Name

Acts Trust

Legal name

Acts Trust

Website

https://actstrust.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Charity Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Individual and Family Services (6241), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Assistance & Benefits Navigation Services (BPAGAEAK)

Keywords

• Community poverty support
• Food bank services
• Mental health cafés
• Youth work programmes
• Community grocery

Headquarters

HQ city

Lincoln

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Acts Trust relies heavily on donations from individuals, including one-off and monthly recurring donations. The donation page accepts contributions via Enthuse platform.
2. Business Sponsorship: Businesses can sponsor Acts Trust through annual or regular financial donations, associating their brand with specific projects, providing volunteer days, and receiving co-branding opportunities.
3. Legacy Giving: Individuals can leave a legacy gift to Acts Trust in their will, providing long-term financial sustainability.
4. Community Grocery Membership: Community Grocery charges £5 annual membership, with shoppers paying £4-£12.50 per shop. Revenue supplements operational costs while keeping food affordable.
5. Charity Events: Acts Trust raises funds through annual events including a Charity Ball (raised over £8,000 in 2025) and community fundraising events.
6. Government and Trust Funding: Acts Trust receives grant funding from Lincoln Town Deal (£226,000 for Beaumont Manor), Garfield Weston Foundation (£20,000 grant), Benefact Trust, and other institutional funders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Acts Trust is a registered charity operating in Lincoln and Lincolnshire that delivers a wrap-around portfolio of community services: Lincoln Foodbank (emergency food aid), Night Light Cafés (evening non-clinical mental health support), Daylight/Restore (adult empowerment, budgeting, money coaching, job support), Energize (youth work in schools and communities), and Lincoln Community Grocery (affordable food shops). These services are interconnected so beneficiaries can move from crisis support to long-term empowerment through a single organisation.

Product overview

Acts Trust operates a portfolio of interconnected charitable services focused on empowering people to end poverty in Lincoln. The core offerings include Lincoln Foodbank (emergency food aid), Energize (youth services), Daylight (adult empowerment, formerly Restore Programme), Night Light Cafes (evening mental health support), and Lincoln Community Grocery (affordable food access). These services are designed to work together holistically - Night Light provides immediate evening support for mental health crises while Daylight offers daytime pathways to long-term empowerment through skills training, budgeting, and job support. The Restore software platform connects hundreds of partner organisations to refer individuals to appropriate services, ensuring no wrong door for those seeking help.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lincoln Foodbank Provides emergency food aid and operates a waste food supermarket to support individuals and families across Lincoln facing food poverty. Distributed 887 food parcels in Jan-Feb 2023, up from 554 in the same period in 2022.
• Energize Youth work services delivered into schools and local communities across Lincoln, providing youth clubs, holiday schemes (including HAF for those eligible for free school meals), sports, creative workshops, mentoring, and trips for young people aged 8-18.
• Daylight (formerly Restore Programme) Empowerment programme for adults 18+ providing well-being sessions, budgeting skills, money coaching, and job support, plus the Slow Cooker Course added in 2024. Functions as the daytime complement to Night Light Cafés.
• Night Light Cafés Safe, non-clinical mental health support spaces operating evenings for those experiencing mental health crises, loneliness, or finding life difficult. Staffed by trained volunteers providing listening services and signposting advice.
• Lincoln Community Grocery Provides affordable food shops (£4-£12.50 per visit) for those struggling to make ends meet, with £5 annual membership. Operated from Beaumont Manor in partnership with The Message Trust. Includes the Alive Café and free support courses.
• Lincoln Against Poverty Collaborative citywide strategy coordinated by Acts Trust to address systemic poverty in Lincoln through public, private, and community sector partnerships.
• Cook & Craft with Kemi Cooking on a budget programme teaching practical recipes and life skills, delivered in partnership with Mint Lane Wellbeing Hub.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18% reduction in foodbank signposting referrals in 2024 vs 2023, indicating a holistic approach is breaking the cycle of food insecurity
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of Lincoln CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025City of Lincoln Council, through the Be Lincoln Town Deal, provided £226,000 for the renovation of Beaumont Manor as home for Lincoln Community Grocery. The Town Deal is a £19 million government fund for Lincoln's economic regeneration. The council also provides support for the Lincoln Against Poverty strategy.
• Mint Lane Wellbeing HubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Acts Trust partnered with Mint Lane Wellbeing Hub to deliver Cook with Kemi sessions on alternate Tuesdays, expanding the reach of budgeting cooking courses beyond Beaumont Manor.
• Alive Church Lincoln CentralcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Alive Church Lincoln Central hosts the Butterflies women's community group and partners with Acts Trust for various community events. Alive Church also runs the Alive Café within Beaumont Manor.
• Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023A Night Light Café was launched on BGU campus in partnership with Alive Lincoln North Church and the Student Union. BGU provides physical space and promotes the café to students. Acts Trust provides trained volunteers and coordination. The Student Union CEO was involved in planning locations and times. Student Support Services invite Acts Trust to represent at mental health events.
• CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023A Twilight café pilot was launched in partnership with CAMHS, offering support to families of children and young people experiencing poor mental health. Young people are invited to the youth loft at Bridge Central while parents receive support downstairs. CAMHS workers are present for part of each session and deliver psychoeducation to parents.
• Gelder GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023Gelder Group completed the renovation and construction work at Beaumont Manor for the Lincoln Community Grocery Store.
• NHS Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Acts Trust is part of the NHS Mental Health Transformation programme, one of 12 early implementer sites in England. Night Light Cafés are embedded as a community mental health offer within the NHS transformation pathway. The programme creates new roles including peer support workers, Community Connectors, and Social Prescribing Link Workers who work with Acts Trust.
• The Trussell TrustminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Lincoln Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust network, participating in events such as the Trussell Trust Road Show. The Trussell Trust provides network support and standards for food banks across the UK.
• The Message TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2021Acts Trust operates Lincoln Community Grocery in partnership with The Message Trust, which manages the operational running of the grocery store. The partnership combines Acts Trust's community outreach with The Message Trust's enterprise expertise. Sam Hawthorne, Director of Enterprise at The Message Trust, stated the partnership enables helping more local families put food on their tables.
• Central Methodist ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Central Methodist Church on Lincoln High Street provided the pilot venue for Lincoln Community Grocery (Store of Stories) for its first year from October 2021, before the move to Beaumont Manor.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Trussell Trust: National UK foodbank network of which Lincoln Foodbank is a member franchise. Operates the same model of emergency food parcel distribution and participates in shared events (e.g., the Trussell Trust Road Show) that Acts Trust references.
• Oasis UK: UK charity running community hubs that integrate food aid, youth work, mental health support, and skills training under one roof. Closest analogue to Acts Trust's wraparound, multi-service hub model anchored at Beaumont Manor.
• Citizens Advice: UK's largest independent advice network providing free, confidential advice on benefits, debt, employment, and housing. Directly comparable to Acts Trust's Restore/Daylight money coaching, budgeting skills, and benefits navigation components.
• Home-Start UK: UK family support charity helping families with young children through volunteer-led, non-clinical support. Comparable in volunteer-powered model, focus on family crisis and empowerment pathways, and locally embedded delivery in communities like Lincoln.
• The Message Trust: Operates the Lincoln Community Grocery in partnership with Acts Trust and is a faith-based social enterprise running community grocery stores and youth work across the UK. Closest operational partner and a direct comparable on the community-grocery and youth work axes.
• FoodCycle: UK charity combining surplus food, community meals, and a friendly dining environment to address food poverty and loneliness. Highly comparable to Lincoln Community Grocery and Night Light Cafés in combining food access with mental health and social connection outcomes.

Others

• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): UK umbrella body representing the voluntary sector. Not a direct competitor but highly relevant as the sector body providing policy, infrastructure, and benchmarking that shapes operating conditions for charities of Acts Trust's size and type.

Emerging players

• Centrepoint: UK charity supporting young people facing homelessness through housing, health, and employability services. Comparable on the youth disadvantage and wraparound service design dimensions of Acts Trust's Energize programme, with stronger housing specialism.

Broad incumbents

• Mind: National mental health charity offering information, support, and local services across England and Wales. Broader and more established than Acts Trust, but comparable on the non-clinical mental health support and signposting that Night Light Cafés provide.

Regional players

• Lincolnshire Community Foundation: Regional grantmaking foundation covering Lincolnshire, working with local charities on poverty, mental health, and community resilience. Operates in the same geography and funder ecosystem as Acts Trust and a key local partner/funder.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ActsTrustLincoln
• Xx.com/actstrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/actstrust

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 Acts Trust