Christian Solidarity Worldwide

What Christian Solidarity Worldwide does

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a UK-registered charity (no. 281836) founded in 1984 that operates as a specialist advocacy organization focused exclusively on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). It works in over 20 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America to defend religious minorities, support prisoners of conscience, and influence international policy. CSW maintains eight offices worldwide — London (headquarters, Surrey PO Box), Edinburgh, Brussels, Washington DC, Casper WY, Kaduna (Nigeria), Bogotá, and Mexico City — supporting advocacy with the UK Government, US Government, EU, African Union, and UN bodies.

CSW's product portfolio is a set of advocacy programs rather than technology products: the Connect & Encourage letter-writing program linking supporters to named religious prisoners; the Prayer Diary and quarterly Response magazine (weekly prayer email to 4,000+ subscribers); targeted Advocacy Campaigns on country-specific cases (Sudan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Myanmar, Colombia); Research Reports documenting FoRB violations; Media and Press Services; and a Volunteer Program. The technology stack is non-proprietary, relying on Engaging Networks for e-activism, JustGiving and Stripe for donation processing, and standard web/email channels for supporter engagement. UN accreditation obtained in 2017 enables direct participation in Human Rights Council sessions.

CSW is funded entirely through individual donations and Gift Aid claims on UK taxpayer contributions. It has no products or services for sale, no disclosed revenue figures, and no institutional grant-makers identified in the source material. Notable 2021–2025 advocacy outcomes include the Marks & Spencer Brand Commitment to Exit the Uyghur Region (January 2021), release of Professor Tarfa in Nigeria (January 2023), Pastor Nadarkhani in Iran (February 2023), Carmen and Lesbia in Nicaragua after 477 days (November 2025), and a UN Human Rights Council independent fact-finding mission for Sudan (October 2023). The organization is governed by a board of trustees and led by Founder President Mervyn Thomas, with senior leadership including Head of Advocacy Anna Lee Stangl, UN Officer Claire Denman, and Press and Public Affairs Team Leader Kiri Kankhwende.

Name

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Legal name

Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Website

https://csw.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is a UK-registered charity founded in 1984 that advocates globally for freedom of religion or belief, supporting religious prisoners of conscience and lobbying the UN, UK, US, EU, and African Union on FoRB violations across 20+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations (BPAGAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Religious freedom advocacy
• Human rights NGO
• International advocacy
• Faith-based nonprofit
• Prisoner letter writing

Headquarters

HQ city

New Malden

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: CSW receives donations from individual supporters worldwide. They process donations through JustGiving and Stripe platforms.
2. Gift Aid: As a UK registered charity, CSW claims gift aid on eligible donations from UK taxpayers, enhancing the value of contributions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is a Christian human rights organization that defends and promotes freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for people facing discrimination, harassment, or persecution because of their religion or belief. It works in over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America through research, advocacy campaigns, parliamentary and UN lobbying, letter-writing programs for prisoners of conscience, and mobilization of individual supporters.

Product overview

CSW operates as a human rights NGO focused on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) advocacy. Rather than a unified technology product, CSW offers a portfolio of programs: Connect & Encourage (prisoner letter-writing), Prayer Diary/Response Magazine (spiritual mobilization), Advocacy Campaigns (targeted actions), Research Reports (documented violations), Media Services, and Volunteer Programs. These interconnected programs work together to raise awareness, mobilize supporters, and create change for religious minorities facing persecution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Connect & Encourage A letter-writing program connecting supporters with religious prisoners, their families, and targeted individuals across multiple countries including China, Mexico, Nicaragua, Vietnam, and Cuba.
• Prayer Diary and Response Magazine Weekly prayer email updates distributed to over 4,000 subscribers, plus a quarterly Response newsletter and Prayer Diary available digitally or by post to support spiritual mobilization for FoRB.
• Advocacy Campaigns Action-driven campaigns addressing specific FoRB violations, including Colombia religious leader protections, Sudan RSF support, Nicaraguan pastor imprisonment, Myanmar military sanctions, and Cuban political prisoners.
• Research Reports In-depth country reports and briefings documenting FoRB violations, including comprehensive reports on China and Xinjiang detentions, plus rapid-response briefings on specific cases and emerging situations.
• Media and Press Services Press release distribution, interview coordination, and media engagement on FoRB issues through a dedicated Press and Public Affairs Team led by Kiri Kankhwende.
• Volunteer Program Volunteer opportunities across advocacy, churches, fundraising, and communications teams, with flexible roles including Spanish-speaking advocacy for Latin America work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Marks & Spencer became the first top-tier global retailer to sign the Brand Commitment to Exit the Uyghur Region (January 2021)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Coalition to End Uyghur Forced LabourcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSW is a member of the Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour, a coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions united to end state-sponsored forced labour and human rights abuses against people from the Uyghur Region. Over 180 organizations have endorsed the Coalition's 'Call to Action'.
• Marks & SpencerminorOthersM&S became the first top-tier global retailer to sign the Brand Commitment to Exit the Uyghur Region as a result of CSW's campaigning and coalition pressure.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Open Doors: Open Doors is a UK- and globally-active Christian advocacy and aid organization supporting persecuted Christians in over 60 countries. It is the closest direct peer to CSW given overlapping FoRB mission, supporter-driven funding model, prayer mobilization, and Western advocacy footprint.
• Aid to the Church in Need: Aid to the Church in Need is a Catholic pontifical charity focused on persecuted Christians and religious minorities worldwide. It shares CSW's religious-freedom advocacy mission, country-level casework, and Western donor-base funding model.
• ADF International: ADF International is a global faith-based legal advocacy organization active at UN, EU, and national levels on religious freedom and FoRB cases. It is a direct peer in legal and policy advocacy though more litigation-oriented than CSW's campaign approach.
• Barnabas Fund: Barnabas Fund is a UK-registered Christian charity providing aid and advocacy for persecuted Christians, with country-specific programs in many of the same jurisdictions CSW covers (China, Iran, Cuba, Pakistan). The two organizations operate comparable church-supporter-driven fundraising models.
• Voice of the Martyrs: Voice of the Martyrs is a US-anchored persecuted-church advocacy organization with letter-writing programs (parallel to CSW's Connect & Encourage), country reports, and prayer-driven grassroots mobilization comparable to CSW's model.
• International Christian Concern: ICC is a US-based Christian human rights organization focused on persecuted Christians, with country-specific reporting, advocacy campaigns, and prisoner casework that closely mirror CSW's portfolio.

Emerging players

• Religious Freedom Institute: Religious Freedom Institute is a US-based think tank producing research and policy advocacy on FoRB comparable to CSW's research outputs. It overlaps in mission and methodology but lacks CSW's grass-roots mobilization and country-specific casework focus.
• Article 18: Article 18 is a UK-based FoRB-focused advocacy organization working on similar country cases (Iran, Pakistan, China, Cuba). It is a smaller emerging peer operating in a directly overlapping thematic and geographic niche.
• Jubilee Campaign: Jubilee Campaign is a US- and UK-active faith-based human rights organization advocating for persecuted Christians through the UN and US/UK governments, with direct overlap on country cases (Iran, Sudan, Cuba, Eritrea) and on parliamentary engagement with FoRB.

Broad incumbents

• Human Rights Watch: Human Rights Watch is a much larger secular human rights organization with global research, country reporting, and UN/government advocacy. It is a broad incumbent in the overlapping FoRB space though its mandate extends well beyond religious freedom and it lacks CSW's supporter-driven mobilization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/csw_uk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/christiansolidarity
• Facebookfacebook.com/cswuk
• Instagraminstagram.com/csw_uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/christian-solidarity-worldwide

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Christian Solidarity Worldwide