Supporting Communities

What Supporting Communities does

Supporting Communities is an independent charity, founded in 1979/1980 and headquartered in Antrim, Northern Ireland, that champions tenant and community participation through grassroots community development. It operates as a Company Limited by Guarantee under the Companies Act 2006 and is regulated by the Charities Commission for Northern Ireland, with a wholly-owned social enterprise trading arm, Empowering Communities, channelling consultancy income back into the charity. Its core services span business support, community development, good governance, funding support, inter-agency support, succession planning, digital inclusion, and scholarship funds, alongside accredited and non-accredited training courses in governance, financial management, tenant participation, digital skills, measurement and evaluation, and social enterprise.

The organisation's primary customers are social housing providers (including the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and registered housing associations), community and tenant groups, individual tenants, and statutory/voluntary organisations across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Its go-to-market is community-led: ~27 staff, including regional Community Development Officers covering every area of Northern Ireland, deliver face-to-face support, training programmes, funding clinics, and sector convening events such as the Housing Community Network forums (Central, Disability, Rural Residents), the Housing Policy Panel, the Tenant Participation Accreditation framework, and the annual All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference. Supporting Communities is the only independent tenant engagement body operating across the island of Ireland and joined the International Union of Tenants Board in February 2026.

Revenue is generated primarily through charitable grants and funding, with limited earned income via Empowering Communities. Pricing for services to community groups, tenants, and housing providers is largely not commercially disclosed; programmes are funded through grants, and the organisation convenes a consultative Housing Policy Panel to the Department for Communities. The technology stack is intentionally minimal: a Squarespace-hosted public website, a Clinked-hosted HCN online forum platform, and digital publications (E-zine newsletter, How To Series, Funding Bulletin, Tenant Engagement Stories). There is no proprietary technology product; the offering is fundamentally a human-delivered, relationship-driven service.

Name

Supporting Communities

Legal name

Supporting Communities

Website

https://supportingcommunities.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Supporting Communities is an independent Northern Ireland charity that delivers tenant participation, community development, governance, funding, and digital inclusion services to social housing providers, community groups, and tenants across the island of Ireland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Tenant participation support
• Community development services
• Community group training
• Housing association services
• Charitable advocacy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Antrim

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Charitable Grants and Funding: Supporting Communities is an independent charity regulated by the Charities Commission for Northern Ireland. The organisation receives funding through grants and charitable sources to support its community development work, tenant participation initiatives, and digital inclusion programs. They also operate a social enterprise called Empowering Communities as their trading arm.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Supporting Communities is an independent charity that delivers tenant participation support, community development services, and training programs for community groups across the island of Ireland. The organization works primarily with housing associations, tenants' groups, and community-based organizations, providing capacity-building, governance support, and representation services. It also operates Empowering Communities, a social enterprise subsidiary that generates trading income to support charitable activities.

Product overview

Supporting Communities is an independent charity offering a comprehensive suite of services focused on tenant and community participation across Northern Ireland. The organization operates as a single integrated offering rather than a modular platform, combining direct service delivery (community development, governance support, funding assistance, digital inclusion) with capacity-building through training courses, publications (E-zine, How To Series, Funding Bulletin), and tenant engagement programs (Housing Community Network, TP Standards/Accreditation, Housing Policy Panel). Key programs include ONSIDE Evolution for digital inclusion, the Tenant Engagement Conference for sector knowledge-sharing, and the TP Compendium for best practice documentation. The organization also operates a social enterprise trading arm called Empowering Communities for consultancy services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tenant Participation Support Support services for tenants and tenant-led groups to engage with housing providers and influence housing-related decisions. Targeted at housing associations, tenants' groups, and social housing residents across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
• Community Development Services Capacity-building and development support for community groups, including governance advice, group facilitation, and community engagement. Targeted at community-based organizations, voluntary sector groups, and housing associations.
• Training Programs for Community Groups Training delivery for community groups covering governance, committee skills, funding applications, and community engagement techniques. Targeted at volunteers, committee members, and staff of community and voluntary sector organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Digital inclusion programme transformed digital skills for 233 disabled people, carers, and older adults
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 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 flagship and core.

• International Union of Tenants (IUT)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Supporting Communities joined the International Union of Tenants Board in February 2026, representing a landmark moment for tenant participation in Northern Ireland as the organisation takes its place on the global stage. Chief Executive Colm McDaid represented the organisation at the IUT World Conference 2026 in Malmö.
• Empowering CommunitiescoreOthersEmpowering Communities is the trading arm/social enterprise of Supporting Communities, allowing the charity to offer consultancy services and funnel income back into supporting the charity. The CEO Colm McDaid sits on the board of Empowering Communities along with some board members including Justin Cartwright and Jim Ripley.
• Community Development and Health Network (CDHN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting Communities partnered with CDHN on the Elevate Programme, a capacity-building initiative. Community Development Officers Lisa and Clodagh served as mentors working alongside six community groups across Northern Ireland over four years.
• Northern Ireland Housing ExecutivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting Communities acts as a key strategic partner to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, managing Service Level Agreements and community involvement strategies. The Housing Executive is a primary partner in delivering tenant engagement across Northern Ireland.
• Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Northern IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting Communities collaborates with CIH Northern Ireland on housing policy and professional practice. Justin Cartwright, National Director for NI at CIH, serves on the board of Supporting Communities.
• Department for CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting Communities works with the Department for Communities on tenant participation strategy and convenes the Housing Policy Panel as a consultative panel to the Department on housing policy.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Locality: Locality is a UK membership network supporting community-led organizations with governance, funding, and development advice — closely aligned with Supporting Communities' work helping community groups with formation, funding, and operational capacity.
• Tpas: Tpas is the leading independent tenant participation and engagement organization in England, offering training, accreditation, and policy support to social housing providers — the closest direct functional peer to Supporting Communities in the UK and Ireland.
• TPAS Cymru: TPAS Cymru delivers tenant participation training, accreditation (TPAS Cymru Mark), and engagement support to social landlords in Wales, making it the clearest national-level analogue to Supporting Communities' TP Standards and Housing Community Network programs.
• Community Development Foundation: Community Development Foundation is a UK-wide charity focused on strengthening communities through advice, training, and consultancy — directly comparable to Supporting Communities' community development and capacity-building mission, though operating at a larger geographic scale.

Emerging players

• Power to Change: Power to Change is an independent trust supporting community businesses and social enterprises in England, including grants and capacity-building — relevant peer for Empowering Communities and Supporting Communities' social enterprise training work.

Broad incumbents

• Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH): CIH is the professional body for housing practitioners across the UK and Ireland; CIH Northern Ireland already partners with Supporting Communities and they sit on each other's boards, making CIH a complementary broad incumbent rather than a direct competitor.

Regional players

• Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA): NICVA is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland, offering governance, funding, and capacity-building support — directly comparable to Supporting Communities' community development and good governance training work in the same geography.
• Irish Council for Social Housing: ICSH is the representative body for housing associations in the Republic of Ireland, providing policy advocacy and sector support — addressing overlapping territory to Supporting Communities' all-island tenant engagement work and partner of choice across the Irish Sea.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SupportingCommunities
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/supporting-communities

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 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 Supporting Communities