NORTH DOWN COMMUNITY NETWORK

What NORTH DOWN COMMUNITY NETWORK does

North Down Community Network (NDCN) is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee (Charity Number XR37170; Company No. NI050662), founded in 1999 and headquartered at 5 Castle Park Road, Bangor, Co. Down, Northern Ireland. It operates as a community infrastructure organization serving as the focal point for the community and voluntary sector across the North Down area, supporting a network of 59 member groups ranging from volunteer-run local organizations to larger established charities. The organization is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of member-group representatives and independent members, and employs a core staff team of approximately 8 led by Manager Louise Spence (with the organization since 2012).

NDCN delivers its mission through three core service pillars. The community development pillar provides infrastructure support to member groups, including Charity Commission registration, Access NI checks, governance and financial management training, and funding-application assistance. The youth development pillar is anchored by the DICE Futures Project (established c. 2014 with initial National Lottery funding) and DICE Connections, together running six weekly youth clubs serving approximately 110 young people aged 10-15 across areas of deprivation including Bloomfield, Breezemount, Clandeboye, Whitehill, and Conlig. The health and wellbeing pillar delivers a weekly programme of activities (yoga, dancing, walking, creative writing, community cafés, mums & tots sessions, and a Women Who Win programme), supplemented by signposting to housing, benefits, and energy services. Service delivery occurs through the NDCN Resource Centre, the Wellbeing Centre on Main Street, and embedded outreach via five partner Community Associations.

The underlying technology is standard nonprofit IT infrastructure: MailChimp for the fortnightly ezine, SurveyMonkey for surveys, Google Analytics for website analytics, and internal financial management systems; no proprietary software, AI capabilities, or platform architecture are disclosed. The business model is non-commercial: NDCN is funded primarily through statutory grants (notably from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Health and Social Care, North Down Borough Council) and non-statutory grants (The National Lottery Fund, Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, Direct Funding Centre), with no publicly disclosed pricing. In fiscal year 2024-2025 the organization reported total income of £3,792,916 against expenditure of £3,532,635, carrying a fund balance of £1,627,477 as of March 2025, and reached 5,928 people for support, 6,000+ attendees at activities, and secured over £80,000 in additional funding for member Community Associations.

Name

NORTH DOWN COMMUNITY NETWORK

Legal name

North Down Community Network

Website

https://ndcn.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

North Down Community Network (NDCN) is a Bangor, Northern Ireland-based charity and community infrastructure organization supporting 59 member groups and residents across North Down through community development, youth (DICE Futures), and health & wellbeing programmes funded by statutory and lottery grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangor

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Statutory Funding: Core funding from government and statutory bodies including NIHE (Northern Ireland Housing Executive) and other public sector funders. This represents the primary revenue stream for operations.
2. Non-statutory/Grant Funding: Funding from foundations and lottery programs including The National Lottery Fund for specific projects like DICE Futures. Restricted funding for designated programmes.
3. Membership Services: Support services provided to member groups including training, governance support, and capacity building. Organization has 59 member groups.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

North Down Community Network (NDCN) provides infrastructure support, governance training, capacity building, and funding assistance to 59 community and voluntary member groups across North Down in Northern Ireland. The organisation also delivers direct community programmes including the DICE Futures youth development project serving approximately 110 young people aged 10-15 weekly across 6 youth clubs, a Health & Wellbeing programme of weekly community classes, and signposting services connecting residents to local support.

Product overview

North Down Community Network (NDCN) operates as a community infrastructure organization offering a unified set of support services rather than a traditional product platform. The organization provides community development support, youth development programs (including the DICE Futures Project), health and wellbeing activities, skills training, and information sharing services. These services are delivered through direct support, group programs, and digital content (such as the Community Matters Podcast), with the goal of enhancing quality of life for people in North Down by supporting, coordinating and representing community and voluntary groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DICE Futures Project: Youth development programme providing safe, welcoming spaces where young people aged 10-15 can have fun, build confidence and feel valued. Runs six youth clubs each week engaging around 110 young people weekly.
• DICE Connections

Products and services

• Community Development Support Infrastructure support for local community groups to succeed and connect, including Charity Commission registration, Access NI checks, good governance training, funding and sustainability support. For community groups and small charities in North Down.
• DICE Futures Project Youth development project supporting young people aged 10-15 to develop new skills, build confidence, self-esteem and empower them to take on new challenges through 6 Youth Clubs, Young Leader Programme, educational support and health and wellbeing programmes.
• Health & Wellbeing Activities

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,928 people reached for support in 2024-2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Community Development Networks ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collective where urban community networks work collaboratively to respond to shared challenges and meet varying needs of communities they serve.
• Breezemount Community AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of 5 community associations receiving intensive support. Volunteer-led charity in marginalized area.
• Bloomfield Community AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of 5 community associations receiving intensive support. Volunteer-led charity in marginalized area.
• Whitehill Community AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of 5 community associations receiving intensive support. Volunteer-led charity in marginalized area.
• Clandeboye Community AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of 5 community associations receiving intensive support. Volunteer-led charity in marginalized area.
• Conlig Community AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of 5 community associations receiving intensive support. Newly established club in Conlig through DICE.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations): Scotland's national umbrella for the voluntary sector. Comparable to NICVA in the Scottish context; relevant as an institutional peer showing the scale and operations typical of a national community/voluntary infrastructure body.
• Barnardo's Northern Ireland: Large UK children's charity with a significant NI footprint running youth clubs, mentoring, and family support programmes. Comparable to NDCN's DICE Futures youth model but at much larger national scale.
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): UK-wide umbrella body for the voluntary sector providing policy, advocacy, and research support. NDCN sits at the local layer of the same national infrastructure NCVO represents at the national level.

Direct peers

• Locality: National UK network supporting community organisations with capacity building, governance, funding support, and skills training. Directly comparable to NDCN's member-group support function with a UK-wide but community-led model.
• Rural Community Network NI: Northern Ireland community network supporting rural communities and voluntary groups with infrastructure, training, and advocacy. Directly comparable to NDCN's role in North Down but with a rural geographic remit.
• NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action): Northern Ireland's umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector. NDCN operates as a local infrastructure body within the same ecosystem NICVA coordinates regionally, providing analogous capacity-building, governance, and funding support to member charities.
• Groundwork UK: UK-wide federation of community development charities supporting local groups, delivering health and wellbeing programmes, and running youth and environmental initiatives. Closest national analogue to NDCN's integrated community/youth/health model.

Others

• Community Development Finance Association (CDFA): UK body representing community development finance institutions. Adjacent to NDCN's funding-access support role for community groups, though focused on capital rather than grant funding.

Regional players

• Clanrye Group: Newry-based social enterprise providing learning, employability, and community development services in Northern Ireland. Comparable NI-based community-facing organisation with overlapping health, training, and youth functions.
• Greater Shankill Partnership: Belfast-based community development partnership supporting a defined area of deprivation with member groups, youth programmes, and health initiatives. Direct analogue to NDCN but addressing a Belfast neighbourhood rather than North Down.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NDownCommunityNetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-down-community-network

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 NORTH DOWN COMMUNITY NETWORK