Team Springboard Cic

What Team Springboard Cic does

Team Springboard CIC is a community interest company (non-profit) registered in England and based in Coventry, founded in 2014. Its core activity centres on the Zen Community Garden, a large rented plot at Lake View Allotments in Allesley, where it runs free open gardening sessions one to two weekdays plus one Saturday per month. Sessions target long-term unemployed individuals, recent migrants, people with health conditions including mental health conditions, and neurodivergent people, using horticultural activity to address social isolation, mental health, and food insecurity. The organisation also produces organic food — 529kg in 2025, up from 315kg in 2024 — with portions donated to food banks and social supermarkets in Coventry.

The business operates a hybrid funding model combining grant income (National Lottery Community Fund £15,060 in 2025, Heart of England Community Foundation £1,500, and smaller grants from People's Postcode Trust, Next Energy Solar Fund, and Coventry General Charity) with contract revenue from corporate team-building volunteering days, school gardening programmes (School Food Matters' Young Marketeers project across 5 primary schools), community garden setup consultancy, and office plant care services. Notable corporate volunteer customers include Jaguar Land Rover, Coventry Building Society, and the Environment Agency. All contract profits are reinvested into the free community sessions. The organisation is run by a volunteer board of directors (refreshed in 2026 with Debbie Jones and Chandra Sekar), a horticultural manager (Esther Kovacs, DBS-checked with social care qualification), and an administrator (Lucy Lynch).

Core horticultural practices — no-dig policy, organic pest control and fertilisers, rainwater harvesting, composting, seed saving, and wildlife-friendly growing — are not technology platforms but rather documented sustainable methods. The operating base is a single physical site in Coventry, with services delivered directly through field-based engagement rather than through digital channels. The organisation operates under the oversight of the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies and adheres to the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice.

Name

Team Springboard Cic

Legal name

Team SpringBoard CIC

Website

https://teamspringboard.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Horticulture Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAMALAO

Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Summer & Holiday Enrichment Camps (Multi-Activity, Academic)

Keywords

• Community gardening services
• Horticultural consultancy
• Corporate volunteering events
• Organic food production
• Community interest company

Headquarters

HQ city

Coventry

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Grant funding from various foundations and trusts including National Lottery Community Fund (£15,060), Heart of England Community Foundation (£1,500), People's Postcode Trust, Next Energy Solar Fund, and Coventry General Charity. All grants support the open gardening sessions and operational costs.
2. Contract Work: Paid contract services including corporate team building volunteering days, setting up community gardens for other organisations, teaching gardening skills, consultancy, and office/workplace house plant care. Surplus from contract work combined with grant money to fund open gardening sessions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Team Springboard CIC operates the Zen Community Garden at Lake View Allotments in Allesley, Coventry, where it runs free weekly open gardening sessions for individual community participants. It sells paid contract horticultural services — including community garden setup, gardening tuition, consultancy, and office/workplace plant care — plus corporate team-building volunteering days, with all surplus reinvested into its free community sessions.

Product overview

Team Springboard CIC operates as a community interest company offering a portfolio of horticultural and social services centered around its Zen Community Garden. The core offerings include open gardening sessions (free to participants), corporate team building volunteering events, and contract horticultural services. Additional offerings include school gardening programs through School Food Matters, food bank donations, and office plant care services. The organization functions as a hybrid not-for-profit, combining grant funding with revenue from contract work to sustain community programming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zen Community Garden: The primary community garden at the heart of Team Springboard CIC, located at Lake View Allotments site in Allesley, Coventry. This is where regular open gardening sessions take place, focused on bringing people together to grow food and create wildlife habitats.

Products and services

• Open Gardening Sessions Free weekly gardening sessions held at the Zen Community Garden in Allesley, Coventry, for individuals seeking wellbeing and social connection. Sessions include planting, growing, weeding, communal tea/coffee, and conversation; produce is grown for participants and for local food banks. Open to the long-term unemployed, recent migrants, people with health conditions, and neurodivergent people.
• Contract Horticultural Services Paid horticultural services for organisations, including setting up community gardens, teaching gardening to all ages, and providing advice and consultancy. Delivered by a DBS-checked, qualified horticulturalist with a social-care qualification and experience working with children and adults with additional needs.
• Corporate Team-Building Volunteering Days Full-day and half-day corporate volunteering events at the Zen Community Garden, or on-site at company grounds to transform green spaces into wildlife gardens or food-growing areas. Designed for corporate social responsibility and employee wellbeing, with all profits reinvested into Team Springboard's community sessions.
• Office and Workplace Plant Care Paid house plant care service for offices and workplaces, delivered by the qualified horticultural manager as a contracted engagement.
• School Gardening Programme (Young Marketeers) Gardening sessions delivered in primary schools in Coventry as part of the School Food Matters Young Marketeers project. Horticultural manager Esther Kovacs works with pupils to grow food in school gardens and sell it at market days, with proceeds donated to the Coventry Food Network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 48 participants completed 968 hours across 81 open gardening sessions in 2025
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• School Food MatterscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Team Springboard delivers the Coventry part of School Food Matters' National Lottery funded Young Marketeers project. Horticultural manager Esther Kovacs works with primary school pupils to grow food in school gardens and sell it at special market days. Proceeds donated to Coventry Food Network.
• Crow RecyclingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Ongoing contract delivering gardening sessions at Crow premises for people with learning difficulties. Planted small orchard beside raised beds. ZEN volunteers also participate in front garden maintenance.
• Jaguar Land RoverminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate volunteer groups from Jaguar Land Rover perform heavy maintenance work at Zen garden as part of team building activities.
• Coventry Building SocietyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate volunteer groups helping with maintenance at Zen garden as part of team building.
• Environment AgencyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate volunteer groups helping with heavy maintenance work at Zen garden.
• Lake View Allotment SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for water conservation. Lake View Allotment Society encourages water conservation and Team Springboard participates in rainwater harvesting initiatives. Water supply is on a meter costing £1,500/year.
• Coventry Food NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUmbrella organisation for food projects in Coventry. Proceeds from Young Marketeers project sold produce donated to this organisation.
• Ryton Organic GardensminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with Judith Conroy from Ryton Organic Gardens as part of agroecology research project into growing food in urban areas.

Scale indicators6 records

Others

• UnLtd: UK social-enterprise support foundation that awarded Team Springboard its 2014 Do It Award. Adjacent ecosystem enabler — a funder and capacity-builder for early-stage social entrepreneurs rather than a peer operator.
• Locality: UK-wide membership network supporting community-led organisations, including CICs and charities. Thematically adjacent infrastructure provider rather than a direct community-gardening operator.
• Sustain: UK alliance of organisations advocating for better food and farming policy. Thematically related to Team Springboard's organic, local-food mission but operates as an advocacy coalition rather than a community-garden operator.

Regional players

• Capital Growth: London-based network supporting community food-growing spaces with a similar mission to Team Springboard's free open gardening sessions. Comparable operating model but geographically concentrated in London rather than Coventry/West Midlands.

Direct peers

• Coventry Food Network: Umbrella organisation for food projects in Coventry, explicitly referenced as recipient of Young Marketeers proceeds and food donations from Team Springboard. Operates the same local food-security ecosystem.
• Garden Organic: UK organic-horticulture charity operating Ryton Organic Gardens and conducting research into agroecology. Directly comparable on organic horticulture practices, and explicitly cited as a research collaborator (Judith Conroy) in Team Springboard's urban food-growing work.
• The Kindling Trust: Manchester-based social enterprise running community food-growing projects, training programmes, and producer networks. Closely comparable operating model combining volunteer-driven community gardens with structured training and produce distribution.
• Social Farms and Gardens: UK charity supporting community gardens, city farms, and care farms. Directly comparable mission to Team Springboard's community-gardening and wellbeing focus, with national reach and member organisations across the UK.
• Incredible Edible: UK-wide network of community food-growing groups, originated in Todmorden. Directly comparable to Team Springboard's model of free community gardening sessions producing local food and supporting wellbeing, though operating as a movement/network rather than a single-site CIC.

Broad incumbents

• Groundwork UK: National federation of environmental charities transforming community green spaces and delivering corporate volunteering programmes. Overlapping capabilities with Team Springboard but at materially larger scale and broader scope than a single-site CIC.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tspringboardcic
• Instagraminstagram.com/tspringboardcic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/team-springboard-cic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Team Springboard Cic