CATTs - Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties

What CATTs - Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties does

CATTs (Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties) is a UK-registered charity (Charity number 1170750) founded in 2014 by James Adams and friends at the University of Manchester, focused on cancer awareness and early-detection education for young people aged 15-29. The organization addresses a demographic that mainstream cancer charities often underserve, delivering peer-led awareness content through workshops, university teams, ambassador programs, and e-learning modules. Its signature workshop programs include "Check Yourself Out" and "Sun Sex & Suspicious Moles," targeting symptom recognition and skin-cancer awareness respectively.

The charity's core products are educational and community-based rather than technology-driven. Delivery relies on standard virtual platforms (Microsoft Teams, Zoom) for remote workshops and basic interactive features in e-learning modules. The 9+ university teams function as volunteer-led delivery units, and an ambassador program is under development to extend reach. There is no proprietary technology stack or AI/ML component evident in the available data.

The business model is a typical UK charity funding mix: NHS grants (notably NHS Salford CCG in 2020 and NHS North East London Cancer Alliance in 2023), corporate partnerships (Sofology from 2019), and individual donations. The organization operates with a small team of 1-10 employees based in Manchester, serving a UK-wide audience with concentration in the university-aged segment. As of 2023, CATTs reported reaching 2,500+ students through its programming.

Name

CATTs - Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties

Legal name

Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties

Website

https://wearecatts.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CATTs is a UK-registered charity that delivers cancer awareness workshops, university teams, and e-learning for young people aged 15-29. It operates from Manchester with NHS grants, corporate partnerships, and donations funding peer-led education programs across the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Education and Cancer Awareness Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Cancer awareness education
• Youth health workshops
• Cancer prevention programs
• Community health education
• Charity health services

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester, Greater Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations from supporters. The website accepts monetary donations and encourages supporters to donate their time, skills, or spare money.
2. Fundraising activities: Community fundraising events including challenge events, put on events, virtual fundraising campaigns like The Great CATTs Climb.
3. NHS funding grants: Funded by NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group (Innovation Fund) and NHS North East London Cancer Alliance to deliver cancer awareness workshops to young people.
4. Corporate partnerships: Sofology charity partnership where 12 North Central region stores fundraise for CATTs and staff provide workshops.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CATTs is a UK-registered charity that delivers free cancer awareness workshops to young people aged 15-29 across schools, universities, community groups, and workplaces. Core workshop programmes include "Check Yourself Out" (signs, symptoms, and self-examination) and "Sun, Sex & Suspicious Moles" (risk factors such as HPV and sun safety). The organization operates a network of university student societies (Uni Teams) and partners with NHS bodies (Salford CCG, North East London Cancer Alliance) and corporate partners such as Sofology to fund and deliver its programmes.

Product overview

CATTs is a UK-based charity offering cancer awareness education services primarily through workshops for young people aged 15-29. The core offerings include two main workshop programmes: 'Check Yourself Out' (covering signs, symptoms, and self-examination) and 'Sun, Sex & Suspicious Moles' (covering risk factors). Services are delivered to schools, community groups, workplaces, and universities across the UK. The organization operates university teams (student societies) at multiple institutions and provides fundraising support. Workshops are available in-person or virtually via Microsoft Teams/Zoom, with options for E-Learning and activity workbooks. The organization partners with NHS Salford CCG and NHS North East London Cancer Alliance for workshop delivery in specific regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 young people diagnosed with cancer every day in the UK (ages 15-29)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NHS North East London Cancer AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with NHS North East London Cancer Alliance to deliver free cancer awareness workshops to high schools in Barking & Dagenham, City of London, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. In 2023, workshops reached over 2,500 students.
• NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020In early 2020, NHS Salford CCG granted funding through their Innovation Fund to provide cancer awareness workshops to young people aged 15-29 in Salford. CATTs hired dedicated staff to deliver workshops in schools, colleges, youth groups, and community settings including LGBTQ+, SEN schools, young homeless, refugees and travellers.
• SofologycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019In late 2019, CATTs was chosen as Sofology's charity partner for 12 stores in the North Central region (Blackburn, Bolton, Chester, Doncaster, Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Oldham, Preston, Southport, Speke, Warrington). Customers can round up purchases to donate to CATTs. In return, CATTs provides cancer awareness workshops for Sofology staff.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Bowel Cancer UK: UK charity dedicated to bowel cancer awareness, screening, and early diagnosis. Comparable awareness-education focus and NHS-aligned operating environment, but focused on a single cancer type and an older demographic than CATTs.

Direct peers

• CoppaFeel!: UK charity focused on breast cancer awareness in young people, with school and university education programs. Highly comparable to CATTs in target demographic (young people), educational workshop delivery model, and cancer early-detection mission.
• Trekstock: UK charity supporting young adults aged 18-35 affected by cancer, with health, wellbeing, and education programs. Comparable demographic, UK base, and mission to empower young adults around cancer, though slightly older age cohort.
• Young Lives vs Cancer: UK charity (formerly CLIC Sargent) supporting children and young people with cancer and their families. Overlap in demographic and UK cancer-awareness mission, with broader remit including financial and clinical support.
• Teenage Cancer Trust: UK charity dedicated to young people aged 13-24 with cancer, including education and awareness components. Directly comparable demographic focus and UK NHS-aligned operating model, though more weighted toward treatment and specialist nursing.

Broad incumbents

• Macmillan Cancer Support: Major UK cancer charity providing information, support, and awareness services across all age groups. Overlaps with CATTs in cancer signs-and-symptoms education, though Macmillan serves all ages rather than specializing in 15-29.
• Cancer Research UK: Largest UK cancer charity, funding research and running nationwide awareness and education campaigns. Significantly larger and broader in scope, but operates in the same cancer-awareness-for-young-people space with overlapping educational content and NHS relationships.
• Movember Foundation: Global men's health charity running awareness and fundraising campaigns around prostate and testicular cancer. Comparable in cancer-awareness mission targeting younger male audiences, but operates at much larger global scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/WeAreCATTs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCoJIg0fbV7IPTOJuo6PV4tQ/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/WeAreCATTs
• Instagraminstagram.com/wearecatts_
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wearecatts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 CATTs - Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties