Who Cares? Scotland

What Who Cares? Scotland does

Who Cares? Scotland is a Scottish registered charity (SC 026076), founded in 1978 and headquartered in Glasgow, that operates as Scotland's only national independent membership organization for care experienced people — defined as children, young people, and adults who have been through foster care, residential care, adoption, kinship care, or other care arrangements. The organization is owned and governed by its care experienced membership, who set the agenda and drive the mission. Its core services include independent advocacy at statutory meetings and hearings, a national helpline (0330 107 7540), rights education through the 'Know Your Rights' programme, group activities across at least eight Scottish local authorities (Clydebank, Edinburgh, Dundee, Shetland, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, East Lothian, Paisley), and the dedicated Who Cares? Scotland Kids youth service. Adjacent offerings include Care Aware Training and Corporate Parenting Training delivered to schools and organizations, a membership programme with Family and Friends tiers, and a year-round event calendar that combines community-building (Care Day, Care Experienced Week, Summer Festival) with fundraising vehicles (Dundee and Edinburgh Kiltwalks, Scottish 10K, Scottish Half Marathon, Great Scottish Run).

The business model is a hybrid nonprofit funding stack rather than a commercial revenue model. Core services to care experienced individuals are free; income is generated from donations via JustGiving (one-off and monthly), government and statutory grants from Scottish Local Authorities and funding partners, fee-based training programmes (Care Aware Training, Corporate Parenting Training), membership subscriptions, and event participation fees (e.g., Kiltwalk entry of £13-£20). Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: people are reached through self-referral, professional referral from social workers, teachers, and foster carers, word-of-mouth within the care community, and a referral pathway integrated with bodies such as the Children's Hearing System and Bairns Hoose. A PureGym partnership offers members aged 16+ a 50% discount plus £0 joining fee, functioning as a member-benefit rather than a revenue stream. The organization is actively campaigning for inclusion of a statutory right to lifelong independent advocacy in the Promise Bill, which would materially reshape its funding basis if enacted. In 2025 the organization underwent a coordinated leadership transition, with Kay McKerrell appointed Chief Executive (May 2026) and Michael Stewart appointed Chair of the Board (December 2025), succeeding Louise and Carmel Jacob respectively.

Name

Who Cares? Scotland

Legal name

Who Cares? Scotland

Website

https://whocaresscotland.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland's only national independent membership organization for care experienced people, founded in 1978, providing advocacy, a national helpline, rights education, training, and community events across Scotland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Care Experienced Advocacy and Support Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (624110), Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM), Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Independent advocacy services
• Care experienced support
• Membership organisation
• Helpline support services
• Corporate parenting training

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations received via JustGiving platform (one-off and monthly options). The organization states 'Every pound you give helps us support more people who have care experience.'
2. Fundraising Events: Revenue from event participation fees (e.g., Kiltwalk costs £13-20 depending on distance). The organization requests fundraisers cover entry fees first, with potential reimbursement from funds raised.
3. Government and Funder Grants: Core funding from Scottish Local Authorities and funding partners as stated in the footer: 'With thanks to Scottish Local Authorities, funding partners and donors who make our work possible.'
4. Training Services: Care Aware Training and Corporate Parenting Training provided to schools and organizations for a fee.
5. Membership: Membership program with Family members and Friends tiers. Members receive benefits including quarterly newsletter, birthday cards (Family members), event invitations, and PureGym discount.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Who Cares? Scotland provides independent advocacy, a national helpline, rights information, peer group participation, and youth programmes to care experienced people in Scotland, alongside paid training (Care Aware Training and Corporate Parenting Training) for schools and organisations. The organisation is membership-led, owned and governed by those with care experience, and is funded through donations, grants, fundraising events, and membership subscriptions.

Product overview

Who Cares? Scotland is a national membership organisation providing a coordinated suite of services for care experienced people. The core offerings include independent advocacy services, a dedicated helpline, rights information, group activities, and youth programmes. Supporting services include training programmes (Care Aware Training, Corporate Parenting Training), a resource library, and an annual events programme including Kiltwalk participation, running events, Summer Festival, Care Day, and Care Experienced Week. The membership programme provides additional benefits including partnerships such as PureGym discounts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Who Cares? Scotland Kids: Support services specifically for children who are care experienced
• Care Aware Training
• Corporate Parenting Training

Products and services

• Advocacy Services Independent advocacy services that help care experienced people have their voice heard in decisions affecting their lives, including representation at statutory meetings, hearings, and reviews.
• The Helpline Dedicated helpline (0330 107 7540) and email channel ([email protected]) providing nationwide access to support and information for care experienced people and those supporting them.
• Know Your Rights Information and resources helping care experienced people understand their legal rights and entitlements.
• Support from Corporate Parents Guidance and support to help corporate parents understand and fulfill their statutory responsibilities to care experienced people under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.
• Join a Group Regular in-person groups across Scotland bringing care experienced young people together for participation, peer connection, and community belonging.
• Who Cares? Scotland Kids Dedicated support services and activities designed specifically for younger care experienced children.
• Care Aware Training Training and resources for schools and organisations to create supportive environments for care experienced people, delivered on a fee basis.
• Corporate Parenting Training Training services for corporate parents to understand and meet their statutory obligations to care experienced individuals.
• Membership Programme National independent membership organisation offering Family members and Friends tiers with benefits including a quarterly newsletter (Family members), monthly newsletter (Friends), birthday cards, event invitations, and a 50% PureGym discount plus £0 joining fee for members aged 16+.

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

One partnership is on record.

• PureGymminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPureGym partnership offers an exclusive 50% discount plus £0 joining fee to Who Cares? Scotland members aged 16+. This partnership provides health and fitness benefits to members as part of the membership value proposition.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The Children's Society: UK-wide charity supporting disadvantaged children including those with care experience, providing advocacy and participation services. Comparable advocacy model and beneficiary focus, but with broader national scope and additional service lines.
• Catch22: UK social business delivering services for vulnerable children, young people, and adults including care leavers. Comparable in advocacy and support services but operates as a larger social enterprise with broader beneficiary populations.
• NSPCC Scotland: Scottish arm of the UK's child protection charity, providing safeguarding services, helplines, and advocacy. Comparable advocacy and helpline services but operates as part of a UK-wide organization with a broader child protection remit.
• Barnardo's Scotland: Scotland arm of the UK's largest children's charity, offering fostering, adoption, and advocacy services across Scotland. Comparable mission and beneficiary base, but operates as part of a much broader UK-wide portfolio.
• Action for Children Scotland: UK-wide children's charity delivering fostering, residential care, and family support with Scottish operations. Comparable in beneficiary focus but significantly larger and broader in scope.

Direct peers

• Aberlour Child Care Trust: Scottish charity delivering residential care, family support, and disability services for vulnerable children and families. Comparable Scotland-wide footprint and overlapping care-experienced population focus.
• Become: UK charity supporting children in care and care leavers, formed from the merger of Voice and Become. Directly comparable mission focused on advocacy and rights for care-experienced young people across the UK.
• Children 1st: Scottish children's charity providing family support, advocacy, and child welfare services across Scotland. Most directly comparable peer as a Scotland-headquartered organization delivering overlapping advocacy and support services for children and families in difficulty.

Regional players

• Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum: Scotland-wide forum supporting throughcare and aftercare services for care leavers. Comparable in Scotland-specific focus on care-experienced young people and policy advocacy, but operates as a membership/forum structure rather than direct service delivery.

Emerging players

• CELCIS (Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection): Scotland-based centre of academic-practice expertise for children's care and protection, hosted at the University of Strathclyde. Comparable in policy advocacy and care-experienced focus but operates as a research and practice-improvement hub rather than direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/WhoCaresScot
• YouTubevimeo.com/whocaresscot
• Facebookfacebook.com/WhoCaresScotland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/who-cares-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/whocaresscotland
• TikToktiktok.com/@whocaresscotland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Who Cares? Scotland