Survivors Fund
Survivors Fund (SURF) is a UK-registered charity, founded in 1997, that supports survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda through legal aid, counselling, education, entrepreneurship, and shelter programmes delivered via partner survivor-led organisations across Rwanda.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersBushey, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Survivors Fund does
Survivors Fund (SURF) is a UK-registered charity (No. 1065705) and company limited by guarantee (No. 03411565), founded in 1997 by Mary Kayitesi Blewitt OBE to support survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. It operates from a registered headquarters in Bushey, United Kingdom, a UK Coordinator office in London, and a small operational team in Kigali, Rwanda. Its purpose is to rebuild the lives of survivors through restorative-justice, counselling, education, livelihoods, and shelter programmes, delivered not directly but through a tightly coordinated ecosystem of survivor-led partner organisations including AVEGA Agahozo, AERG, GAERG, Solace Ministries, IBUKA, and Uyisenga N'Manzi.
Its portfolio of programme "products" comprises the Legal and Counselling Helpline (4,236 young people supported since 2013), Community Counselling Initiative (over 850 mothers), Foundation Rwanda programme (1,700 women and offspring since 2007), Youth Survivors Entrepreneurship Project (989 graduates 2022-2025) including the YESP follow-on with microloans via Goshen Finance, Education and Shelter Support (TVET graduates, university students, house renovation), Good Gifts Initiative livestock and livelihoods distribution, and the Philly's Place children's centre in Ntarama (Bugesera District) that opened in 2020 and was expanded to a permanent purpose-built centre in 2024. Ancillary educational outputs include downloadable exhibitions (Heroes of Our Time, Restorative Justice), education packets, lesson plans, a media library, and the book Survival Against the Odds.
SURF has no proprietary technology platform; its core stack is administrative: a WordPress-based website (survivors-fund.org.uk), Stripe, PayPal, CAF Donate, CAF America, Mailchimp for the monthly e-newsletter, and Crowdfunder for peer-to-peer fundraising pages. The business model is donations-based: incoming resources come from individual donors (online and offline), corporate and institutional grants (Comic Relief since 1997, DfID £4.25 million for antiretroviral treatment of 2,500 HIV-positive women, INSPIRE!africa as primary current funder, Good Gifts Catalogue since 2005, Network for Africa, Foundation Rwanda), UK Gift Aid-eligible monthly recurring donations, school-based partnerships (Sandhurst School's Reaching Rwanda, ≈£400,000 raised since 2008), and a small handicraft import channel. SURF does not sell products or services in a commercial sense; donation levels are tiered (£5–£200+ corresponding to specific programme benefits such as medical insurance, school materials, solar lights, livestock, secondary schooling, or a cow). Governance is via a Board of Trustees chaired by Sam Hunt MBE, with day-to-day operations led by Chief Executive Samuel Munderere from Rwanda.
Survivors Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Survivors Fund
- Legal name
- Survivors Fund
- Website
- https://survivors-fund.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Survivors Fund (SURF) is a UK-registered charity, founded in 1997, that supports survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda through legal aid, counselling, education, entrepreneurship, and shelter programmes delivered via partner survivor-led organisations across Rwanda.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Survivors Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Humanitarian Aid Services
- NAICS
- Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Disaster Recovery, Reconstruction & Resilience Programs (BPAGAAAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)
Keywords
Where Survivors Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bushey
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Survivors Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and Fundraising: SURF operates as a charitable organization that raises funds through individual donations, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, and support from other charitable organizations. Revenue comes from various donation channels including PayPal, cheque, CAF Donate, and CAF America.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Monthly | Various donation levels supporting different needs |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Survivors Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Survivors Fund (SURF) is a UK-registered charity that raises funds and partners with survivor-led organizations in Rwanda to deliver trauma counselling, legal aid, education, shelter, healthcare, and livelihood programmes for survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Services are delivered through partner organizations including AVEGA Agahozo, AERG, GAERG, Uyisenga N'Manzi, Solace Ministries, and IBUKA. SURF also produces free educational resources including exhibitions, lesson plans, and survivor testimonies for schools and the public.
Product overview
Survivors Fund (SURF) is a charitable organization (not a technology platform) offering a portfolio of humanitarian support programmes for survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The core service portfolio includes direct support programmes (Legal and Counselling Helpline, Community Counselling Initiative, Education and Shelter Support) and empowerment programmes (Youth Entrepreneurship Support, Foundation Rwanda, Good Gifts Initiative). Additionally, SURF operates Philly's Place children's centre and partners with Sandhurst School on the Reaching Rwanda educational exchange programme. For education and awareness, SURF provides downloadable resources including exhibitions (Heroes of Our Time, Restorative Justice), education packets, lesson plans, survivor testimony books, media libraries, and PowerPoint presentations. All services are delivered in partnership with survivor-led organizations in Rwanda (AVEGA, AERG, GAERG, Uyisenga N'Manzi, Solace Ministries, IBUKA).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Legal and Counselling Helpline Free telephone and outreach helpline established in 2013 as a partnership between SURF and AERG, providing legal support for property disputes, land cases, and criminal/civil cases, as well as counselling services for PTSD, depression, anxiety, and stress to young genocide survivors across Rwanda. Has supported 4,236 young people since inception.
- Community Counselling Initiative Peer support counselling programme for women survivors of genocide rape, providing group counselling to over 850 mothers through a structured approach, with extended community counselling for children of survivors since 2016.
- Foundation Rwanda Programme Education and counselling support programme for young people conceived through rape during the genocide. Provides secondary school support, vocational training, trauma counselling, and a Small Business Innovation Fund for graduates to start businesses. Since 2007 it has helped more than 1,700 women and their offspring.
- Good Gifts Initiative Livelihoods programme funded by the Good Gifts Catalogue providing survivors with livestock, agricultural materials, solar lights, cookers, school materials, and support for income-generating activities including carrot farming, banana plantations, and onion farming. SURF has been a beneficiary since 2005.
- Philly's Place Children's Centre Children's centre opened in 2020 in Ntarama Sector, Bugesera District through Reaching Rwanda donors, providing free tuition in Kinyarwanda, English, maths, science, technology, art, music, drama, sport and dance, plus skills such as sewing, knitting and beadcraft to over 1,000 local children. A new purpose-built permanent centre was opened in 2024.
- Reaching Rwanda Long-running partnership programme with Sandhurst School since 2008 linking UK students with genocide survivors through school visits, fundraising of approximately £400,000, and sponsorship of about 30 children in primary and secondary school.
- Youth Survivors Entrepreneurship Project Entrepreneurship training programme providing young survivors with business skills, financial literacy, and access to startup capital through microloans in partnership with Goshen Finance and Network for Africa. Between 2022 and 2025, 989 young survivors completed training.
- Youth Entrepreneurship Support Project (YESP) One-year follow-on project launched in 2020 to ensure young survivors who completed entrepreneurship training have continued support for business implementation and sustainability.
- Education and Shelter Support Integrated support programme covering university education (10 students), school materials (22 students), TVET training in barista, culinary arts, hairdressing, tailoring, and auto mechanics (17 graduates in 2025), plus house renovation for widows and youth-headed households through INSPIRE!africa partnership.
- House Building Programme Shelter programme supported by Comic Relief since 1997 that has built 362 homes sheltering 1,810 survivors across Rwanda, with 50 memorial sites also constructed.
Companies that use Survivors Fund
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Survivors Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Survivors Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Foundation RwandacoreAddressing education and counselling needs of children born of rape. Since inception, helped more than 1,700 women and their offspring. SURF is key implementing partner.
- AVEGA AgahozocoreAssociation of Widows of the Genocide with over 19,000 members. Provides medical services, psychological counselling, education, housing and legal services to widows and dependents.
- AERGcoreNational Students Association of Survivors with 43,397 members across 27 universities and 300 secondary schools. Provides financial support, moral help, and trauma counselling to student survivors.
- GAERGcoreGraduate Survivors Association working with university graduates and higher learning students. Provides entrepreneurship skills and job market support.
- Uyisenga N'ManzicoreSupports orphans in child-headed households affected by genocide and/or HIV/AIDS with psychosocial and economic support.
- Solace MinistriescoreChristian association providing counselling, childcare, HIV/AIDS programs, farming associations and supportive seminars to survivors.
- IBUKAcoreNational Umbrella of Survivors' Organizations comprising 15 member organizations working to perpetuate memory of genocide and provide support to survivors.
- Sandhurst SchoolcoreLong-term partnership since 2008 for Reaching Rwanda project. Students visit Rwanda, raise funds approaching £400,000, and sponsor about 30 children. SURF Chair Sam Hunt MBE leads the programme.
- Project UmubanominorUK Conservative Party's annual international social action programme to Rwanda, facilitated by SURF since 2007.
- Indego AfricaminorPartnership for purchasing Rwanda handicrafts in the US, through project with Foundation Rwanda and Abasangiye Cooperative.
- Iwacu Productions / Rwandan BeautyminorPartnership for selling Rwandan handicrafts in the UK including necklaces, bracelets and other jewellery.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Survivors Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Aegis Trust: UK-registered charity focused on genocide prevention and memory work, including the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Comparable to SURF in mission space (Rwandan genocide survivor support and education) but operates at a broader scope across prevention, memorialization and education rather than direct service delivery.
Direct peers
- Helen Bamber Foundation: UK-registered charity providing integrated medical, psychological, legal and housing support to survivors of human rights violations. Materially comparable to SURF in operating model — a UK-headquartered NGO delivering multi-disciplinary trauma and rights support to a specific persecuted-survivor population.
- Freedom from Torture: UK charity delivering specialist psychological therapy, legal aid and rehabilitation services to survivors of torture. Highly comparable business model to SURF — UK-registered, multidisciplinary trauma and legal services for a defined beneficiary cohort — though operating across multiple countries of origin rather than Rwanda-specifically.
- GAERG: Graduate Survivors Association working with university graduates and higher-learning students; provides entrepreneurship skills and job-market support. Operates in the same survivor-support niche as SURF's youth entrepreneurship and education programs.
- AVEGA Agahozo: Association of Widows of the Genocide against the Tutsi with over 19,000 members; provides medical services, psychological counselling, education, housing and legal services to widows and dependents. Directly comparable to SURF as a Rwanda-based survivor-led organization addressing overlapping beneficiary needs through similar program verticals.
- Solace Ministries: Christian association providing counselling, childcare, HIV/AIDS programs, farming associations and supportive seminars to survivors. A direct mission-comparable peer operating in the same beneficiary community and program mix as SURF.
- IBUKA: National umbrella of survivors' organizations comprising 15 member organizations working to perpetuate the memory of the genocide and support survivors. Closely aligned with SURF's mission, governance model and beneficiary base within the Rwandan genocide-survivor ecosystem.
- Network for Africa: UK-based charity working in Rwanda and Uganda to support survivors of the genocide and conflict through trauma counselling, entrepreneurship training and microfinance. Closely comparable in geography (Rwanda), mission (genocide/conflict survivor recovery) and program mix (counselling + livelihoods + microfinance via Goshen Finance).
- Uyisenga N'Manzi: Supports orphans in child-headed households affected by genocide and/or HIV/AIDS with psychosocial and economic support. Comparable to SURF given shared focus on second-generation survivors and vulnerable children in Rwanda.
- AERG: National Students Association of Survivors with 43,397 members across 27 universities and 300 secondary schools; provides financial support, moral help and trauma counselling to student survivors. Materially comparable as a Rwandan survivor-led peer organization delivering education-linked trauma and livelihood support to the same target demographic.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Survivors Fund social profiles
Digital presenceSurvivors Fund compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Survivors Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Survivors Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Survivors Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Survivors Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Survivors Fund
What does Survivors Fund do?
Survivors Fund (SURF) is a UK-registered charity that raises funds and partners with survivor-led organizations in Rwanda to deliver trauma counselling, legal aid, education, shelter, healthcare, and livelihood programmes for survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Services are delivered through partner organizations including AVEGA Agahozo, AERG, GAERG, Uyisenga N'Manzi, Solace Ministries, and IBUKA. SURF also produces free educational resources including exhibitions, lesson plans, and survivor testimonies for schools and the public.
Is Survivors Fund a public or private company?
Survivors Fund is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Survivors Fund founded?
Survivors Fund was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Survivors Fund based?
Survivors Fund is headquartered in Bushey, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Survivors Fund make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Fundraising.
Who are Survivors Fund's main competitors?
Aegis Trust is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Helen Bamber Foundation, Freedom from Torture, GAERG, AVEGA Agahozo, Solace Ministries, IBUKA, Network for Africa, Uyisenga N'Manzi and AERG.
Does Survivors Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Survivors Fund.
What industry is Survivors Fund in?
Survivors Fund's product category is Humanitarian Aid Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAAAK, Disaster Recovery, Reconstruction & Resilience Programs, with a secondary code of BPAGAAAH, Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance. Its NAICS code is 624230 and its SIC code is 8300.