Charity IT Association (CITA)

What Charity IT Association (CITA) does

Charity IT Association (CITA) is a UK registered charity (charity number 1168721) founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, operating a two-sided platform that connects UK charities with a vetted pool of 750+ volunteer IT professionals. The organization delivers three tiered services — CITA Review (assessment), CITA Advisory (consultancy), and CITA Delivery (project execution) — spanning cloud migration, CRM implementation (including Salesforce.com), GDPR compliance, document and records management, Office 365 deployment, and web analytics. Volunteers provide services pro bono, and CITA charges small administration fees of £75–£250 per project, scaled to the charity's annual income.

CITA's revenue is derived from four streams: administration fees from charities, corporate partnership fees (including a CSR Partnership Scheme where organizations fund employee volunteering), discretionary bursaries and grant funding from foundations such as Foyle, Leathersellers, and Lloyds Bank Foundation, and public donations accepted via the CAF Donate platform. The go-to-market model is community-led: charities register through the website, are matched to volunteers by skill and need, and engage through structured service tiers supported by a help desk, networking community, and occasional receptions.

Operationally, CITA runs with 11 employees and has accumulated 1,200+ charities supported, 2,500+ days of IT consultancy delivered, and an estimated £2.4 million in consultancy costs saved for the charity sector. Its partner ecosystem spans technology vendors (Boxxe, 4D), insurance (New Dawn Risk), sector infrastructure organizations (NCVO, AbilityNet, Charity Digital, Reach Volunteering, The FSI, MediaTrust, WCIT), and grant-making trusts. The organization differentiates through vendor-independent advice, a curated volunteer matching process, and content marketing across blog, social, email, and events channels.

Name

Charity IT Association (CITA)

Legal name

Charity IT Association

Website

https://cita.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UK registered charity operating a matching platform that connects 1,200+ UK charities with 750+ pro bono IT volunteer professionals for technology advisory and project delivery across cloud, CRM, GDPR, and cybersecurity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit IT Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Nonprofit IT consultancy
• Charity technology support
• IT volunteer matching
• Pro bono IT services
• Charity digital transformation

Headquarters

HQ city

London, London

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. Administration fees from charities: CITA charges small administration fees to charities on a project-by-project basis to cover operational costs. The fees are scalable based on charity income and service type (Review, Advisory, Delivery). Registration is free.
2. Partnership fees: Corporate partners pay fees to support the organization, covering assignment administration costs, matching volunteers with charities, and relationship management. Includes CSR Partnership Scheme where organizations fund employee volunteering.
3. Discretionary funding and bursaries: CITA has access to discretionary funding and can award bursaries to part-fund administration fees for charities with appropriate circumstances.
4. Donations: Accepts donations through CAF Donate platform to support operations and expand services to more charities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Charity IT Association (CITA) is a UK nonprofit that connects charities with pro bono IT volunteer professionals and delivers three service tiers — CITA Review (assessment), CITA Advisory (consultancy), and CITA Delivery (project execution). Services cover cloud migration, CRM implementation, GDPR compliance, document/records management, Office 365 deployment, and web analytics. Charities pay small administration fees scaled by income; registration and volunteering are free.

Product overview

Charity IT Association (CITA) is not a technology product company; it is a nonprofit organization that connects charities with volunteer IT professionals. CITA provides three levels of IT consultancy services: CITA Review (assessment), CITA Advisory (consultancy), and CITA Delivery (project execution). These services are delivered pro bono by vetted volunteers, with charities paying a small administration fee scaled by their annual income. The organization also publishes educational blog content on technology topics relevant to charities, including cloud computing, CRM systems, cybersecurity, AI, and fundraising tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CITA Review An introductory IT assessment service for UK charities, providing a structured review of their technology needs. Priced at £75 for charities with income under £50k and £150 for charities with income over £50k.
• CITA Advisory IT consultancy service providing UK charities with independent, vendor-neutral advice on technology strategy, cloud, CRM, GDPR, and other technology decisions. Priced at £100 for charities with income under £50k and £200 for charities with income over £50k.
• CITA Delivery Full project delivery service in which CITA IT volunteers execute technology projects for UK charities, including cloud migration, CRM implementation, Office 365 deployment, and document/records management. Priced at £125 for charities with income under £50k and £250 for charities with income over £50k.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £2.4 million in consultancy costs saved for charities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BoxxecoreTechnology or IntegrationBoxxe is a leading provider of IT solutions and services to public and corporate sectors, bringing together services and technologies that solve business problems. Listed as a key partner providing technology solutions and services to charities.
• New Dawn RiskminorOthersNew Dawn Risk is a specialist in all lines of liability insurance and related specialty classes of business, established in 2008 in London.
• Lloyds Bank FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with small and local charities across England and Wales, helping people overcome complex social issues. An independent charitable trust funded by the profits of Lloyds Banking Group.
• AbilityNetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports anyone living with any disability or impairment to use technology to achieve their goals at home, at work, and in education. Listed as a key supporter of CITA.
• Charity DigitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with leading technology providers to deliver the UK's only software donation platform, Charity Digital Exchange.
• The FSIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA registered charity that supports the UK's vibrant small charity sector through the delivery of free advice and heavily subsidised training.
• MediaTrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorks in partnership with the media and creative industry to give marginalised groups and young people a stronger voice.
• NCVOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnites to champion the remarkable role of charities and volunteers by speaking up and supporting each other to make a bigger difference.
• RSI (Operational Research Society)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Operational Research Society promotes the use of scientific approach to the solution of problems in the management of complex systems.
• Reach VolunteeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilding a world where people come together to create a thriving, fair and sustainable society.
• WCIT (Worshipful Company of Information Technologists)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the livery companies of the City of London, with the earliest known charter from 1155 belonging to the Weavers' Company.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• NCVO: UK national umbrella body for the voluntary sector, providing policy, research and member services to charities. Comparable to CITA as a UK third-sector support organisation, though broader in scope and not focused specifically on IT volunteer matching.

Direct peers

• Reach Volunteering: UK charity that connects skilled professionals with nonprofits for board-level and skill-based volunteering. Comparable to CITA's volunteer matching motion in the UK charity sector and is itself listed as a core CITA partner.
• The FSI: UK registered charity that supports the small charity sector with free advice and subsidised training, including on technology, governance and operations. Comparable to CITA in targeting smaller UK charities and is listed as a core CITA sector partner.
• AbilityNet: UK charity that helps disabled people use digital technology at home, work and education, providing technology advice, assessments and resources to charities and end users. Comparable to CITA as a UK nonprofit delivering technology-related support services, with overlapping technical and partnership roles.
• Charity Digital: UK charity that runs the Charity Digital Exchange, a software donation platform for nonprofits, and provides technology advice and resources to charities. Directly comparable to CITA in the UK charity-tech support space and is listed as one of CITA's core sector partners.
• TechSoup (Candid): Candid (formerly TechSoup Global) is the leading global nonprofit technology assistance organisation, providing donated software, capacity-building resources and tech advice to NGOs. It is comparable to CITA as a sector-wide charity-IT intermediary, although operating at materially larger scale and global scope.

Others

• Boxxe: UK provider of IT solutions and services to public-sector and corporate clients, and listed core technology partner of CITA. It is comparable to CITA as an IT services channel serving UK third-sector customers, but operates as a commercial vendor rather than a volunteer-based intermediary.

Regional players

• SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations): Scotland's national umbrella body for the voluntary sector, providing advice, training and support to Scottish charities. Comparable to CITA's UK charity-support mission but confined to Scotland and broader than IT-specific services.

Emerging players

• CAST (Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology): UK charity helping nonprofits and social enterprises use digital, data and technology to increase their impact. Comparable to CITA's mission of enabling charities to adopt technology, but with a different delivery model focused on programmes and partnerships rather than volunteer matching.
• NetHope: Global nonprofit consortium of leading international NGOs and technology partners that delivers technology solutions and capacity-building to the humanitarian and development sector. Comparable to CITA in bridging technology expertise with nonprofit demand, but operating internationally and at larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/charityithelp
• Facebookfacebook.com/CharityIThelp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charity-it-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Charity IT Association (CITA)