Engage with Age

What Engage with Age does

Engage with Age is a community development charity registered in Northern Ireland (Charity Number 100718, company limited by guarantee NI039665), founded in 2000 and headquartered at the East Belfast Network Centre, 55 Templemore Avenue, Belfast. It serves older people aged 50+ in Belfast who are at risk of loneliness and social isolation, alongside a secondary segment of older people's groups across Belfast. The organisation's portfolio of programmes includes group activities (walking, social groups, coffee mornings, dance, T'ai Chi, online bingo and quizzes, and The Slipped Disco), health promotion activities (nutrition, crafting, relaxation, exercise, IT training), one-to-one telephone befriending support, and dementia-friendly initiatives including a Dementia Friendly Artist in Residence programme and a monthly What's On Guide for East Belfast. It also convenes and supports an advocacy network of older people's forums — Belfast East Seniors Forum (est. 2003), South Belfast Lifestyle Forum, and the cross-Belfast Greater Belfast Seniors Forum (G6) — through which it consults with statutory bodies and policy coalitions.

The organisation has no proprietary technology platform; its service architecture is a collection of distinct community programmes delivered at physical venues and via telephone, supplemented by the PAL Gazette, a monthly printed newspaper written by older people for older people and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, distributed to 1,500 printed copies plus 1,000+ digital readers per month. Distribution relies on direct referrals, community venues, social media (Facebook, YouTube, X/Twitter), and the engagewithage.org.uk website. In 2023/24, the charity reported 15,000+ direct engagements with older people, 780+ activities delivered, and 2,100+ befriending phone calls, alongside exhibitions reaching over 30,000 people.

As a registered charity, Engage with Age generates no commercial revenue and charges no fees. Its income is sourced from core funders (including the National Lottery Community Fund), corporate partnerships (most recently Solasta Healthcare, announced June 2026), individual donations via JustGiving, and community fundraising initiatives. The organisation is currently in a leadership transition following the mid-2025 departure of Director Eamon Quinn and is actively recruiting a new Chief Executive Officer, new trustees, and a Communications & Fundraising Manager to support its 2026–2029 Strategic Plan.

Name

Engage with Age

Legal name

Engage with Age

Website

https://engagewithage.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Engage with Age is a Belfast-based registered charity, founded in 2000, that supports older people aged 50+ at risk of loneliness through community programmes, telephone befriending, dementia-friendly initiatives, advocacy forums, and a monthly printed PAL Gazette newspaper.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Services for Older Adults

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Elder Services & Aging Support (BPAGAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Senior Social Clubs & Community-Based Day Programs (Non-Clinical) (HSABANAK)

Keywords

• Community support services
• Older people wellbeing
• Befriending services
• Dementia friendly programs
• Social isolation support

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Funding and Donations: Engage with Age is a registered charity (NI039665) funded through core funders, corporate partnerships, individual donations, and community fundraising initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Engage with Age is a registered charity based in Belfast that delivers community-based programs to empower older people aged 50+ to lead happy, healthy, independent, and connected lives. Its core offerings include group activity programs (PAL Project groups, walking, dance, T'ai Chi, bingo, The Slipped Disco), one-to-one telephone befriending support, health promotion activities, dementia-friendly programs, and advocacy forums representing older people across Belfast.

Product overview

Engage with Age is a charity organisation offering a portfolio of community support programmes for older people in Belfast, not a technology platform. The core offering includes the PAL Gazette (a monthly printed newspaper), PAL Project activity groups (walking, social groups, dance, T'ai Chi, bingo, quizzes), telephone befriending support, health promotion activities, and dementia-friendly programmes including the Artist in Residence. The organisation also supports a network of forums (Belfast East Seniors Forum, South Belfast Lifestyle Forum, Greater Belfast Seniors Forum/G6) that represent older people's groups across Belfast. Activities include The Slipped Disco and various social events. The portfolio does not follow a platform-plus-modules architecture; it is a collection of distinct community programmes and publications delivered by a voluntary organisation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PAL Gazette A monthly printed newspaper written by older people, for older people, containing news articles, recipes, crafting, quizzes, and information on opportunities, reaching 1,500 printed copies plus 1,000+ digital readers each month. Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
• One-to-One Telephone Befriending Support Befriending support provided via telephone for individual older people aged 50+ who are at risk of loneliness and social isolation; over 2,100 calls were delivered in 2023/24.
• PAL Project Activity Groups Community activity groups delivered at venues across Belfast, including walking, social groups, coffee mornings, dance, T'ai Chi, online bingo and quizzes, and The Slipped Disco.
• Health Promotion Activities Health-focused group activities delivered with older people including nutrition/cookery, crafting, relaxation, exercise, and IT training.
• Dementia Friendly Activities Dementia training, information sessions, the Dementia Friendly Artist in Residence programme, and the monthly What's On Guide for East Belfast, supporting people living with dementia and their carers.
• Belfast East Seniors Forum A forum representing over 30 older people's groups in East Belfast, meeting monthly at Dee Street Community Centre with representatives from member groups to advocate for older people's needs.
• South Belfast Lifestyle Forum A network for older people in South Belfast and/or attending community groups based in South Belfast, meeting monthly with information sharing, speakers, and social activities.
• Greater Belfast Seniors Forum (G6) A forum representing all older people's forums in Belfast (Belfast East, South Belfast, West Belfast, North Belfast, Greater Shankill, and Castlereagh), meeting monthly to advocate for older people's needs.
• What's On Guide for East Belfast Monthly guide produced by Dementia Friendly East Belfast listing activities and events for older people in the East Belfast area.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98.6% satisfaction rate among 429+ surveyed participants
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Solasta HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026New corporate partnership announced June 2026. Both organizations share commitment to helping older people live healthier, more independent, and connected lives. Partnership aims to raise awareness of issues affecting older people, champion positive ageing, and support initiatives enhancing health, wellbeing, and social connection.
• Age Partnership BelfastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with Age Partnership Belfast in supporting the Greater Belfast Seniors Forum (G6).
• Age Friendly BelfastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with Age Friendly Belfast in supporting the Greater Belfast Seniors Forum (G6).
• GP Federation for NIminorOthersRecent consultee with G6 (Greater Belfast Seniors Forum) on issues affecting older people.
• Cost of Living CoalitionminorOthersRecent consultee with G6 on cost of living issues affecting older people.
• Health and Social Care BoardminorOthersRecent consultee with G6 on health-related issues affecting older people.
• Belfast TrustminorOthersRecent consultee with G6 on services and opportunities for older people.
• National Energy ActionminorOthersRecent consultee with G6 on energy and cost of living issues.
• Belfast City CouncilminorOthersRecent consultee with G6 on local issues affecting older people.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Royal Voluntary Service: Large UK voluntary organisation supporting older people through community-based services including befriending and activity programmes. Operates a similar service mix but at national scale and across multiple cohorts.
• Age UK: The UK-wide umbrella charity supporting older people with information, advocacy, and local services. Highly comparable mission (loneliness, health, later-life support) and operationally adjacent, but at significantly larger scale across all UK regions.

Direct peers

• Re-engage: UK charity focused on reducing loneliness among older people via befriending, activity groups, and tea-party programmes. Overlaps directly with Engage with Age's befriending and PAL Project group delivery model.
• Age NI: Northern Ireland's primary older people's charity, delivering advice, campaigns, and local services in Belfast and across NI. Directly comparable geography and population served, with overlapping service lines including advocacy and group-based support.
• Friends of the Elderly: UK charity supporting older people through befriending, day services, grants, and residential care. Comparable mission and community-delivery model.
• Independent Age: National UK charity for older people providing advice, befriending, and grants. Similar small-staff charity operating model with overlapping beneficiary profile and advocacy posture.
• The Silver Line: UK-wide telephone befriending helpline for older people, matching closely to Engage with Age's 'One-to-One Telephone Befriending Support' product as a community-based, telephone-delivered service.

Emerging players

• Alzheimer's Society: UK charity addressing dementia through services, information, and research. Directly comparable in Engage with Age's Dementia Friendly activities and Artist in Residence programme, though broader in clinical and research scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Engage_With_Age
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/EngageWithAge
• Facebookfacebook.com/EngageWithAgeBelfast
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/engage-with-age

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Engage with Age