The BIG Alliance

What The BIG Alliance does

The BIG Alliance is a UK non-profit charitable initiative founded in 2012 and operated as a project of East London Business Alliance (ELBA, registered charity number 1122173). It connects London-based businesses with communities in the London Borough of Islington through structured volunteering programmes, organised around three pillars: Mentoring Works (an education programme matching corporate volunteers with secondary and college students to prepare them for the world of work), Team Challenges (hands-on volunteering to maintain community gardens, city farms, parks, school grounds, and adventure playgrounds), and skills-based volunteering (CoRe, Strategic Solutions, BoardBuilders, Pro bono consultancy, and Leaders in Partnership coaching). The portfolio also includes frontline volunteering sub-products (Social Hubs, Digital Buddies, Conversational English, Time to Talk mental health workshops) and the Skills Builder Universal Framework is integrated into Mentoring Works to standardise outcomes reporting.

The organisation runs on a pure charitable funding model with no commercial revenue or fee-for-service pricing. It was founded and is principally funded by Islington Giving and the Macquarie Group Foundation, with Macquarie having committed over £750,000 since 2014 and chairing the BIG Alliance Forum. Operations are supported by an 11-person team based at 13 Elliott's Place, Islington, with technology limited to standard SaaS platforms (Squarespace, Mailchimp, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, Google Analytics, Cloudflare) — no proprietary technology products are developed. Named corporate partners include Macquarie Group, Expedia Group, Euromonitor International, MUFG, and Slaughter and May, alongside numerous Islington schools and community organisations.

The go-to-market is event-driven and relationship-led: corporate partners are recruited through direct outreach, presentations at partner events, and referrals from existing networks, with community organisations onboarded through established borough relationships. Three primary customer segments are served: corporate businesses seeking CSR and employee engagement opportunities, Islington-based community organisations and charities needing volunteer capacity and professional expertise, and students/young people seeking mentoring and employability support. In 2024/25, 2,451 volunteers were placed through Team Challenges, 103 through skills-based volunteering, and 268 (149 young people, 119 mentors) through Mentoring Works.

Name

The BIG Alliance

Legal name

East London Business Alliance

Website

https://thebigalliance.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The BIG Alliance is a UK non-profit charitable initiative that connects London businesses with Islington's communities through structured volunteering programmes — mentoring, team challenges, and skills-based volunteering — delivered at no cost via charitable funding from Macquarie Group Foundation and Islington Giving.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Community Investment and Employee Volunteering Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)

Keywords

• Community investment programmes
• Corporate volunteering services
• Employee engagement CSR
• School mentoring programmes
• Charitable skills-based volunteering

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Funding: BIG Alliance is a charitable organization funded by founding partners. The primary funding comes from Islington Giving (a poverty and isolation tackling campaign launched in September 2010) and Macquarie Group's philanthropic arm. Since 2014, Macquarie Group Foundation has committed over £750,000 to Islington Giving towards BIG Alliance operations. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but operates as a project delivered by ELBA (registered charity number 1122173).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The BIG Alliance is a charitable initiative that connects Islington-based businesses with local community organizations, schools and charities to deliver structured volunteering and community investment programmes. Its core offerings span school-to-work mentoring (Mentoring Works), hands-on team volunteering (Team Challenges), skills-based volunteering (CoRe, Strategic Solutions, BoardBuilders, Pro bono consultancy, Leaders in Partnership) and frontline volunteering with service users (Social Hubs, Digital Buddies, Conversational English, Time to Talk). All programmes are delivered free of charge to participants and are funded by charitable foundation grants.

Product overview

The BIG Alliance is a charitable organisation that connects businesses with Islington's communities to create positive social impact through volunteering programmes. The offering consists of a portfolio of programmes including Mentoring Works (flagship education/mentoring programme), Team Challenges (hands-on community volunteering), Skills-based volunteering (including CoRe, Strategic Solutions, BoardBuilders, Pro bono consultancy, and Leaders in Partnership coaching), and Frontline volunteering (direct engagement with community beneficiaries through Social Hubs, Digital Buddies, Conversational English, and Time to Talk mental health workshops). The programmes leverage the Skills Builder Universal Framework and are delivered in partnership with local businesses, schools, and community organisations across Islington.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mentoring Works Flagship education programme matching business volunteers with Islington students over an academic year, focused on preparing them for the world of work via mentoring sessions and the Skills Builder Universal Framework.
• Team Challenges Programme placing teams of business volunteers across Islington to create, maintain and improve community spaces including city farms, community gardens, parks, school grounds and adventure playgrounds.
• CoRe (Community Resourcing) Annual skills-based volunteering programme that analyses corporate volunteer skills and forms bespoke teams to help community partners address significant operational challenges in governance, branding, marketing, financial management and business planning.
• BoardBuilders (BoardMatch) Programme recruiting and placing experienced business professionals onto community organisation boards through BoardMatch events and trustee-readiness workshops.
• Strategic Solutions

Quantifiable outcome

• Since 2012, BIG Alliance has helped over 3,000 volunteers deliver over 18,000 hours of skilled support to charities and community groups.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Islington GivingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2012Islington Giving is a campaign to tackle poverty and isolation in Islington, launched in September 2010. It is a principal founder of BIG Alliance since June 2012, with its Director sitting on the Steering Group. BIG Alliance works closely with Islington Giving to identify priority needs and community organizations to work with. Founded in response to 'Invisible Islington: Living in Poverty in Inner London' report.
• East London Business Alliance (ELBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELBA has over 30 years of experience enabling partnerships between business and community. It delivers the BIG Alliance project as a registered charity (number 1122173). ELBA's mission is to create possibilities for positive change by channeling private sector resources to address community needs. Every year, ELBA helps hundreds into work, places thousands of business volunteers, and works with hundreds of local organizations.
• Expedia GroupmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerExpedia Group is a business partner participating in BIG Alliance programmes including Mentoring Works, Team Challenges, and skills-based volunteering. Expedia volunteers have shared career insights and participated in Month of Caring activities.
• Euromonitor InternationalmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerEuromonitor International is a business partner involved in Mentoring Works and Team Challenges. Their Global HR and CSR Director has participated in multiple programmes including Leaders in Partnership, Mentoring Works, and Time to Talk workshops. Euromonitor runs annual Community Week CSR activities.
• MUFGmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerMUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) is a business partner supporting BIG Alliance education and skills programmes. MUFG volunteers have delivered communications workshops to Fight for Peace Youth Council as part of their Laureus Sport for Good partnership.
• Slaughter and MaymajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSlaughter and May is a law firm that provides volunteer support for the CoRe programme, working alongside Macquarie Group volunteers to support community organizations with professional expertise.
• Skills Builder PartnershipmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBIG Alliance is a Trailblazer partner of the Skills Builder framework, having adopted the national Skills Builder Universal Framework into its Mentoring Works programme since 2020. The framework helps students build essential skills.
• Choices London CICminorGTM or Marketing PartnerChoices London CIC participated in a Strategic Solutions pro bono consulting sprint, receiving support from Macquarie Group volunteers on strategies to diversify and grow their income.

Scale indicators10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-big-alliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 The BIG Alliance