CARRICKFERGUS COMMUNITY FORUM

What CARRICKFERGUS COMMUNITY FORUM does

Carrickfergus Community Forum (CCF) is a registered charity and umbrella organisation founded in 1997 to support and empower the community and voluntary sector across Carrickfergus, Greenisland and Whitehead in Northern Ireland. The organisation serves over 120 active member community groups by providing practical help, meeting space, networking opportunities, signposting, training, research and consultation, and advocacy support. Membership is free, and CCF is governed by a voluntary board of directors with each member group nominating a representative at the strategic level.

CCF does not operate proprietary technology products; its offering centres on a physical hub at 31 Lancasterian Street that hosts both its own community activities and partner-delivered programmes. These include Belfast Works Connect (a free employment support programme offering access to 100+ approved courses, hosted on-site from February 2024), Mid & East Antrim Community Advice Services (MEACAS) for debt, benefits, housing and legal advice, the Mid & East Antrim Affordable Food Club, the AWARE depression support group, a Ladies Craft Class drop-in, and a Men's Group.

The organisation's business model is grant and public-sector funded rather than revenue-generating. It is core funded by Mid & East Antrim Borough Council and receives supplementary funding from projects including Welfare Reform, Pension Wise, the Money Advice Service, and the Mid & East Antrim Age Well Partnership, as well as public donations. There are no membership fees, no product sales, and no private investment. With a headcount of five and no funding rounds, M&A, or investor activity recorded, CCF operates as a stable, locally-embedded nonprofit infrastructure provider rather than a growth-stage enterprise.

Name

CARRICKFERGUS COMMUNITY FORUM

Legal name

Carrickfergus Community Forum

Website

https://carrickferguscommunityforum.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carrickfergus Community Forum is a registered charity and umbrella organisation founded in 1997 that supports over 120 community and voluntary groups across Carrickfergus, Greenisland and Whitehead in Northern Ireland through free membership services, meeting space, advocacy, and hosted partner programmes, funded primarily by Mid & East Antrim Borough Council.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB), Volunteerism, Service-Learning & Community Service (EDALAHAG)

Keywords

• Community development
• Voluntary sector support
• Community advice services
• Charitable services
• Community advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Carrickfergus

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Services: Free membership-based organization offering practical help, meeting space, networking, signposting, training, research and consultation, and advocacy support to community groups. No direct revenue generation from members.
2. Grant and Public Funding: Registered charity in Northern Ireland registered with Companies House NI. MEACAS is core funded by Mid & East Antrim Borough Council. Receives other funding from projects such as Welfare Reform, Pension Wise, Money Advice Service and Mid & East Antrim Age Well Partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Carrickfergus Community Forum is an umbrella charitable organisation that provides free membership-based support to over 120 community and voluntary groups in the Carrickfergus, Greenisland and Whitehead areas of Northern Ireland. Its offering includes meeting space, networking opportunities, signposting, training, research and consultation, advocacy, and the hosting of partner programmes covering employment support, affordable food, community advice, and mental health support groups.

Product overview

Carrickfergus Community Forum (CCF) is an umbrella community organization providing free membership-based support services to over 120 active member groups in Carrickfergus, Greenisland and Whitehead. Founded in 1997 and registered as a charity with Companies House NI, the organization offers a suite of services including meeting space, networking, training, and advocacy. The core product is its membership service supplemented by hosted partner programmes including Belfast Works Connect (employment support), MEACAS (advice services), and the Mid & East Antrim Affordable Food Club. Community activities include Ladies Craft Class, Men's Group, and AWARE depression support meetings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Group Membership & Support Services
• Belfast Works Connect
• Mid & East Antrim Affordable Food Club
• Mid & East Antrim Community Advice Services (MEACAS)
• Ladies Craft Class Drop-in
• AWARE Support Group
• Men's Group

Quantifiable outcome

• Supporting 120+ active member groups across 3 geographic areas
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Belfast Works ConnectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024FREE community-based programme focused on helping people achieve their personal potential. Provides individual packages of support through tailored personal and skills development with access to over 100 FREE approved courses, helping with confidence building, volunteering or gaining employment. Located at CCF premises since February 2024. Contact: [email protected]
• Mid & East Antrim Affordable Food ClubcoreOthersAffordable food service based at CCF premises on Monday & Tuesday every week from 10am until 1:30pm. Available to clients on low income up to £16K who may or may not also have top-up of Universal Credit.
• Mid & East Antrim Community Advice Services (MEACAS)coreOthersCommunity advice service based at CCF on Mondays & Wednesdays 10:00am-4:00pm (appointment only). Helps people resolve debt, benefits, housing, legal, discrimination, employment, immigration, consumer and other problems. Core funded by Mid & East Antrim Borough Council with additional funding from Welfare Reform, Pension Wise, Money Advice Service and Mid & East Antrim Age Well Partnership.
• AWARE - Depression Charity for Northern IrelandminorOthersNorthern Ireland depression charity with support groups across rural and urban areas. Fortnightly support group meets at CCF. AWARE has established network of 23 support groups run by trained volunteers. Derry-born charity with offices in Derry/Londonderry and Belfast.

Scale indicators3 records

Regional players

• Community Foundation for Northern Ireland: The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland is a regional grantmaking and community philanthropy body, overlapping with CCF in the community-sector support space but operating at the regional rather than borough level.

Others

• Building Change Trust: Building Change Trust is a Northern Ireland funder focused on community capacity-building and voluntary-sector innovation, sitting upstream of CCF as a potential grantmaker rather than a direct peer.

Direct peers

• Locality: Locality is a UK-wide membership network supporting community-led organisations with advocacy, training, and resources — comparable in mission and membership-based service model to CCF.
• Voluntary Action Network Northern Ireland (VANI): VANI supports and connects volunteer-led and community-led organisations across rural Northern Ireland with a similar membership, training, and signposting remit to CCF.
• Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA): NICVA is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland, providing support, training, advocacy, and representation to member organisations — directly analogous to CCF's umbrella role at a borough level.
• South Belfast Partnership Board: South Belfast Partnership is a community umbrella organisation delivering services, training, and advocacy across a defined Belfast sub-area — operating a near-identical local community-forum model to CCF.
• Rural Community Network Northern Ireland: RCN is a membership-based rural community development network in Northern Ireland that supports community groups, delivers training, and advocates for rural communities — a close structural analogue to CCF.

Emerging players

• Groundwork Northern Ireland: Groundwork NI is a community development charity focused on environmental and place-based regeneration, with comparable model of partnering with local government and delivering community services from local hubs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CarrickForum
• Facebookfacebook.com/CarrickfergusCommunityForum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carrickfergus-community-forum

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 CARRICKFERGUS COMMUNITY FORUM