What National Benevolent Charity does

The National Benevolent Charity is a UK registered charity (No. 212450), incorporated by Royal Charter since 1859 and founded in 1808 by Peter Hervé. Originally established to provide pensions to those unable to work due to age or illness, the charity refocused in 2012 on one-off grants to individuals and, since 2019, also makes grants to organisations. It operates a dual-track model: (i) Hardship Grants of £150–£1,000 (average £379) to individuals in poverty or financial hardship, and (ii) the Improving Lives Fund offering unrestricted £7,500 Main Grants and £2,000 Small Grants to charitable organisations relieving poverty. Geographic focus is South West England — Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Swindon — though partnered campaigns extend UK-wide.

The charity runs no proprietary technology. All individual hardship applications are submitted through the third-party Lightning Reach portal, which uses Open Banking integration to verify applicants' bank statements and matches users to over 2,500 UK grant schemes. Grants are commonly disbursed as e-vouchers via Select Rewards. The go-to-market mixes direct-to-consumer hardship applications (often via support-worker referrals from Citizens Advice, housing officers, social workers, GPs, and charity workers) with a two-stage sales-led process for organisational grants (online application followed by a virtual grants-panel meeting). Time-limited collaborative programmes include RISE (with Fear Free/Albert Hunt Trust), the 'Home is Where the Harm is' campaign (with Crowdfunder, Lightning Reach, Cash Perks, and British Airways), and the 2026 Community Futures Partnership Pilot.

Funding comes from donations and private/legacy income. A distinctive operating model feature is that private income covers all running costs, guaranteeing that 100% of donations flow directly to grants. In 2024, NBC processed 1,203 hardship applications (715 awarded), spent £424K on 43 organisational grants reaching 1,157 beneficiaries, and operates with a lean team of 4 paid staff supported by 6 trustees. The charity holds membership in the Association of Charitable Organisations (ACO) and Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF), won ACO's Commercial Collaboration of the Year Award in 2025, and is pursuing a merger with the Henderson Bequest to expand its beneficiary scope.

Name

National Benevolent Charity

Legal name

The National Benevolent Charity

Website

https://natben.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1808

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Benevolent Charity is a UK Royal Charter charity providing hardship grants (£150–£1,000) to individuals in poverty and unrestricted grants (£2,000–£7,500) to poverty-relief organisations, primarily across South West England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Grant-Making

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Individual and Family Services (6241), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Income Support & Cash Assistance Programs (BPAIAKAE), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Hardship grants
• Poverty relief funding
• Charitable grants
• Organisational grants
• Financial assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Cheltenham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Private Income: Charity relies on donations and private income to fund operations. Every donated penny is guaranteed to be used for grants to individuals or organisations, as the charity has private income to cover running costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The National Benevolent Charity provides hardship grants of £150–£1,000 to individuals living in poverty or financial hardship (average award £379) and unrestricted organisational grants (£2,000 small grants and £7,500 main grants under the Improving Lives Fund) to charities working to relieve poverty in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Swindon. The charity operates time-limited collaborative programmes such as the RISE Programme (supporting survivors of domestic abuse with grants up to £1,000) and is funded entirely by donations and private income, with private income specifically covering all running costs so 100% of donations are passed through as grants.

Product overview

The National Benevolent Charity operates two core grant-giving products: (1) Hardship Grants for individuals — small grants (£150–£1,000) for people in poverty or financial hardship in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Swindon, funding essentials like white goods, household items, food, clothing, and debts; and (2) the Improving Lives Fund for organisations — unrestricted grants (£7,500 main grants, £2,000 small grants) to charities working to relieve poverty. The charity also runs several time-limited collaborative programmes including the RISE Programme (domestic abuse survivor support), Home is Where the Harm is Campaign (emergency cash grants), and the Community Futures Partnership Pilot (combined grant-making model). All individual applications are processed through the Lightning Reach portal. The Hardship Grants average award is £379.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hardship Grants (Individual Grants) Small grants of £150–£1,000 (average award £379) for adults aged 18+ in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Swindon who are experiencing poverty or financial hardship, with UK citizenship or Indefinite Leave to Remain and receiving all entitled state benefits. Funds white goods, household goods, food, clothing, floor coverings, utility and priority debts, bankruptcy costs, training, or work tools.
• Improving Lives Fund (Grants for Organisations) Unrestricted grants programme offering up to 30 Main Grants of £7,500 (one-year) and up to 10 Small Grants of £2,000 (one-off) to not-for-profit organisations and charities working to relieve poverty in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire & Swindon, with Bristol continuing to support its existing 15 partner organisations. Preference for frontline and grassroots organisations.
• RISE Programme Partnership programme with Fear Free offering survivors of domestic abuse financial grants of up to £1,000 to support education, training, or employment goals, alongside coaching.
• Community Futures Partnership Pilot Pilot programme with 10 preselected local organisations across Bristol, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire & Swindon that combines unrestricted organisational grants with ring-fenced hardship funds to test integrated grant-making approaches.
• Barzilai Foundation Partnership Grants Co-funded grant programme supporting individuals across the UK whose lives have been derailed by challenges beyond their control, covering essentials such as food, clothing, white goods, basic household items, and priority debts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 715 grants awarded to individuals in 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• Fear FreecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Fear Free runs the RISE programme supporting survivors of domestic abuse with coaching and financial support into education, training, or employment. NBC processes grants of up to £1,000 as part of this programme. Programme launched September 2024, due to run until 2027.
• CrowdfunderkeyGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2024Partner in the 'Home is Where the Harm Is' campaign providing fast access to cash grants for domestic abuse victims. Campaign launched June 2024 during Euros. 262 grants of £200 made between 2024-2025.
• Lightning ReachcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2024Free secure online portal for NBC grant applications. Lightning Reach matches users to over 2,500 schemes from charities, organisations, and councils across UK. NBC is one of partner charities on the platform.
• Cash PerkskeyGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2024Partner in the 'Home is Where the Harm Is' campaign offering fast access to cash grants for domestic abuse victims across the UK.
• Quartet Community FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides secretariat for Bristol Funders Network, an informal group of local and national funders meeting every 6 weeks chaired by NBC.
• Barnwood TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrently hosts the Gloucestershire Funders Network until March 2026, a collaboration between charitable foundations and organisations providing funding for not-for-profit organisations.
• Association of Charitable Organisations (ACO)minorOthersMembership body for charities providing financial and wellbeing support to individuals. Offers knowledge sharing, collaboration, benchmarking opportunities, and best practice across the Network.
• Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF)minorOthersLeading membership association for foundations and independent grant-makers in UK. Supports foundations to achieve excellent practices, advance diversity, equity and inclusion, and strengthen connections across the sector.
• Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNBC is one of over 140 UK Grantmakers that has made eight commitments to funding charities in an open and trusting way as part of IVAR's Open and Trusting initiative, which has shaped the Improving Lives Fund for organisations.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Locality: UK membership organisation supporting community-led organisations, including grassroots charities and social enterprises. Comparable as a supporter of local poverty-relief organisations in the same operational space; relevant peer for NBC's organisational grantmaking portfolio.
• Citizens Advice: National network providing free advice on debt, benefits, housing, and employment. NBC's hardship grants require a referral/supporting statement from advice workers including Citizens Advice; Chair of NBC's Welfare Committee is a Citizens Advice volunteer. Comparable as a frontline poverty support entity, though focused on advice rather than direct grantmaking.

Direct peers

• Turn2Us: UK poverty-fighting charity helping people access financial support through grants, benefits, and debt advice. Directly comparable mission of relieving individual financial hardship; NBC itself links to Turn2Us from its website as a complementary resource for applicants.
• Buttle UK: UK charity providing small grants to individuals and families in crisis, including administration of the BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme. Directly comparable grantmaking model focused on essentials like white goods, clothing, and household items; trustee Hazel Sewell previously managed this programme at Buttle UK.
• Quartet Community Foundation: Regional grantmaking foundation serving the West of England (Bristol, Bath, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire). Directly comparable as a local grantmaking intermediary; provides the secretariat for the Bristol Funders Network, which NBC chairs.
• Barnwood Trust: Gloucestershire-based charity providing grants and support to disabled people and their families. Comparable as a regional grantmaking charity in NBC's geography; currently hosts the Gloucestershire Funders Network until March 2026 in partnership with NBC.
• Albert Hunt Trust: Small UK grantmaking trust providing hardship grants and emergency financial assistance to individuals. Directly comparable as a co-funder of NBC's RISE programme for domestic abuse survivors, with overlapping grantmaking scope and beneficiary type.
• Barzilai Foundation: UK-registered grantmaking charity supporting individuals facing hardship. Directly comparable as a partner funder — Barzilai supported NBC to make 80 grants to individuals in 2025 for essentials (food, clothing, white goods, priority debts), the same use cases NBC's own grants cover.

Others

• Association of Charitable Organisations (ACO): UK membership body for charities providing financial and wellbeing support to individuals. NBC is a member and won the ACO's Commercial Collaboration of the Year Award 2025; not a direct competitor but a peer cohort of similar grantmaking charities.

Broad incumbents

• Guinness Partnership (Guinness Trust): Large UK housing and support charity providing accommodation and hardship support to vulnerable people. Comparable in mission of assisting those in financial hardship and housing need, but operates at much larger scale and across broader geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-national-benevolent-charity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Benevolent Charity