advice, Free Charity Training Webinars, an On-Demand Webinar Library, and a Free Charity Resource Library. All consultancy and mentoring projects are supported by the Journey to Excellence (J2E) impact assessment framework, which helps scope projects and measure organisational progress. Services are delivered by a network of over 1,400 skilled volunteers and supported by Regional Managers across England, Scotland, and Wales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pro Bono Management Consultancy Free, tailored one-to-one management consultancy support for small and medium charities and not-for-profit organisations addressing human welfare issues, delivered by skilled volunteer consultants with commercial, public sector, and government backgrounds.
• Mentoring A mentoring programme matching charity leaders with experienced volunteer mentors for personal and professional development through structured sessions.
• Peer to Peer Exchange A confidential peer support group where charity leaders share challenges and discover solutions with facilitation from trained volunteers.
• On Call Specialist telephone advice service providing immediate management guidance and troubleshooting support for charity leaders facing pressing questions.
• Free Charity Training Webinars Free live webinars for charity professionals covering key management topics such as leadership, financial management, and impact measurement, delivered via GoToWebinar.
• On-Demand Webinar Library Library of recorded past webinars accessible at any time, covering topics including leadership, performance, and financial management.
• Free Charity Resources Free ready-to-use templates, guides, and tools covering essential management topics such as financial management, governance, strategy, risk, digital, HR, marketing, wellbeing, and leadership for charities.
• Journey to Excellence (J2E) A unique assessment framework designed to help charities identify organisational development needs and measure progress during consultancy projects; used to scope projects and evaluate impact.

Quantifiable outcome

• 343 new consultancy projects and 139 new mentoring assignments started in 2024-25
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• nfpResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Delivered pro bono research support for Cranfield Trust's 'Right support, right time' sector report, drawing on 368 stakeholder responses to understand how charity needs are evolving.
• Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal (Patron)coreOthers · 1 January 2025Patron of Cranfield Trust providing ongoing support and encouragement. Hosted event 'Championing small charities: our national asset' in early 2025.
• NHS EnglandminorOthersAlström Syndrome UK partnership with NHS England to deliver highly specialised service for people with Alström syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.
• Eastside PeopleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for charity merger support, providing practical and technical guidance on merging charities.
• Reach VolunteeringminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReferral partnership for trustee recruitment services, helping connect charities with suitable trustees.
• Trustees UnlimitedminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to find people with relevant experience for boards, develop trustee skills, and connect organisations with governance support.
• Getting on Board (inherited content)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCranfield Trust entrusted with governance video content originally from Getting on Board, a charity that worked to change the face of trusteeship.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Reach Volunteering: Reach Volunteering matches skilled professionals with charity trustee and board roles. It is a referral partner of Cranfield Trust and overlaps in serving the same UK small-charity audience with governance and leadership support.
• Centre for Charity Effectiveness (Bayes Business School): CCE provides management development programmes, training, and consultancy for charity leaders. Comparable to Cranfield Trust's mentoring and leadership development work, though delivered via fee-based academic programmes rather than pro bono.
• New Philanthropy Capital: NPC produces research, advice, and data to help charities and funders increase their impact. Comparable as a UK charity-sector advisory organisation providing evidence-based support, though more focused on funders than direct pro bono consulting.
• Eastside People: Eastside People supports charities with mergers, leadership transitions, and organisational development. It is a formal partner of Cranfield Trust on charity merger work and overlaps on the same small-charity target segment.
• Trustees Unlimited: Trustees Unlimited is a social enterprise recruiting and placing trustees for UK charities, partnered with Cranfield Trust. Comparable as a UK-focused provider of governance and board-development support to small charities.

Direct peers

• Pro Bono Economics: Pro Bono Economics connects volunteer economists with charities to provide free economic analysis, impact evaluation, and financial advice. Comparable to Cranfield Trust as a UK-based charity providing pro bono professional consultancy to the voluntary sector.
• Pilotlight: Pilotlight matches senior business executives with charity leaders to provide pro bono strategic and management support. It is the closest direct peer to Cranfield Trust in the UK pro bono charity management space, with a similar volunteer-driven model and charity focus.
• Small Charities Coalition: Small Charities Coalition is a UK membership body specifically serving small charities with resources, training, and peer support. It directly mirrors Cranfield Trust's small-charity target segment, though focused more on capability-building resources than one-to-one consultancy.

Broad incumbents

• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): NCVO is the umbrella membership body for UK voluntary sector organisations, offering policy, training, and consultancy support. It is a broader incumbent serving the same UK voluntary sector with a wider portfolio of services than Cranfield Trust's specialist pro bono focus.
• Charity Finance Group: CFG supports charity finance professionals through training, resources, and policy advocacy. It overlaps with Cranfield Trust on financial management support for small charities but addresses the function as a membership body rather than pro bono consultancy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCIqyBab38Iy6V7xzl5_ObCg
• Facebookfacebook.com/cranfieldtrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cranfield-trust
• Xx.com/cranfieldtrust

Compliance2 records

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 Cranfield Trust