The Friendship Project
The Friendship Project is a UK registered charity (no. 517684) founded in 1986 that matches disadvantaged Warwickshire children aged 6-16 with vetted adult volunteers for weekly one-to-one befriending activities, funded entirely by donations and grants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1986
- HeadquartersLeamington Spa, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Friendship Project does
The Friendship Project (legally The Friendship Project for Children, registered UK charity no. 517684) is a Warwickshire-based non-profit founded in 1986 that delivers a one-to-one befriending service for disadvantaged children aged 6-16. The charity matches referred children — typically those caring for a sick parent, living with a disabled family member, or otherwise socially isolated — with vetted adult volunteers ("Older Friends") who commit 2-3 hours per week to friendship activities such as outings, sports, baking and cinema trips. Referrals are received exclusively from professional channels: Warwickshire Children's Services, local schools, and Early Help Teams. Service delivery is managed through four area-based coordinators covering North Warwickshire, Rugby, Stratford, and Warwick/Leamington Spa/Kenilworth, with a safeguarding framework built on Enhanced DBS checks, formal recruitment procedures, and ongoing monitoring aligned with UK child protection legislation.
The charity operates no proprietary technology platform. Its technical footprint is limited to a WordPress website (friendshipproject.co.uk), a PayPal donation link, and external donation infrastructure including The Charities Trust (for payroll giving and credit card donations), easyfundraising (shopping-based donations), and Square (in-person payments). Service matching, volunteer onboarding, and case management are conducted manually by the small operations team. The charity has no AI, automation, or data analytics components in its service delivery.
The revenue model is entirely donation-based. Income is drawn from individual donations, payroll giving, online fundraising/sponsorship, corporate sponsorship (e.g., O'Brien Contractors £4,000), and trust and foundation grants (e.g., Severn Trent Community Fund £10,000, Coventry Building Society £8,000 via Heart of England Community Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation). At least 18 distinct funders are publicly acknowledged. Services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries and volunteer befrienders. The charity received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2019 and has helped over 1,500 children over its 40-year history. Geographic scope is restricted to Warwickshire and the Metropolitan district of Coventry.
The Friendship Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Friendship Project
- Legal name
- The Friendship Project for Children
- Website
- https://friendshipproject.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1986
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Friendship Project is a UK registered charity (no. 517684) founded in 1986 that matches disadvantaged Warwickshire children aged 6-16 with vetted adult volunteers for weekly one-to-one befriending activities, funded entirely by donations and grants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Friendship Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Children's Social Services / Youth Befriending
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)
Keywords
Where The Friendship Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Leamington Spa
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
The Friendship Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: The charity relies on donations from the general public, accepting one-off donations via credit card through The Charities Trust platform, cheque payments, and in-person donations via the Square App.
- Payroll Giving: Partnership with The Charities Trust to provide payroll giving opportunities for employees whose employers offer this scheme.
- Online Fundraising/Sponsorship: Through The Charities Trust's Sponsor Me platform, individuals and companies can create fundraising campaigns. Also registered with easyfundraising for shopping-based donations.
- Corporate Sponsorship: Companies like O'Brien Contractors donate specific amounts (£4,000) to sponsor children. Some employers offer match funding for employee donations.
- Trust and Foundation Grants: Grants awarded by organizations such as Severn Trent Community Fund (£10,000), Coventry Building Society via Heart of England Community Foundation (£8,000), National Lottery Community Fund, and various charitable trusts.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
The Friendship Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Friendship Project matches disadvantaged children and young people aged 6–16 across Warwickshire and Coventry with trained volunteer 'Older Friends' for one-to-one, long-term befriending relationships. Volunteers commit 2–3 hours per week to activities such as outings to parks, cinema, swimming, baking, and sports, with the aim of improving the child's self-esteem, providing a positive role model, and offering respite from difficult home situations. The service is delivered free of charge, funded by donations, grants, and corporate sponsorship.
Product overview
The Friendship Project operates a single, unified befriending service for children. The core offering is a one-to-one volunteer befriending program (Older Friend Program) that matches disadvantaged children aged 6-16 with volunteer Older Friends for friendship and regular activities. Supporting services include a Child Referral Service (receiving referrals from Children's Services and Schools), a Group Supporter Program (supporting Older Friends), the Cakes for Kids birthday initiative, and Donation Processing through various channels. All services are delivered through area-based coordinators covering North Warwickshire, Rugby, Stratford, and Leamington/Warwick.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Befriending Service for Children One-to-one befriending service matching disadvantaged children aged 6–16 in Warwickshire and Coventry with volunteer Older Friends for regular friendship and outings, typically 2–3 hours per week.
- Older Friend Volunteer Program Recruits, vets (Enhanced DBS), trains, and supports adult volunteers aged 18+ to become Older Friends who commit 2–3 hours weekly to befriending a referred child.
- Child Referral Service Formal referral pathway accepting children from Warwickshire Children's Services, Schools, and Early Help Teams (including via Early Help Assessments) for assessment and matching with an appropriate volunteer Older Friend.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1,500 children helped over 40 years
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Friendship Project
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Friendship Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Friendship Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Friendship Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- The Children's Society: National charity working with disadvantaged children including young carers, refugees, and children at risk — populations that overlap directly with The Friendship Project's primary segment (children caring for sick parents, disabled siblings, socially isolated children).
- Barnardo's: One of the UK's largest children's charities, providing fostering, mental health, and family support services including mentoring-style programs for disadvantaged children. Comparable beneficiary population and referrer network (local authorities, schools) but operates at national scale with paid service contracts.
- The Prince's Trust: Major UK youth charity supporting disadvantaged young people aged 11-30 through mentoring, training and personal development. Comparable target demographic overlap with The Friendship Project's 6-16 age range and shares the long-term-mentoring service model, though aimed at older youth.
- NSPCC: The UK's leading child protection charity, working on safeguarding, childline services, and direct support for vulnerable children. Shares the child safeguarding and local-authority engagement model with The Friendship Project but operates nationally with significant statutory and fundraising scale.
- Action for Children: National UK charity supporting disadvantaged children through fostering, family support, and youth services. Overlaps with The Friendship Project on the disadvantaged-children segment and local-authority referral channels, though at much larger scale and with broader service mix.
Emerging players
- Catch22: UK social business running mentoring, education, and social work programs for vulnerable children and young people. Comparable direct delivery of mentoring services and referrer relationships with local authorities, but operates across multiple service lines including justice and education.
- Mentoring Plus: Small UK mentoring charity providing 1:1 volunteer mentors for children and young people facing disadvantage. Closely comparable operating model (volunteer-led long-term mentoring) and beneficiary profile, though typically more regionally localized.
- Winston's Wish: UK charity supporting bereaved children and young people through 1:1 and group support. Comparable 1:1 adult-supporter-to-child model serving a vulnerable sub-population of children, similar safeguarding regime and reliance on trained volunteers and donations.
- Kidscape: UK charity focused on child safety, anti-bullying, and wellbeing support for children and families. Shares the safeguarding and emotional wellbeing focus with The Friendship Project's mentoring outcomes, though its delivery model is more training/workshop-based than 1:1 befriending.
Direct peers
- Big Brothers Big Sisters UK: Direct parent-model peer. The Friendship Project is explicitly based on the Big Brothers Big Sisters international movement, and Big Brothers Big Sisters UK operates the same long-term 1:1 adult volunteer mentoring model for disadvantaged children across the UK.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Friendship Project social profiles
Digital presenceThe Friendship Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Friendship Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
The Friendship Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Friendship Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Friendship Project
What does The Friendship Project do?
The Friendship Project matches disadvantaged children and young people aged 6–16 across Warwickshire and Coventry with trained volunteer 'Older Friends' for one-to-one, long-term befriending relationships. Volunteers commit 2–3 hours per week to activities such as outings to parks, cinema, swimming, baking, and sports, with the aim of improving the child's self-esteem, providing a positive role model, and offering respite from difficult home situations. The service is delivered free of charge, funded by donations, grants, and corporate sponsorship.
Is The Friendship Project a public or private company?
The Friendship Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Friendship Project founded?
The Friendship Project was founded in 1986. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Friendship Project based?
The Friendship Project is headquartered in Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Friendship Project make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are payroll Giving, online Fundraising/Sponsorship, corporate Sponsorship and trust and Foundation Grants.
Who are The Friendship Project's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are The Children's Society, Barnardo's, The Prince's Trust, NSPCC and Action for Children. Emerging players are Catch22, Mentoring Plus, Winston's Wish and Kidscape. Big Brothers Big Sisters UK is listed as a direct peer.
Does The Friendship Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Friendship Project.
What industry is The Friendship Project in?
The Friendship Project's product category is Children's Social Services / Youth Befriending. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAD, Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits, with a secondary code of EDAJALAL, Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs. Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.