Little Heroes
Little Heroes is a Northern Ireland-registered charity (NI 102447) that raises funds to provide medical equipment, comfort items, and family support exclusively for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, via donations, challenge events, and corporate partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersBelfast, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Little Heroes does
Little Heroes is a registered Northern Ireland charity (NI 102447) founded in 1997 that operates exclusively as the fundraising and support arm for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. The organisation is headquartered on the third floor of the hospital at 180 Falls Road, Belfast, and is run by a six-person team. Its core function is converting community goodwill into medical equipment, comfort items, family experiences, and direct patient-family support for the paediatric hospital, with the Super Little Heroes Appeal acting as the flagship equipment-fundraising campaign targeting items such as rapid infusers, gastro scopes, portable ultrasound devices, high-flow oxygen systems, neurophysiology diagnostic kits, and PICU simulation tools. A dedicated funding application service is offered exclusively to RBHSC staff.
The business model is purely donation-driven with four principal revenue streams: voluntary individual donations (processed via Stripe, Enthuse, and JustGiving), event-based fundraising where participants pay entry fees and commit to minimum fundraising targets (e.g., £40 entry and £600 minimum for skydives, £40 entry for abseils), corporate partnerships including Charity-of-the-Year relationships, employee fundraising, gifts in kind, matched giving and payroll giving, and grassroots community fundraising through coffee mornings, quiz nights, sponsored walks, and street collections. The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven, anchored on challenge events ranging from local abseils to international treks (Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, Machu Picchu, Sahara, Icelandic Lava, Dalai Lama Himalayan), running events, and skydives.
Operationally, the charity uses an integrated SaaS stack: Donorfy for CRM and supporter management, Mailchimp for email and SMS communications, Stripe and Enthuse for payment processing, JustGiving for peer-to-peer fundraising pages, and Google Analytics for web measurement. It holds UK Fundraising Regulator registration and is GDPR-compliant. Geographic reach is confined to Northern Ireland, with all fundraising activity ultimately directed back to the single beneficiary hospital.
Little Heroes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Little Heroes
- Legal name
- Little Heroes
- Website
- https://littleheroesni.org
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Little Heroes is a Northern Ireland-registered charity (NI 102447) that raises funds to provide medical equipment, comfort items, and family support exclusively for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, via donations, challenge events, and corporate partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Little Heroes industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pediatric Hospital Charity
- NAICS
- Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Child and Youth Services (62411)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Health, Prevention & Health Education (BPAGACAC)
Keywords
Where Little Heroes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Belfast
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Little Heroes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Voluntary donations from individuals via online donation platforms (Stripe, Enthuse), one-time or recurring gifts supporting the Super Little Heroes Appeal and general charity activities.
- Event-Based Fundraising: Participants pay entry fees and commit to fundraising targets for challenge events including skydives, treks, marathons, and abseils. Entry fees typically £40; participants asked to raise minimum targets (e.g., £600 for skydives).
- Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partnerships including employee fundraising, gifts in kind, Charity of the Year relationships, matched giving, and payroll giving programs.
- Community Fundraising: Grassroots fundraising through coffee mornings, quiz nights, sponsored walks, school fundraisers, and street collections organized by community supporters.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Skydive charity places with £40 entry fee and £600 minimum fundraising target |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Europa Hotel Abseil with £40 entry fee |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Little Heroes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Little Heroes is a registered Northern Ireland charity that raises funds to provide life-saving and life-changing medical equipment, comfort items, and family support services for children cared for at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. It operates fundraising campaigns (notably the Super Little Heroes Appeal), challenge events (skydives, abseils, marathons, treks), corporate and community fundraising programs, and a hospital staff funding application service, processing donations through Stripe and Enthuse and managing supporter relationships via Donorfy CRM.
Product overview
Little Heroes is a charity organization that operates as a unified fundraising and support service for The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. The organization does not offer a technology platform but provides a portfolio of services including the Super Little Heroes Appeal (a major equipment fundraising campaign), community and corporate fundraising programs with downloadable resources, volunteer management, and a range of challenge events (treks, runs, skydives, abseils). Hospital staff can apply for funding through a dedicated application service. The organization processes donations through Stripe and Enthuse platforms, manages supporter relationships via Donorfy CRM, and communicates through Mailchimp.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Super Little Heroes Appeal
Quantifiable outcome
- Life-saving and life-changing equipment funded including rapid infusers, gastro scopes, portable ultrasound devices, high-flow oxygen systems, diagnostic neurophysiology kit, and simulation tools for PICU
Companies that use Little Heroes
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Little Heroes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Little Heroes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Movie House CinemasminorLocal cinema venue that hosted private screening of Toy Story 5 for children cared for at the hospital and their families, providing normal, stress-free family time.
- Skydive IrelandcoreAdventure sports provider offering tandem skydives for charity participants. Participants book through Skydive Ireland and select Little Heroes as chosen charity, with charity receiving fundraising proceeds.
- Europa Hotel BelfastminorIconic Belfast building used for charity abseil events, allowing supporters to descend the building to raise funds.
- StripecorePayment processing platform used for online donations through the charity website.
- EnthusecoreFundraising and donation platform used for Super Little Heroes Appeal and event registrations.
- DonorfycoreCRM and supporter management system used to manage donor relationships and fundraising activities.
- MailchimpcoreEmail and SMS communication platform used for marketing communications, newsletters, and supporter engagement.
- JustGivingcoreOnline fundraising platform used by participants to create personal fundraising pages for challenge events.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Little Heroes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Donorfy: CRM and donor management platform used by Little Heroes and many similar small-to-mid UK charities. Included as a technology enabling peer shaping nonprofit fundraising infrastructure.
Broad incumbents
- Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent): UK charity supporting children with cancer and their families through social workers, financial grants, and hospital-based services. Overlaps in paediatric hospital family support and community fundraising events.
- Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity: UK-wide children's hospital charity funding equipment, research, and family services at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Comparable mission (funding paediatric hospital equipment and family support) but at significantly larger UK-wide scale.
Direct peers
- Children's Heartbeat Trust: Northern Ireland charity funding congenital heart disease treatment and equipment for children, including support at Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Closest direct peer — same beneficiary hospital, same paediatric fundraising focus, same NI geography.
- Northern Ireland Children's Hospice: NI-based children's palliative care charity offering respite, end-of-life care, and family support. Comparable in mission (children and family services), fundraising mix (events, community, corporate), and NI donor base.
- Cancer Fund for Children: Northern Ireland-based charity supporting children with cancer and their families through residential and community-based services, with strong overlap in paediatric family support and event-led fundraising model.
- Make-A-Wish UK: UK charity granting wishes to seriously ill children, with significant NI presence. Comparable fundraising tactics (challenge events, corporate partnerships, community collections) and paediatric beneficiary profile.
Emerging players
- Ronald McDonald House Charities UK: Operates home-away-from-home accommodation for families of sick children being treated at UK hospitals. Comparable mission of family-support services alongside paediatric hospital care.
Regional players
- Together for Short Lives: UK-wide charity supporting children's palliative care services and families. Adjacent in paediatric family support focus but operates at national advocacy scale rather than single-hospital equipment funding.
- TinyLife: Northern Ireland premature baby charity supporting neonatal care and family services, including at Royal Belfast Hospital. Direct overlap in NI paediatric hospital funding and family support programming.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Little Heroes social profiles
Digital presenceLittle Heroes compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Little Heroes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Little Heroes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Little Heroes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Little Heroes 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 Little Heroes
What does Little Heroes do?
Little Heroes is a registered Northern Ireland charity that raises funds to provide life-saving and life-changing medical equipment, comfort items, and family support services for children cared for at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. It operates fundraising campaigns (notably the Super Little Heroes Appeal), challenge events (skydives, abseils, marathons, treks), corporate and community fundraising programs, and a hospital staff funding application service, processing donations through Stripe and Enthuse and managing supporter relationships via Donorfy CRM.
Is Little Heroes a public or private company?
Little Heroes is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Little Heroes founded?
Little Heroes was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Little Heroes based?
Little Heroes is headquartered in Belfast, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Little Heroes make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are event-Based Fundraising, corporate Partnerships and community Fundraising.
Who are Little Heroes's main competitors?
Donorfy is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent) and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. Direct peers are Children's Heartbeat Trust, Northern Ireland Children's Hospice, Cancer Fund for Children and Make-A-Wish UK. Ronald McDonald House Charities UK is listed as an emerging player. Regional players are Together for Short Lives and TinyLife.
Does Little Heroes have an API?
No public API is recorded for Little Heroes.
What industry is Little Heroes in?
Little Heroes's product category is Pediatric Hospital Charity. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGACAC, Community Health, Prevention & Health Education. Its NAICS code is 813212 and its SIC code is 8300.