Stay Up Late

What Stay Up Late does

Stay Up Late is a UK-registered charity headquartered in Brighton, founded in 2008, that enables adults with learning disabilities and autistic people to lead active social lives. It operates two core befriending programmes: Gig Buddies (launched 2013), which pairs volunteers with beneficiaries to attend mainstream events such as concerts, and Sports Buddies (launched July 2021), which pairs volunteers around shared sport and exercise activities. The charity also runs the Stay Up Late advocacy campaign, anchored by the #NoBedtimes initiative and the Manifesto for an Ordinary Life, and an annual Quality Checker programme that uses people with lived experience to assess supported living services. Its technology stack is minimal: a website built on standard CMS tooling, Stripe for donation processing, Cloudflare for bot management, and reference to Salesforce as a CRM used by skilled volunteers. The organisation has no proprietary software or AI capabilities.

The business model is that of a grassroots nonprofit. Revenue is sourced from small-value individual donations (preset £5-£100 amounts, recurring and one-off), corporate partnerships (Charity of the Year relationships, skills-based volunteering, event sponsorship), merchandise sales (£25 organic cotton t-shirts manufactured in Brighton, UK shipping only), and legacy giving. All direct services to beneficiaries are free. The model is community-led: the charity grows by licensing the Gig Buddies approach to partner organisations through a 'Gig Buddies in a Box' replication toolkit, generating 20+ partner projects across 8 countries and supporting over 1,000 people with learning disabilities globally, while running 100+ active buddy pairs directly in Sussex.

The organisation is governed by a board of volunteer trustees (Chair Simon Hughes, Treasurer Donald Reid, Trustees Jamie Claxton, Sarah Holmes, Leah Price-Cox, Harri Oliver) and led by founder Paul Richards as Executive Director, with Katie Windsor as Director and a small paid staff of approximately eight (Office Manager, Communications Coordinator, Gig Buddies Coordinator, Stay Up Late Assistant, Head of Fundraising and Finance, and others). Geographic operations centre on Sussex domestically, with franchise expansion into the wider UK (Bedford, London Central, Gloucester, Croydon, Oxford, Wales, Cumbria) and internationally (Berlin). The charity is not publicly traded, has no parent company, and discloses annual reports for 2019-20 through 2024-25 although specific revenue figures are not stated in the source data.

Name

Stay Up Late

Legal name

Stay Up Late

Website

https://stayuplate.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stay Up Late is a UK grassroots charity that pairs volunteers with adults with learning disabilities and autistic people to attend mainstream events through its Gig Buddies and Sports Buddies programmes, operates the #NoBedtimes advocacy campaign, and franchises its model to 20+ partner projects across 8 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability and Social Care Charity Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG), Disability & Adaptive Sports Organizations (Paralympic, Special Olympics) (MPAKACAH)

Keywords

• Disability befriending services
• Learning disability support
• Volunteer buddy matching
• Social care advocacy
• Community inclusion programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The charity relies heavily on public donations and fundraising activities. One-off and recurring donation options are offered on the website with preset amounts (£5, £10, £20, £30, £50, £75, £100) as well as custom amounts.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partnerships provide financial support, skills-based volunteering, event sponsorship, Charity of the Year relationships, cause-related marketing, and donations linked to product/service sales.
3. Merchandise Sales: The organisation sells branded merchandise including t-shirts (£25) featuring the Gig Buddies message.
4. Legacy Giving: Supporters are encouraged to leave a gift in their will to support the charity's work in the future.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Stay Up Late is a UK-registered charity that runs befriending programmes pairing trained volunteers with adults with learning disabilities and autistic people so they can attend mainstream social events together, primarily through its Gig Buddies project (launched 2013) and Sports Buddies project (launched July 2021). The charity also operates a national advocacy campaign (#NoBedtimes / Manifesto for an Ordinary Life) challenging restrictive social care practices, and licenses its model internationally via Gig Buddies In A Box. All core services are delivered free to beneficiaries, funded through donations, grants, corporate partnerships, and merchandise sales.

Product overview

Stay Up Late is a grassroots charity operating a portfolio of social impact programs centered on enabling adults with learning disabilities and autistic people to lead active social lives. The core offerings include Gig Buddies (a befriending project pairing volunteers with people with learning disabilities to attend mainstream events like concerts), Sports Buddies (a similar program focused on physical activities), and The Stay Up Late Campaign (advocacy work including the #NoBedtimes initiative). Annual events include Stay Up Late Week and National Stay Up Late Day. The organization also offers an online shop for merchandise, resources including UCL research, and a Gig Buddies In A Box franchise toolkit for replicating the model. A Quality Checker Program uses people with lived experience to evaluate support quality in care homes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gig Buddies: A project that pairs volunteers with people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people in Sussex to be friends and attend events together. Now replicated across 20+ partner projects in seven countries.
• Sports Buddies

Products and services

• Gig Buddies A befriending project that pairs volunteers with adults with learning disabilities and autistic people to attend mainstream events together, including gigs, concerts, and live music. The project focuses on building genuine friendships through shared interests rather than organized separate events.
• Sports Buddies A project similar to Gig Buddies but focused on sport and exercise, pairing volunteers with adults with learning disabilities and autistic people who share an interest in the same sport or type of exercise (swimming, football, gym sessions, walking).
• The Stay Up Late Campaign (#NoBedtimes / Manifesto for an Ordinary Life) A national awareness and advocacy campaign fighting for the right of people with learning disabilities to have active social lives, choose their own bedtimes, and challenge inflexible support systems. Includes the #NoBedtimes initiative and the Manifesto for an Ordinary Life.
• Stay Up Late Week An annual week-long celebration (May 5-11) encouraging people across the UK to stay up late for something that matters and celebrate the rights of people with learning disabilities to have active social lives.
• National Stay Up Late Day An annual national day of action (May 17th) encouraging people to party and stay up late to raise awareness about the right of people with learning disabilities to have full and active social lives.
• Stay Up Late Online Shop (branded merchandise) Online store selling branded merchandise including t-shirts at £25 with messaging such as 'Gig Buddies' and 'Fighting for equal rights to party'. Climate neutral, eco-friendly organic cotton products manufactured in Brighton, UK shipping only.
• Gig Buddies In A Box A package of resources and ongoing support for other organisations that want to replicate the Gig Buddies project in their area, enabling the model to spread to more communities. Used to license the model to 20+ partner projects across 8 countries.
• Quality Checker Program A service where Stay Up Late Assistants with lived experience visit supported living homes to evaluate support quality using the Ordinary Manifesto as a gauge, checking whether people have genuine choice and social lives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 buddy pairs regularly going out together in Sussex
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Sussex PoliceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Stay Up Late collaborated with Sussex Police licensing officers in Safer in Sussex focus groups examining night-time safety for people with learning disabilities and autistic people in Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, and West Sussex.
• Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership (NightSafe)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Stay Up Late partnered with NightSafe manager Kylie Wroe from Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership as part of the Safer in Sussex focus groups on night-time safety for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.
• National TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Stay Up Late partnered with the National Trust as part of their 'Changing Chalk' project to reconnect people with the heritage, nature, and communities of the South Downs. Together they created a Wild Camp weekend — an inclusive camping experience for people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people — providing opportunities to enjoy the outdoors in a supported, accessible environment.
• UCL (University College London)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Stay Up Late partnered with UCL on participatory research examining the long-term impact of the Gig Buddies project on the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities. The research is funded by Baily Thomas Research Funding and involves co-produced study design with people with lived experience.
• Good SpaceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Stay Up Late partnered with Good Space, a unique volunteering platform founded by Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, Heads On, and The Sussex Archaeological Society. Good Space promotes inclusive volunteering opportunities in arts, heritage, and sports organisations, helping Stay Up Late reach new volunteers.
• Gig Buddies Partner Projects (International)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2013Stay Up Late licenses the Gig Buddies model to partner organisations worldwide. As of 2024, there are over 20 partner projects across 8 countries including UK locations (Bedford, London Central, Gloucester, Croydon, Oxford, Wales, Cumbria) and internationally (Berlin). Each partner replicates the Gig Buddies approach to support local people with learning disabilities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• MacIntyre: UK charity providing education, supported living, and lifeskills for people with learning disabilities and autism. Comparable advocacy-led approach and target population.
• Sense: UK charity supporting people with complex disabilities including learning disabilities, autism, and deafblindness. Shares the social-inclusion and quality-of-life mission with Stay Up Late.
• Hft (Home Farm Trust): UK charity providing supported living and personalised support for people with learning disabilities. Shares Stay Up Late's beneficiary focus on adults with learning disabilities and operates across multiple regions.
• Mencap: Largest UK charity for people with learning disabilities, providing supported living, advocacy, and campaigning. Broad incumbent serving the same beneficiary population as Stay Up Late but at much greater scale and with a wider service portfolio.
• United Response: National UK charity supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs through supported living and community services. Comparable beneficiary base and community-based delivery model.

Emerging players

• Choice Support: UK charity providing personalised support and advocacy for people with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs. Comparable advocacy-driven model though delivered via paid support rather than volunteer befriending.

Direct peers

• Special Olympics Great Britain: UK arm of the global disability and adaptive sports movement. Directly comparable to Stay Up Late's Sports Buddies program in using sport to build inclusion for people with learning disabilities and autism.
• Ambitious about Autism: UK charity specifically focused on autistic children and young people including those with learning disabilities. Overlaps with Stay Up Late's beneficiary segment of autistic adults, although concentrated on education rather than social inclusion.
• Pathways UK (Gig Buddies Cymru): One of the licensed Gig Buddies partner organisations operating the befriending model in Wales, evidencing direct comparability as a peer franchise of Stay Up Late's core product.
• Learning Disability England: Member-led national organisation of people with learning disabilities, families, and allies in England. Strong overlap with Stay Up Late's user-led advocacy mission and community-organising approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stayuplateuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/stayuplateuk
• Instagraminstagram.com/stayuplateuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stayuplate

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 Stay Up Late