Clowns in the Sky

Name

Clowns in the Sky

Legal name

Clowns in the Sky

Website

https://clownsinthesky.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Healthcare Charity Services

NAICS

Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713), All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Kids Party Entertainment (Clowns, Magicians, Characters) (HSACACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Entertainment Booking (Clowns, Characters, Princess Parties) (HSACAHAF), Circus, Magic & Variety Shows (THAJAFAH)

Keywords

• Pediatric cancer support
• Childhood brain tumours
• Hospital play programmes
• Charity fundraising events
• Family support grants

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Direct donations from individuals via JustGiving platform and cheque donations to support the charity's activities.
2. Corporate and Trust Funding: Grants and donations from charitable trusts (e.g., The Mark Benevolent Fund £29,600 grant), Freemasons, Rotary clubs, and corporate partners.
3. Event Fundraising: Revenue from ticket sales to events such as Winter Ball (£65 per person), plus individual fundraising pages for challenges like marathons, climbs, and athletic events.
4. Memorial and In-Memory Donations: Donations made in memory of deceased individuals, such as funeral donations (£1,092 from Colin Sayward's family).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Clowns in the Sky is a UK registered charity that provides free support services to children with brain tumours and their families. It supplies portable activity and sensory trolleys stocked with arts, crafts and sensory items to NHS hospital wards, available 24 hours a day, and currently operates 96 trolleys across 62 hospital sites. It also funds monthly children's entertainer sessions at 21 hospitals, author hospital visits, discretionary financial grants to families for travel and accommodation, and an annual donation to Brain Tumour Research.

Product overview

Clowns in the Sky is a UK registered charity (number 1105195) dedicated to supporting children with brain tumours and their families. The charity operates a portfolio of services centered on bringing smiles to poorly children through portable activity trolleys (providing arts, crafts, and sensory items 24/7 in hospitals), children's entertainer sessions (funding POD entertainer visits at 21 hospitals for 330 sessions annually), and author hospital visits. Additional services include discretionary family support grants for travel and accommodation costs, and annual donations to Brain Tumour Research. The charity's main fundraising vehicle is its annual Winter Ball event. All services aim to promote positive wellbeing through play and distraction for children undergoing brain tumour treatment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Portable Activity/Sensory Trolleys Portable activity and sensory trolleys provided to hospitals, containing arts, crafts and sensory items offering stimulation and play 24/7 for children too unwell to reach the playroom or when the playroom is closed. Currently 96 trolleys across 62 UK hospital sites (as of April 2026).
• Children's Entertainer Sessions Monthly one-to-two-hour children's entertainer visits funded by the charity and delivered via POD, bringing smiles and laughter to children in hospital. Provided free of charge at 21 NHS hospitals including Great Ormond Street, King's College, Royal Marsden, and Watford General.
• Author Hospital Visits Author visits to hospitals featuring storytimes and Q&A sessions in playrooms or at the bedside, with each child receiving a personalised signed book.
• Family Support Grants Discretionary financial grants available to British Citizens living in the UK to enhance quality of life for those affected by childhood brain tumours. Grants cover travel and accommodation costs for the sufferer or their immediate family carers.
• Brain Tumour Research Donations
• Winter Ball Annual Fundraising Gala Annual fundraising gala event at Ivy Hill Hotel, Margaretting, Essex, featuring dinner, entertainment, and dancing. Ticket sales generate primary revenue for the charity each year.
• Adopt A Trolley Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• 96+ trolleys in 62 hospital sites as of April 2026
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and significant.

• POD (Children's Charity)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPOD provides children's entertainers for hospital visits. Clowns in the Sky funds entertainer sessions at 21 hospitals, including Queen's Hospital Romford, Basildon, Southend, Princess Royal Farnborough, Great Ormond Street, King's College London, Royal Marsden Surrey, and Watford General. Entertainers include Skittleman, Gordon the magician, Dr Fidget, Dr Mischief, and Graeme.
• Brain Tumour ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClowns in the Sky makes an annual donation to Brain Tumour Research (Registered Charity No. 1153487) in the hope that more children and adults survive diagnosis and that one day a cure will be found.
• Big Yellow StorageminorOthersBig Yellow Eltham provides storage space for items sent out to over 67 hospital wards, helping the charity save costs.
• Storage MartminorOthersStorage Mart in Colchester generously gifted a storage unit to Clowns in the Sky until December 2021, saving the charity hundreds of pounds in storage costs.
• UK NHS HospitalscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner62 hospital sites across UK receive activity trolleys, entertainer visits, and author visits. Includes Great Ormond Street, King's College, Royal Marsden, and 58 other hospitals in England, Wales, and Scotland.
• Tony CotteesignificantOthersFormer West Ham and England football legend. Patron since 2011. Supported 12 of 13 Winter Ball evenings. Participated in Thurrock Cycle Marathon, hospital visits, and raises funds through golf auctions.
• Terry AldertonsignificantOthersComedian and Perrier award nominee. Patron since 2012. Raises awareness and funds including ITV appearance with wife Dee on Mr & Mrs, dragon boat race participation, and Winter Ball hosting.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• POD (Children's Charity): POD is a UK children's charity that supplies entertainers (magicians, clowns, musicians) to children's hospitals — directly comparable as Clowns in the Sky funds POD entertainer visits across 21 hospitals. They share the same beneficiaries and operating model.
• Theodora Children's Trust: Theodora sends professional performers (Giggle Doctors) into children's hospitals to provide playful distraction for sick children. Closely mirrors Clowns in the Sky's hospital entertainer programme with POD.
• Starlight Children's Foundation: Starlight is a UK charity that brightens the lives of seriously and terminally ill children through hospital entertainment, wishes, and distraction play programmes. Directly comparable in mission and beneficiary base to Clowns in the Sky's hospital entertainment work.

Broad incumbents

• Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent): Major UK cancer charity for children and young people, providing clinical, financial, and emotional support to families affected by childhood cancer. Comparable beneficiary base (UK families with childhood cancer diagnoses) but far larger scope and scale.
• Make-A-Wish UK: UK charity granting wishes to children with critical illnesses. Comparable in operating model (UK-registered charity supporting sick children) but with a much larger donor base and distinct wish-granting mission.
• Children in Need: BBC's flagship UK children's charity that historically funded Clowns in the Sky's trolley programme. A massive-scale incumbent operating in the same UK children's charity funding space, though broader in scope.
• The Brain Tumour Charity: The UK's largest dedicated brain tumour charity, funding research and support. Clowns in the Sky operates in the same brain tumour beneficiary space but focuses narrowly on play/entertainment support rather than research and clinical services.
• Together for Short Lives: UK charity for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, including brain tumours. Comparable beneficiary population and hospital-based support work, with a broader palliative and family-care focus.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities UK: Provides free home-away-from-home accommodation for families with sick children in hospital. Comparable beneficiary base (UK families with hospitalised children, including cancer patients) and overlapping NHS hospital partnerships.

Emerging players

• Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity: UK charity funding specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children. Overlaps with Clowns in the Sky's mission to improve the hospital experience for children with serious conditions, but with a clinical/nursing focus rather than entertainment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clowns-in-the-sky

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Clowns in the Sky