Rotherham Federation Of Communities Ltd

What Rotherham Federation Of Communities Ltd does

Rotherham Federation of Communities Ltd ("RotherFed") is a registered UK charitable company (Charity No: 1158600, Company No: 5913521) headquartered at Springwell Gardens Community Centre, Eastwood View, Rotherham, S65 1NH. Operating exclusively within the Rotherham Borough, the organisation functions as a federating body that supports grassroots community groups, tenants and residents, acting as a bridge between local communities, statutory partners (notably Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council), and voluntary-sector intermediaries such as Citizens Advice Rotherham and Rotherham United Community Trust. CEO Phil Hayes leads a small team of community organisers and projects officers who deliver services through door-knocking, community events, drop-in sessions, telephone befriending, and direct outreach to TARAs and other grassroot groups across the borough.

RotherFed's service portfolio comprises eight core programmes: Open Arms (community support hubs providing cost-of-living advice and signposting), Friendship Calls (telephone befriending for isolated individuals), Tenant Voice (tenant involvement, scrutiny, and engagement with Rotherham Council), Maltby Decides (community-led participatory grant-making), Energy Know How (energy cost advice), Rotherham Ripple Effect (community empowerment), Digital Support (digital inclusion training), and RotherSteps (health and wellbeing / physical activity). Underlying technology is non-proprietary and standard: Office 365 for internal operations, a WordPress-hosted website (www.rotherhamfederation.org), and Facebook, X, and Instagram accounts for outreach; no proprietary software, API, or platform product is developed or sold.

RotherFed operates a grant-funded, fee-free nonprofit model. Revenue derives almost entirely from charitable grants and statutory contracts — including £401,800 from the Big Lottery's Reaching Communities Fund (awarded April 2016 over 36 months), £285,000+ from The National Lottery Community Fund under its 'You Decide' programme (awarded June 2026 for Maltby Decides), £10,000 from Coalfields Regeneration (Thurcroft Luncheon Club, 2017), and £9,900 from Awards for All (Rotherham Deaf Futures, 2019). Resident-facing services are delivered free at point of use; the go-to-market is community-led, anchored on embedded community organisers, partner referrals, social media, and visible community events (e.g., the 1,100-attendee Maltby Community Festival and 1,500-attendee Swinton VE Day 80th Anniversary in May 2025).

Name

Rotherham Federation Of Communities Ltd

Legal name

Rotherham Federation Of Communities Ltd

Website

https://rotherhamfederation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rotherham Federation of Communities Ltd (RotherFed) is a registered UK charity supporting grassroots community groups, tenants, and isolated residents across the Rotherham Borough through community support hubs, telephone befriending, tenant engagement, and community-led grant-making, funded primarily by charitable grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Community development services
• Tenant engagement programmes
• Grant funding management
• Telephone befriending services
• Cost-of-living support

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotherham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant and Lottery Funding: Rotherham Federation operates as a charity relying almost entirely on grant funding from government bodies, lottery funds, and charitable foundations. Major grants include £285,000+ from The National Lottery Community Fund (Maltby Decides, 2026), £401,800 from Big Lottery's Reaching Communities Fund (Voices and Choices, 2016-2019), and £10,000 from Coalfields Regeneration (Thurcroft Luncheon Club). The organization does not appear to charge fees for its community services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rotherham Federation Of Communities Ltd (RotherFed) is a charitable company that supports and develops grassroots community groups and Tenant and Resident Associations across the Rotherham Borough. It delivers free programmes including Open Arms cost-of-living support hubs, Energy Know How advice, Tenant Voice engagement and scrutiny, Friendship Calls telephone befriending, Digital Support, RotherSteps wellbeing, and community-led grants programmes such as Maltby Decides. Services are delivered through community venues, outreach, and partnerships, funded entirely by grants and donations.

Product overview

Rotherham Federation Of Communities Ltd operates as a community support organization offering multiple interconnected service programmes. The core offerings include community support hubs (Open Arms), tenant engagement services (Tenant Voice), community grants management, digital support, and the Friendship Calls befriending service. Services are delivered across Rotherham Borough through partnerships with funders including The National Lottery Community Fund, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, and various charitable foundations. The organization focuses on strengthening communities, supporting grassroot community groups, and providing residents with voice and local solutions to local issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Open Arms: Community support hubs providing cost-of-living support, information, advice and signposting services.
• Energy Know How
• Rotherham Ripple Effect
• Maltby Decides
• Tenant Voice
• RotherSteps
• Community Voices and Choices

Products and services

• Open Arms Community Support Hubs Community support hubs providing cost-of-living advice, information, signposting, and support services to local residents in Rotherham, delivered in partnership with Citizens Advice Rotherham.
• Energy Know How Energy advice service helping communities understand and manage energy costs.
• Rotherham Ripple Effect Community empowerment programme supporting local residents to strengthen their communities.
• Maltby Decides Community-led grants programme enabling residents in Maltby to design and award small and medium grants to enhance local services, build skills and confidence, and strengthen community life, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund's 'You Decide' programme.
• Tenant Voice Programme enabling tenant involvement, scrutiny, and engagement in housing services across Rotherham, including a Tenant Connectors Pool, tenant scrutiny, group support, and digital support.
• Digital Support Digital literacy and technology support service helping residents develop skills to use online communication platforms and digital tools.
• Community Grants Programme Coordinated grants programme supporting Rotherham communities to grow and develop, including managing applications, assessments, monitoring, and resident-led grants panels.
• Friendship Calls Volunteer-led telephone befriending service connecting volunteers with isolated or lonely individuals in the community, providing regular friendship calls to combat social isolation; won the TPAS Excellence in Community Action Award in October 2021.
• Community Voices and Choices 36-month project adopting the Community Organiser approach to address lack of social capital, building community strength and empowerment in eight of Rotherham's most deprived communities, funded by £401,800 from the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund.
• RotherSteps Health and wellbeing project encouraging physical activity among Rotherham residents.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,100 people attended the Maltby Community Festival (May 2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Rotherham United Community TrustmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Rotherham United Community Trust partnered with RotherFed for the Maltby Community Festival (May 2025, 1,100+ attendees) and for the Swinton VE Day 80th Anniversary celebration (1,500 attendees), providing exciting activities to encourage community attendance.
• Flux Rotherham / Children's Capital of CulturemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Flux Rotherham (Children's Capital of Culture initiative) partnered with RotherFed for the Maltby Community Festival in May 2025, providing cultural activities and entertainment.
• Rotherham Heroes (pandemic volunteer programme)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Rotherham Heroes was a pandemic volunteer programme that recruited volunteers to deliver food and essentials to shielding residents. RotherFed partnered with this programme and recruited telephone befrienders from among its volunteers.
• Citizens Advice RotherhamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitizens Advice Rotherham is a key partner in the Open Arms project, providing advice and options at community sessions. RotherFed works closely with them to ensure joined-up support for residents affected by cost-of-living challenges. Also partners on the 'Making Our Money Go Further' project with referral pathways in place.
• Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRMBC is a key statutory partner. RotherFed holds contracts with RMBC for tenant involvement, building safety engagement sessions, and tenant scrutiny. RotherFed also works with RMBC on housing hubs, digital support, and community development across the borough.
• Early Help (RMBC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly Help services from RMBC partnered with RotherFed on community events including the Swinton VE Day 80th Anniversary celebration.
• Voluntary Action RotherhamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoluntary Action Rotherham is referenced as a partner in community engagement and collaboration, attending the Community Listening Event with RotherFed, local residents, and council members.
• Age UK RotherhamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAge UK Rotherham participated in the Community Listening Event alongside RotherFed, local residents, voluntary sector partners, and council representatives.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): The umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England. While NCVO operates at national advocacy and infrastructure scale, it is comparable as the sector reference point for small charities like RotherFed on governance, funding, and standards.
• Groundwork UK: A federation of Groundwork trusts delivering community regeneration, environmental, and youth programmes across England. Comparable community-organising model and local-authority partnership approach, but at significantly larger national scale.
• Locality: The UK's national membership federation for community-led organisations, supporting community centres and neighbourhood groups. Directly comparable to RotherFed's federating-body model for grassroots community groups, but operating at national rather than borough scale.
• Royal Voluntary Service: A major UK charity running volunteer-led services tackling loneliness and supporting NHS trusts. Directly comparable volunteer telephone-befriending proposition to RotherFed's Friendship Calls service, but at national scale.
• UK Community Foundations: A national network of 47 accredited community foundations distributing grants and running donor-advised programmes. Comparable participatory grantmaking model to RotherFed's Maltby Decides, but operating at network rather than single-borough scale.

Direct peers

• ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England): National umbrella for 38 rural community development charities supporting grassroots groups. Closely comparable federating structure and community-development mission, though focused on rural rather than urban borough geographies.
• Voluntary Action Rotherham: A Rotherham-based voluntary sector infrastructure body supporting local charities and community groups. Closest geographic peer — same borough, overlapping membership base, and shared partner ecosystem including RMBC.
• Power to Change: An independent trust supporting community businesses and grassroots organisations across England. Comparable focus on community empowerment and capacity building, with overlapping funder relationships (e.g., National Lottery).
• Citizens Advice Rotherham: A Rotherham-based advice charity and an explicit RotherFed partner on the Open Arms project. Comparable cost-of-living and welfare-advice service proposition for the same borough population.

Others

• Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES): A Manchester-based think-and-do tank focused on community wealth building and local economic resilience. Thematically aligned with RotherFed's community empowerment and tenant voice work, though operating as a policy/practice intermediary rather than direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/OfRotherham
• Facebookfacebook.com/rother.fed
• Instagraminstagram.com/rotherfed_
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rotherham-federation-of-communities

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Rotherham Federation Of Communities Ltd