The Children’s Foundation

What The Children’s Foundation does

The Children's Foundation is an independent UK children's charity founded in 1990 in Newcastle upon Tyne, established in response to the North East having the worst child health outcomes in England according to the 1990 'Health of the Nation' government report. The charity operates a portfolio of early-years, mental health, and physical health programmes for vulnerable children and young people from birth to age 18 in the North East, delivered under a 'Making Serious Stuff Fun' methodology. It employs 1-10 staff, occupies a small office within the Sir James Spence Institute of Child Health (a building it helped fund and gifted to the NHS), and receives no statutory funding.

The organisation's core programmes include the Baby Box Project (launched 2023, 3,000+ developmental boxes delivered to first-time families across seven North East local authority areas via NHS health visitor and midwife referrals), Toddling On community café (Gateshead Family Hub), Story Chair hospital storytelling sessions (Queen Elizabeth Gateshead and South Tyneside), the Children's Community Allotment, Fuzzy Subjects school mental health workshops, Couch to 2K fitness, and Roots to Health City & Guilds horticulture training. The Baby Box programme carries an NIHR-evaluated evidence base (May 2024) and has been cited in the North East Combined Authority Child Poverty Action Plan and by Barnardo's as best practice.

Revenue is generated through individual donations (Shopify storefront, £5-£1,000 tiers with Gift Aid), corporate partnerships and sponsorship (Encirc, Murtek, Tesco Stronger Starts, Asda, Little Waitrose), grant funding from charitable trusts (Frazer Trust, Cratchit Foundation, Barbour Foundation, St Cuthbert's) and regional authorities, and event-based fundraising (Newcastle 10k, Great North Run). In 2025 the charity established TCF Trading Ltd, a wholly-owned trading subsidiary, to commercialise corporate Baby Box employee schemes. Distribution is community-led via NHS referrals and local authority family hubs; there is no technology platform or product distribution beyond the Shopify donation storefront.

Name

The Children’s Foundation

Legal name

The Children's Foundation

Website

https://thechildrensfoundation.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Children's Foundation is an independent UK children's charity founded in 1990 in Newcastle, delivering early-years, mental health and physical health programmes for vulnerable children and young people in the North East of England through NHS referrals, local authority family hubs, and a network of corporate and grant-funder partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children and Family Charitable Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Engagement & Take-Home Learning Materials (Home Packs, Parent Guides) (EDACAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH), Health Education & Parent Coaching (Sleep, Safety, Illness Management) (EDACAMAN)

Keywords

• Children's charity services
• Early years intervention
• Baby box programme
• Youth mental health workshops
• Community family support

Headquarters

HQ city

England

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Online donations through Shopify storefront with preset amounts (£5-£1000) and Gift Aid option for UK taxpayers to reclaim 25% from HMRC. All donations go directly to supporting children and young people with no hidden admin fees.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partners sponsor events (e.g., Murtek £5,000 for Newcastle 10k), adopt charity of the year, or create bespoke employee benefits (e.g., Encirc's maternity/paternity Baby Box scheme). Partnership delivered through new trading arm TCF Trading Ltd.
3. Grant Funding: Funding from Local Authorities, North East Combined Authority, trusts (Frazer Trust, Cratchit Foundation, Barbour Foundation), and corporate foundations. Baby Box project funded via regional authorities.
4. Event Fundraising: Participation in mass participation events (Great North Run, Newcastle 10k) with charity places and sponsorship opportunities. Corporate team volunteering at charity projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Children's Foundation delivers a portfolio of community programmes supporting children and young people from birth to 18 in the North East of England. Its flagship Baby Box Project provides developmentally stimulating boxes containing books, toys, and essential baby items to first-time families referred via NHS health professionals, with over 3,000 boxes delivered since 2023. Complementary programmes include hospital-based storytelling (Story Chair), a stay-and-play community café (Toddling On), school mental health workshops (Fuzzy Subjects), one-to-one mentoring, fitness initiatives (Couch to 2K), and accredited horticultural training (Roots to Health).

Product overview

The Children's Foundation is a small independent children's charity founded in 1990, operating a portfolio of programmes focused on improving the health and well-being of children and young people from birth to 18 in the North East. Its primary offering is the Foundation Donations product — a charitable giving mechanism via its Shopify-powered store — which funds a suite of community programmes. Key programmes include the Baby Box Project (developmental baby boxes for first-time parents, 3,000+ delivered since 2023), the Toddling On Stay and Play Café (community café at Deckham Family Hub), the Story Chair Project (hospital-based storytelling sessions), the Children's Community Allotment (gardening and horticulture sessions), Fuzzy Subjects! (school mental health workshops), One to One Mentoring, Couch to 2K (fitness programme), and Holiday Trips. The charity also operates a trading subsidiary, TCF Trading Ltd, through which corporate partnerships are delivered. The overall approach is summarised as 'Making Serious Stuff Fun' across early years, mental health, and physical health pillars.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Baby Box: A developmental baby box program supporting babies in the North East with developmentally stimulating books, toys, and essential items for the first 1,001 critical days of life
• Toddling On
• Story Chair
• Fuzzy Subjects
• Couch to 2K
• Roots to Health
• TCF Trading Ltd

Products and services

• Baby Box Project A regional early-years intervention providing first-time parents in the North East with a developmental baby box containing stimulating books, toys, and baby essentials (changing mat, bath towel, first toothbrush). Delivered via NHS referral to families at booking appointments. Over 3,000 boxes delivered since its 2023 launch across Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and Hartlepool. The programme is recognised as one of the most robustly evidenced early years schemes in England, with formal NIHR evaluation (May 2024) finding 100% of parents reported feeling more confident and supported.
• Toddling On Stay and Play Café A community stay-and-play café based within Deckham Family Hub in Gateshead, offering families with young children (aged 0–5) a warm space to play, connect, and access low-cost developmental activities alongside a relaxed café environment. Forms part of the Foundation's early-years work supporting the first 1,001 critical days, delivered in partnership with Gateshead Council.
• Story Chair Project Weekly storytelling and craft activity sessions delivered by an expert storyteller (Tom) in hospital outpatient departments, currently operating at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gateshead and South Tyneside District Hospital Children's Day Unit. Sessions transform waiting areas into imaginative spaces, reducing boredom and anxiety for children and families awaiting appointments. Funded by the Barbour Foundation for expansion to South Tyneside.
• Children's Community Allotment Two allotment plots at Coxlodge allotments in Fawdon offering weekly drop-in sessions (April–October) with child-led gardening and craft activities, plus the 12-week Roots to Health project delivering a City & Guilds Level 1 Practical Horticulture qualification for young people. Referrals accepted from schools, community groups, and individuals.
• Fuzzy Subjects! Mental health workshops delivered in primary schools using fuzzy puppets as an engagement tool to increase awareness, understanding, and resilience around mental health and well-being in children and young people. Designed to make serious mental health topics accessible and engaging for primary-age children.
• One to One Mentoring Youth work team-delivered one-to-one support for young people referred by professionals or families. Young people set 2–3 goals in an initial referral meeting and are supported across 12 sessions to achieve them, with ongoing review throughout the engagement.
• Couch to 2K A 6-week fitness and well-being programme supporting young people to build up to a timed 2K run in a local park. Participants receive a Start Fitness voucher for sports clothing, a Fitbit watch, t-shirt, and medal. Referrals come from health professionals, schools, and families.
• Holiday Trips & Activities School holiday trips and visits for children and young people including water sports, garden visits, and other fun activities, designed to keep young people active and maintain social connections during school holiday periods.
• Foundation Donations A charitable donation product allowing supporters to contribute monetary amounts ranging from £5 to £1,000 via the charity's Shopify storefront, with a Gift Aid option to reclaim 25p per £1 from HMRC for UK taxpayers. Every donation is directed entirely to supporting children and young people in the North East with no hidden admin fees.
• TCF Trading Ltd Corporate Partnerships The trading arm of The Children's Foundation through which corporate partnerships are delivered, including bespoke mini-Baby Box schemes for employees on maternity/paternity leave (e.g. Encirc scheme covering 2,000+ employees across 5 sites), charity-of-the-year programmes, and event sponsorship packages. All proceeds are reinvested into the charity's wider work supporting children and young people in the North East.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of parents reported feeling more confident and supported after receiving a Baby Box (NIHR 2024 evaluation)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• North East Combined AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for Baby Box programme. Named Baby Boxes as central element of NECA's Child Poverty Action Plan. Mayor Kim McGuinness supporting the initiative regionally.
• North East Child Poverty CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCited Baby Box project as key recommendation in 'No Time To Wait' blueprint for tackling child poverty in the region.
• British Baby BoxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduct partnership delivering developmental Baby Boxes with focus on first 1,001 days of child life, early learning, reading, talking, counting and bonding.
• NHS Trusts (North East)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth visiting and midwifery teams from various NHS Trusts deliver Baby Box programme, referring families at booking appointments and providing relationship-based support.
• Stiller Warehousing and DistributioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLogistics partner supporting Baby Box distribution across the North East region.
• Gateshead CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Deckham Family Hub for Toddling On stay and play café. Councillor Bernadette Oliphant, cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing, welcomed the initiative.
• EncirccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal glass manufacturer (part of Vidrala Group) first corporate partner to offer bespoke mini Baby Boxes for employees on maternity/paternity across 5 sites. Partnership delivered through TCF Trading Ltd.
• Barnardo'scoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational children's charity cited The Children's Foundation Baby Box programme as best practice in major report on universal baby bundle provision.
• Belsay Hall, Castle & GardensminorOthersHosted Toddling On Baby Box Picnic event free of charge.
• North East & North Cumbria Core20PLUS5 for Children and Young PeopleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported oral health packs for families at Baby Box events.
• Tyne Bridge HarriersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organiser of Newcastle 10k event with RunThrough Events.
• RunThrough EventsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organiser of Newcastle 10k event with Tyne Bridge Harriers.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Home-Start UK: National UK family support charity that prepares volunteers to visit families with young children at home, addressing similar early-years, parental wellbeing and child development outcomes to The Children's Foundation, particularly via Baby Box and Toddling On programmes.
• Family Fund: UK charity providing grants to families raising disabled or seriously ill children; comparable as a national grant-giving and family support organisation, though its beneficiary focus is more specialised.
• Family Action: UK charity delivering practical, emotional and financial support to families and children, including early-years and perinatal services that closely parallel The Children's Foundation's Baby Box and family-hub work.

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: The UK's largest children's charity, which has cited The Children's Foundation Baby Box as a best-practice example for universal baby bundle provision. Comparable in mission (child welfare) but operates nationally at vastly larger scale.
• Action for Children: National UK charity supporting vulnerable children, young people and families through services including early-years and family support, comparable in target population and intervention type to The Children's Foundation but operating UK-wide.
• The Children's Society: National UK charity working with disadvantaged children and young people on issues including mental health and exploitation; addresses overlapping youth mental-health and wellbeing outcomes to The Children's Foundation's Fuzzy Subjects and mentoring programmes.
• NSPCC: Major UK children's charity focused on child protection and wellbeing; addresses overlapping child welfare and family support outcomes to The Children's Foundation but at national scale and with a safeguarding-led rather than developmental focus.

Others

• BBC Children in Need: UK grant-making charity funding children's projects across the UK; relevant as a potential funding source for The Children's Foundation rather than a direct competitor, with overlapping beneficiary mission.

Regional players

• Tiny Lives: North East England charity supporting premature and sick newborn babies and their families across the same geography as The Children's Foundation, with comparable early-years neonatal focus.
• Home-Start Northumberland: Local North East branch of the Home-Start network providing family support across Northumberland, one of The Children's Foundation's core operating local authorities, delivering comparable parent-and-early-years services in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tcfcharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thechildrensfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Children’s Foundation