The Hummingbird Project - Aid and Solidarity for Refugees

What The Hummingbird Project - Aid and Solidarity for Refugees does

The Hummingbird Project is a Brighton-based UK registered charity (Charity no. 1174970) founded in 2015 originally in Calais, France, and relocated to its current headquarters at BMECP Centre, 10A Fleet Street, Brighton following the 2016 camp evacuation. It serves unaccompanied children and young refugees in Sussex with a portfolio of five core service lines: Be Well, Be Heard (trauma-informed 1:1 advocacy and casework), Side by Side (clinical psychology delivered in partnership with the Helen Bamber Foundation), Global Social Club (youth club — the UK's first Youth Club of Sanctuary, currently paused due to funding), Young Leaders Programme (public speaking and leadership training with TEDxBrighton), and a Youth Board providing quarterly governance participation. The organisation also operates a national campaigns and advocacy arm — working alongside Safe Passage, Lord Alf Dubs and the Refugee and Migrant Children's Consortium — and produces research jointly with the University of Sussex and University of Brighton on refugee children's experiences.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of streams: individual donations (monthly recurring tiers from £5 to £25, one-off contributions up to £500, processed via Chuffed.org and GoCardless), foundation and trust grants (Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Blagrave Trust, Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation, Brighton & Hove Mayor's Charity), merchandise sales (online shop selling branded T-shirts, caps, tote bags, cards and friendship bracelets), and community fundraising events (yoga classes, sponsored hikes, pay-as-you-feel activities). All services are delivered free at point of use to beneficiaries; the customer base is unaccompanied young refugees and asylum seekers aged roughly 12–25 in Sussex, with a secondary market of individual donors, grant-makers, university researchers, and policy stakeholders nationwide.

Operationally, the charity runs on a lean core team of 1–10 paid staff supplemented by 39+ active volunteers contributing over 780 hours annually. Governance sits with a Board of Trustees currently in expansion mode, seeking new trustees including a Co-Chair with lived experience of forced displacement. The core technology footprint consists of standard third-party nonprofit tooling: donor management, volunteer coordination, and a Create-built e-commerce storefront — with no proprietary platform, no AI components, and no disclosed patents or trademarks.

Name

The Hummingbird Project - Aid and Solidarity for Refugees

Legal name

The Hummingbird Refugee Project

Website

https://hummingbirdproject.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Hummingbird Project is a Brighton-based UK registered charity (no. 1174970), founded in 2015, delivering trauma-informed youth services — advocacy, clinical psychology, youth leadership, and campaigning — for young refugees and asylum seekers in Sussex, funded primarily by foundation grants, individual donations, and merchandise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee and youth social services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (624110), Individual and Family Services (6241), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH), MHPSS & Trauma-Informed Support for Displaced Populations (BPADAHAJ), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

Keywords

• Refugee youth services
• Trauma-informed support
• Asylum seeker advocacy
• Youth leadership programmes
• Clinical psychology refugee

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, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Monthly recurring donations and one-time contributions from individual supporters. Donation tiers range from £5/month for meals to £500 one-off for translation services. Monthly giving creates steady, reliable income stream.
2. Merchandise Sales: Online shop selling branded merchandise including T-shirts, caps, tote bags, cards, badges, and bracelets. All proceeds directly fund youth services.
3. Community Fundraising Events: Organised events including yoga fundraisers, sponsored hikes, and community activities. Pay-as-you-feel and ticketed events generate donations while building community engagement.
4. Foundation and Trust Grants: Funding from charitable foundations including Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Blagrave Trust, Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation, and Brighton & Hove Mayor's charity. Major multi-year grants support specific programmes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Hummingbird Project delivers a portfolio of free, trauma-informed youth services for young refugees and asylum seekers in Sussex, including one-to-one advocacy (Be Well, Be Heard), clinical psychology support (Side by Side with Helen Bamber Foundation), a youth club of sanctuary (Global Social Club), a public speaking and leadership programme (Young Leaders with TEDxBrighton), and a Youth Board for participatory governance. It supplements these services with an online merchandise shop and national advocacy campaigns for safe and legal routes.

Product overview

The Hummingbird Project is a Brighton-based youth charity offering a portfolio of integrated services for young refugees and asylum seekers. The core offering comprises five interconnected services: Be Well, Be Heard (specialist one-to-one advocacy and support), Side by Side (clinical psychology service in partnership with Helen Bamber Foundation), Global Social Club (youth club of sanctuary), Young Leaders Programme (public speaking and leadership training with TEDxBrighton), and Youth Board (participatory governance). The organization also operates an Online Shop selling branded merchandise to fund services, and leads national campaigns and advocacy work. Services are designed to address holistic needs spanning mental health, education, housing, employment, and asylum process navigation, with trauma-informed, youth-led approaches at the core.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Young Leaders: A youth leadership space for young people from refugee backgrounds to develop public speaking, communication, teamwork, and leadership skills
• Global Social Club (GSC)
• Be Well, Be Heard
• Side by Side
• Youth Board

Products and services

• Be Well, Be Heard (1:1 Support) Holistic, trauma-informed advice and advocacy service providing tailored one-to-one support for young refugees across health and wellbeing, asylum process navigation, education, employment, and financial support, with community connection assistance.
• Side by Side

Quantifiable outcome

• 382+ young people welcomed annually with 760+ hours casework support
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Helen Bamber FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose partnership delivering specialist, trauma-informed clinical psychology services. The Side by Side project offers therapeutic support for young refugees including mental health assessments, one-to-one therapy, group sessions, and mental health champion workshops. Support is tailored and includes interpreters.
• University of SussexmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partnership producing joint report on digital worlds of unaccompanied refugee children and young people in 2023.
• University of BrightonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with University of Brighton alongside University of Sussex and KRAN for joint report on digital worlds of unaccompanied children (2023).
• Safe PassagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing campaign partner since 2016. Joint campaigns for safe and legal routes for young refugees, including Our Turn campaign with Lord Alf Dubs. Co-produced report on safe routes from perspective of young refugees (2021).
• Lord Alf DubscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolitical champion for child refugees. Joined efforts in the 'Our Turn' campaign and DubsNow campaign for Kindertransport-style provisions. Supported young people's deputation to council.
• KRAN (Kent Refugee Advocacy Network)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on safe and legal routes report (2021) and digital worlds research (2023).
• TEDxBrightonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Young Leaders programme to develop young people's confidence and public speaking skills.
• Medecins Sans FrontierescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal partnership in Calais (2015-2016) to run medical clinic. MSF provided medical expertise while Hummingbird provided volunteer coordination and facilities.
• Refugee Youth ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in Calais Safe Space developing tracking service for unaccompanied children in the camp.
• Art RefugecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in Calais Safe Space providing creative and therapeutic environment for vulnerable children.
• NSPCC Trafficking ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to track children going missing from Calais camp. Part of safeguarding effort for unaccompanied minors.
• Duncan Lewis SolicitorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal partnership to take Secretary of State to court for failure to protect children and implement the Dubs Amendment.
• Refugee and Migrant Children's Consortium (RMCC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember since 2018. Consortium of NGOs working to ensure rights of refugee and migrant children. Enables sharing expertise with Home Office and Parliament.
• Thousand 4 £1000 (T4K)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in 2020 Remembrance and Action day for lives lost on borders. Led Brighton's response with day of awareness activities.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Helen Bamber Foundation: UK human-rights charity providing specialist trauma-informed therapy and support to refugees and asylum seekers. Active partner on Hummingbird's Side by Side clinical service and a directly comparable trauma-care specialist.
• Breaking Barriers: London-based charity supporting refugees into employment through one-to-one mentoring. Comparable lived-experience-led model and one-to-one casework approach, focused on a specific outcome pathway.
• Refugee Support Network: UK charity supporting young refugees in education, mentoring, and wellbeing — directly comparable mission, beneficiary age group (under-25s), and one-to-one support model.
• Refugee Council: UK-wide charity providing frontline advice, advocacy, and integration support for refugees and asylum seekers. Directly comparable in mission and beneficiary population, though operating at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Refugee Action: Major UK charity delivering refugee resettlement, integration, and advocacy services. Comparable holistic service model (casework, advocacy, policy work) and similar mix of foundation and individual donor funding.
• Safe Passage: UK charity campaigning for safe and legal routes for refugees, with which Hummingbird has co-produced reports. Closely aligned on advocacy focus (Dubs Amendment, Our Turn) and unaccompanied minors' rights.
• Asylum Aid: UK charity providing legal representation and advice to asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children. Comparable focus on legal advocacy and support for vulnerable refugee populations in the UK.

Broad incumbents

• The Children's Society: Large UK children's charity with a specific refugee and migrant children's programme. Comparable child-centred safeguarding and advocacy approach but at much greater organisational scale and breadth.
• British Red Cross (Refugee Services): Large incumbent humanitarian organisation with substantial UK refugee support, resettlement, and family reunion programmes. Overlaps in beneficiary population and service types but operates as part of a much broader portfolio.

Emerging players

• Student Action for Refugees (STAR): UK student network campaigning for refugee rights and creating opportunities for refugee students. Comparable campaign-driven model and overlap with Hummingbird trustee Zac Williams's prior volunteer history.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-hummingbird-project-refugee-charity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 The Hummingbird Project - Aid and Solidarity for Refugees