Raise Your Hands
Raise Your Hands is a UK charitable organisation founded in 2014 that connects corporate partners and individual donors with a curated portfolio of small charities serving children and young people, having directed over £4m across 16 charity partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Raise Your Hands does
Raise Your Hands is a UK-registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) operating in England and Wales, founded in 2014/2015, that functions as a curated intermediary between funders and small charities focused on children and young people. The organisation maintains a portfolio of 16 small, vetted charities and connects them with 24 corporate partners and individual donors, directing grants and donations to grassroots organisations that typically struggle to access corporate funding channels. Over a 10-year period, the charity has directed more than £4 million to its charity partners and supported 77,000+ children and young people in 2025 alone, representing a 41% year-over-year increase in beneficiaries reached.
The business model is donation intermediation rather than a technology product or SaaS offering. There is no disclosed technology platform, app, or proprietary tooling; the value proposition rests on the curation methodology used to select small charities, the trust-based brand with funders, and the operational overhead of brokering partnerships. The organisation runs with a lean team of 6 employees and is led by CEO Slaney Wright (Charity Commission records), with one external source citing Krista Cartlidge as CEO. A trading subsidiary, Raise Your Hands Limited, exists alongside the CIO, allowing commercial activity to be ring-fenced from charitable operations.
In 2025, the organisation received significant sector recognition, winning the UK Charity Awards (Children and Youth Category) and the National Lottery Awards (Best Voluntary Group/Charity Project), and being shortlisted for the Third Sector Awards Charity of the Year. The geographic footprint remains UK-only, and the supported charities are concentrated in the children and youth vertical rather than spanning broader causes.
Raise Your Hands firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Raise Your Hands
- Legal name
- Raise Your Hands
- Website
- https://raiseyourhands.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Raise Your Hands is a UK charitable organisation founded in 2014 that connects corporate partners and individual donors with a curated portfolio of small charities serving children and young people, having directed over £4m across 16 charity partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Raise Your Hands industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Charitable Giving Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD), Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF)
Keywords
Where Raise Your Hands is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Raise Your Hands business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and charitable giving facilitation: The organization facilitates donations from companies and individuals to its portfolio of small charities. Revenue appears to come from directing charitable funds rather than a traditional commercial model.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Raise Your Hands product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Raise Your Hands is a charitable intermediary that curates a portfolio of vetted, high-impact small UK charities focused on children and young people, then introduces companies and individuals to those charities to direct their charitable giving. The organization provides unique giving experiences and manages the relationship between funders and charities, having directed over £4 million to partner charities over 10 years. It operates as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with no commercial software product, functioning purely as a philanthropic connector.
Product overview
Raise Your Hands is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation that operates as a philanthropic platform connecting corporate partners and individuals with a curated portfolio of small UK charities focused on supporting children and young people. The organisation does not offer a commercial product or software service; rather, it functions as a charitable intermediary that identifies, vets, and introduces donors to high-impact small charities they would not discover independently. The platform provides charitable giving facilitation and experiences of giving, directing over £4 million to partner charities over ten years. The primary offering is the charity portfolio itself, supplemented by an annual Charity Insights Report documenting the impact of supported charities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Corporate Giving Programme Structured programme for companies to direct charitable giving to a curated portfolio of small UK charities with proven impact, including unique giving experiences and ongoing relationship management between the funder and partner charities.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over £4 million directed to charities over 10 years
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Raise Your Hands
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Raise Your Hands technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Raise Your Hands partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- 24 Corporate PartnerscoreCorporate partners who want to direct charitable giving to effective small UK charities. These companies work with Raise Your Hands to access a curated portfolio of vetted charities and provide unique giving experiences.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Raise Your Hands competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- UK Community Foundations: Network of place-based community foundations that aggregate funder money and deploy grants to local charities. Comparable as a grantmaking intermediary channeling donor funds to vetted grassroots nonprofits.
- Big Give: UK match-funding platform connecting donors to charities via curated campaigns, including a dedicated Christmas Challenge. Closest direct peer by online-giving-intermediation model and UK charity market focus.
- The Childhood Trust: London-based charity that funds and amplifies small charities working with children and young people. Direct peer in curating small UK youth charities and matching them to corporate and individual donors.
Broad incumbents
- Rank Foundation: UK grantmaking foundation supporting small charities and youth work through development grants and programmes. Comparable in funding youth-focused small charities, though it operates as a traditional foundation rather than a corporate matchmaker.
- Youth Endowment Fund: Government-backed £200m+ UK fund financing interventions to prevent youth violence. Comparable in deploying capital to youth-focused charities, though at significantly larger scale and with centralized grants rather than curated portfolio brokerage.
- City Bridge Foundation: One of London's largest grantmaking foundations, distributing charitable funds to community causes including youth work. Comparable as a UK-based grantmaking entity but with a broader funding mandate and larger scale.
- Charities Aid Foundation: Largest UK charitable giving intermediary, offering donor-advised funds, workplace giving, and grantmaking infrastructure. Most directly comparable by intermediation model, though it operates at much larger scale and breadth than Raise Your Hands.
Emerging players
- Founders Pledge: Global philanthropic platform that helps entrepreneurs and operators direct charitable giving to high-impact nonprofits. Comparable in helping funders identify and direct money to vetted, high-impact charities, though primarily US-focused.
Regional players
- Good Things Foundation: UK charity focused on digital inclusion, running corporate partnership and grant programs to support community organizations. Comparable funder-to-charity intermediation model with mission-driven curation.
- The Rank Foundation (Time to Shine): UK charity that supports small causes through volunteer-led grant panels and small-charity funding. Comparable in the "small charities champions" positioning, though it does not run a corporate partnership brokerage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Raise Your Hands social profiles
Digital presenceRaise Your Hands financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Raise Your Hands leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Raise Your Hands subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Raise Your Hands funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Raise Your Hands 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 Raise Your Hands
What does Raise Your Hands do?
Raise Your Hands is a charitable intermediary that curates a portfolio of vetted, high-impact small UK charities focused on children and young people, then introduces companies and individuals to those charities to direct their charitable giving. The organization provides unique giving experiences and manages the relationship between funders and charities, having directed over £4 million to partner charities over 10 years. It operates as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with no commercial software product, functioning purely as a philanthropic connector.
Is Raise Your Hands a public or private company?
Raise Your Hands is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Raise Your Hands founded?
Raise Your Hands was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Raise Your Hands based?
Raise Your Hands is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Raise Your Hands make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and charitable giving facilitation.
Who are Raise Your Hands's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are UK Community Foundations, Big Give and The Childhood Trust. Broad incumbents are Rank Foundation, Youth Endowment Fund, City Bridge Foundation and Charities Aid Foundation. Founders Pledge is listed as an emerging player. Regional players are Good Things Foundation and The Rank Foundation (Time to Shine).
Does Raise Your Hands have an API?
No public API is recorded for Raise Your Hands.
What industry is Raise Your Hands in?
Raise Your Hands's product category is Charitable Giving Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAE, Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAD, Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking). Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 8300.