Welcome Churches

What Welcome Churches does

Welcome Churches is a UK registered charity (charity number 1177344) founded in 2018 that equips churches across the United Kingdom to welcome refugees and people seeking asylum. Its core operational unit is the Welcome Network, a network of more than 1,410 member churches (up from approximately 1,371 in the prior reporting period) that deliver training, pastoral support, advocacy resources, and short-term hosting to newcomers. The organisation has formalised its onboarding pathway through the Refugee Welcome Journey Strategy and convenes a Refugee Advisory Panel to embed lived experience into programme design.

The charity operates a portfolio of branded sub-programmes targeting distinct beneficiary cohorts and use cases. UKHK serves Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders, Welcome Homes provides accommodation pathways in partnership with NACCOM, and Find Your Welcome is a multilingual digital front door offering content in at least eight languages with a dedicated youth section. The technology stack is built on standard SaaS tooling (Salesforce for CRM, Mailchimp for email, Squarespace for web) across four distinct web properties; there is no proprietary platform or AI component evidenced. Strategic partnerships include a joint initiative with Redeeming Our Communities called 'Finding the Peace'.

Welcome Churches is funded entirely by donations, grants, and fundraising events, and delivers all services free of charge to churches and beneficiaries. For FY2024-25, total income was £405,526. Revenue mechanics are therefore non-commercial: growth depends on grant cycles, donor cultivation, and the capacity of the church network to absorb new host and welcome activity, rather than on a pricing model or per-unit transaction.

Name

Welcome Churches

Legal name

Welcome Churches

Website

https://welcomechurches.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Welcome Churches is a UK charity that equips a network of 1,410+ churches to welcome refugees and asylum seekers through training, hosting, and multilingual resources, funded by donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Religious Organizations (813110), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Humanitarian Newcomer Orientation (Resettlement Support) (EDAAADAI), Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL), Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Refugee resettlement services
• Church network programs
• Asylum seeker support
• Community integration training
• Faith-based refugee welcome

Headquarters

HQ city

West Derby

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Giving: Welcome Churches receives donations from individuals, churches, and grant-making trusts. The Mission Partners programme provides regular giving opportunities for supporters. The organization participated in the Big Give campaign for fundraising.
2. Events and Sales: Revenue generated through events including the annual Welcome Conference, Churches Connect Days, and sales of resources and materials.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Welcome Churches is a UK-registered charity that mobilizes and equips local churches to welcome refugees and asylum seekers. It operates the Welcome Network of 1,410 churches, provides training and resources (Welcome Course, Coordinator and Welcomer training, multilingual materials), runs a referral system connecting refugees to churches, delivers the Welcome Homes hosting and accommodation initiative, and maintains the Find Your Welcome multilingual information site. All services are provided free of charge to refugees and churches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Welcome Network A nationwide coalition of UK churches (1,410 participating churches) that provides welcome, training, resources, and referral connections to support refugees and asylum seekers in their local communities. Membership is free to churches.
• Welcome Plus An enhanced training programme within the Welcome Network offering additional preparation and resources for churches (86 participating churches) to provide a warm welcome to local refugees and people seeking asylum.
• Welcome Homes A hosting and accommodation programme operated in partnership with NACCOM that connects refugees and asylum seekers with hosts for short-term stays and with socially minded landlords for longer-term housing solutions across the UK.
• Find Your Welcome A multilingual website providing essential information about life in the UK for refugees and asylum seekers, available in Arabic, English, Farsi, French, Pashto, Spanish, Tigrinya, and Ukrainian, with a dedicated youth section launched in September 2024.
• UKHK A programme supporting Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders settling in the UK, connecting them with local churches and providing information about UK life.
• Welcome Course A structured training course provided to churches and volunteers to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to welcome refugees and asylum seekers.
• Welcome Conference An annual conference for churches, volunteers, supporters, and partners focused on refugee welcome, with the next edition scheduled for 16-17 October 2026.
• Love the Stranger Podcast A podcast featuring stories of Christians and churches welcoming refugees and asylum seekers, distributed on Spotify, Apple Music, and other podcast platforms.
• Mission Partners A regular giving programme that enables individuals and churches to provide sustained financial support to Welcome Churches, serving as the charity's primary recurring donation channel.
• Finding the Peace A joint initiative launched in August 2024 with Redeeming Our Communities (ROC) that promotes healing and reconciliation in UK communities affected by unrest and anti-immigration rhetoric through listening and relationship-building.
• Churches Connect Days Regional in-person events and online gatherings that equip churches with knowledge, resources, and community connection to welcome refugees and asylum seekers (234 participants at seven in-person events and 469 attendees at 11 online meetings reported in FY2024-25).

Quantifiable outcome

• 22,905 refugees welcomed by a church in the last 12 months
• +3 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

Integration12 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Refugee Advisory PanelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024A panel of 12 leaders from refugee and host church backgrounds representing communities from Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Hong Kong, and Ethiopia. The panel helps shape Welcome Churches' response to key challenges around integration, discipleship, and leadership development.
• Redeeming Our Communities (ROC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024Finding the Peace is a joint initiative by Welcome Churches and ROC launched in August 2024 to promote healing and reconciliation in communities affected by unrest and anti-immigration rhetoric, through listening and relationship-building.
• NACCOM (The No Accommodation Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWelcome Homes partners with NACCOM to connect people with local hosting programmes. Based on what hosts can offer and current need in their area, Welcome Homes connects individuals with appropriate hosting schemes for refugees.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Church Army: Anglican missionary organisation running community engagement, social action, and evangelism programmes across the UK. Comparable as a UK faith-based community-services charity; broader mission than refugee-specific work.
• Caritas UK / Caritas Social Action Network: Catholic charity network in England and Wales supporting vulnerable people including refugees and asylum seekers through parish-based social action. Comparable faith-based, community-rooted UK refugee support model with overlapping values and constituencies.
• Tearfund: Large UK evangelical Christian relief and development agency. Comparable as a UK faith-rooted humanitarian organisation, though Tearfund operates at much greater scale internationally rather than community-mobilising churches domestically.
• Refugee Action: UK charity delivering frontline refugee support including advice, advocacy, and integration services. Comparable as a UK-wide refugee support provider; more focused on direct service delivery than church mobilisation.
• Refugee Council: One of the largest UK refugee support organisations, providing direct advice, advocacy, and resettlement services. Comparable as a UK refugee-services counterpart; broader and more institutionalised than Welcome Churches' church-network model.

Direct peers

• Jesuit Refugee Service UK: UK arm of an international Catholic faith-based organisation serving refugees and asylum seekers through detention visiting, hosting, and advocacy. Comparable faith-motivated refugee welcome and integration work in the UK.
• Asylum Welcome: Oxford-based charity welcoming and supporting asylum seekers and refugees in Oxfordshire with befriending, housing, and integration services. Comparable grassroots refugee-welcome charity model in a defined UK geography.
• City of Sanctuary: UK-wide charity that streams, resources, and advocates for cities, towns, and communities (including churches) to welcome refugees and asylum seekers. Most directly comparable peer: similar grassroots/network-based UK refugee welcome model with a focus on community mobilisation.
• NACCOM (No Accommodation Network): UK network of accommodation providers for refugees and people seeking asylum. Already a strategic partner of Welcome Churches through the Welcome Homes programme; comparable mission around safe accommodation for refugees.

Regional players

• Scottish Refugee Council: Scotland-focused refugee charity delivering advice, integration, and community engagement programmes. Comparable mission and beneficiary population, but operates exclusively in Scotland rather than across the rest of the UK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WelcomeChurches
• Facebookfacebook.com/WelcomeChurches
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/welcome-churches

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 Welcome Churches