LIVES NOT KNIVES
Lives Not Knives is a London-based youth charity that delivers mentoring and educational programmes (Engage, Educate, Empower) to prevent knife crime, serious youth violence, and school exclusions among at-risk young people in London, funded primarily through individual donations, community fundraising, and corporate partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersCroydon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What LIVES NOT KNIVES does
Lives Not Knives is a London-based Charitable Incorporated Organisation (registered charity number 1153634) that delivers mentoring and educational programmes to prevent knife crime, serious youth violence, and school exclusions among young people in London. The charity operates three interconnected core programmes: Engage (youth engagement and mentorship), Educate (awareness and learning initiatives, including the 2025-launched online Educate Hub portal at educate.livesnotknives.org), and Empower (support services for young people). Beneficiaries are primarily at-risk youth in London, with secondary stakeholder segments including UK schools (Educate programme delivery), UK corporates (partnerships and pro bono support), parents and carers, and other youth organisations for referrals.
The underlying operational platform is a typical small-charity SaaS stack: Microsoft 365 and SharePoint for document management and collaboration, Upshot CRM for participant and sensitive-data management, Stripe and Enthuse for donation processing, JustGiving for third-party community fundraising, and Constant Contact/Brevo (with SharpSpring) for email marketing automation and donor tracking. Analytics and remarketing are handled through Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and LinkedIn Insight. The organisation is GDPR-, ICO-, and DBS-compliant, with a January 2025 Version 2.0 Data Protection Policy specifically covering children's data.
Revenue is generated through four channels: individual donations (one-time and recurring via the website), community-led fundraising events via JustGiving, corporate partnerships providing pro bono support and donations, and merchandise sales through the LNK shop. The charity does not disclose pricing for its programmes and operates as a donation-funded nonprofit with no parent company, equity investors, or institutional funding rounds identified. Strategic priorities visible in the data include digital reach expansion via the Educate Hub, strengthened safeguarding compliance, and professionalisation of the supporter funnel through marketing automation.
LIVES NOT KNIVES firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- LIVES NOT KNIVES
- Legal name
- Lives Not Knives CIO
- Website
- https://livesnotknives.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Lives Not Knives is a London-based youth charity that delivers mentoring and educational programmes (Engage, Educate, Empower) to prevent knife crime, serious youth violence, and school exclusions among at-risk young people in London, funded primarily through individual donations, community fundraising, and corporate partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
LIVES NOT KNIVES industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Violence Prevention Services
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Individual and Family Services (6241)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Crisis Response & Threat Assessment (Suicide Prevention, Violence Prevention) (EDAJAIAH)
Keywords
Where LIVES NOT KNIVES is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Croydon
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
LIVES NOT KNIVES business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Donations from individuals through the website, including one-time and recurring donation options.
- Fundraising Events: Individual and community fundraising through JustGiving platform, with fundraisers organising events and challenges.
- Corporate Partnerships: Support from corporate partners who engage with the organisation's programmes or provide pro bono support.
- Shop Sales: Merchandise sales through the LNK shop.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
LIVES NOT KNIVES product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lives Not Knives is a UK registered charity that operates three core youth programmes — Engage, Educate, and Empower — delivering mentorship and tailored advice to at-risk young people in London to prevent knife crime, serious youth violence, and school exclusions. The organisation also maintains an online Educate Hub portal at educate.livesnotknives.org for educational resources and engages schools, corporates, and pro bono supporters as delivery and funding partners.
Product overview
Lives Not Knives is a London-based registered charity (number 1153634) dedicated to preventing knife crime, serious youth violence, and school exclusions. The organisation operates three interconnected core programmes: Engage (youth engagement and mentorship), Educate (awareness and learning initiatives), and Empower (support services for young people). These programmes work together to provide mentorship, tailored advice, and support to young people in the community. The organisation also maintains an online Educate Hub portal at educate.livesnotknives.org for educational resources. Partner engagement opportunities are available for schools, corporates, and pro bono supporters.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Engage A youth engagement programme that provides mentorship and tailored advice to young people in the London community who need support the most, focused on preventing knife crime and serious youth violence.
- Educate An educational programme designed to prevent knife crime and serious youth violence through awareness and learning initiatives targeting young people, delivered in partnership with UK schools.
- Empower A programme focused on empowering young people through mentorship and support services to help prevent involvement in knife crime and youth violence.
- Educate Hub An online education portal at educate.livesnotknives.org providing educational resources and content related to the organisation's mission of preventing knife crime and youth violence.
Companies that use LIVES NOT KNIVES
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
LIVES NOT KNIVES technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
LIVES NOT KNIVES partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Microsoft 365 / SharePointcoreLNK uses Microsoft 365 and SharePoint as its primary document management and collaboration platform for internal operations and secure data storage in compliance with GDPR.
- UpshotcoreUpshot is used for participant management, data collection, and storing sensitive information related to programme delivery and beneficiary engagement.
- Constant Contact / BrevocoreEmail marketing automation platform used for newsletter distribution, campaign management, and supporter communication.
- StripecoreSecure payment processing platform for processing donations and other financial transactions in compliance with GDPR.
- JustGivingcoreThird-party fundraising platform enabling individual supporters to create fundraising pages and donate to LNK.
- EnthusecoreFundraising platform used for managing donations and fundraising campaigns.
- Schools (UK)coreFormal partnerships with UK schools to deliver the Educate programme, addressing knife crime awareness and school safety within educational settings.
- Corporates (UK)minorCorporate partnerships providing pro bono support, employee engagement opportunities, and corporate donations to support LNK's mission.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
LIVES NOT KNIVES competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- StreetDoctors: UK charity that trains young people at risk of violence in emergency first aid and haemorrhage control, focused on youth violence prevention. Directly comparable to LNK's Educate programme in school-based violence prevention delivery.
- Redthread: London-based charity that embeds youth workers in hospital A&E departments to intervene with young people affected by serious violence. Direct peer in the youth violence prevention space, with overlapping school and hospital-based referral pathways.
- MAC-UK: UK charity integrating mental health support with youth violence prevention through culturally sensitive, community-based interventions. Comparable youth-focused, prevention-led approach with overlapping therapeutic methods.
- St Giles Trust: UK charity providing intensive support to young people and adults affected by violence, exploitation, and the criminal justice system. Closely comparable to LNK in London-based youth violence prevention mission and mentoring-style interventions.
- Leap Confronting Conflict: UK charity that delivers conflict-resolution and violence prevention training programmes for young people in schools and communities. Comparable preventative education model targeting at-risk youth.
- Key4Life: UK charity working with vulnerable young people at risk of offending and reoffending, combining mentorship with prison-based and community programmes. Closely comparable youth-crime prevention mandate.
- Safer London: London-focused charity dedicated to preventing youth violence and supporting young people affected by it. Direct peer in geography, target population, and youth violence prevention interventions.
Broad incumbents
- Catch22: Large UK social business delivering services across education, employment, and youth justice, including violence prevention and exploitation programmes. Broader portfolio than LNK but operates comparable youth violence and school-exclusion interventions.
- Barnardo's: One of the UK's largest children's charities, running services including work with children affected by exploitation, violence, and school exclusion. Broad incumbent in the same space, with significantly larger reach and government contracts.
- The Prince's Trust: Major UK youth charity supporting disadvantaged young people through education, training, and employment programmes. Operates in an adjacent space with overlapping target demographics but a much broader, career-focused mandate.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
LIVES NOT KNIVES social profiles
Digital presenceLIVES NOT KNIVES financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
LIVES NOT KNIVES leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
LIVES NOT KNIVES funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
LIVES NOT KNIVES 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 LIVES NOT KNIVES
What does LIVES NOT KNIVES do?
Lives Not Knives is a UK registered charity that operates three core youth programmes — Engage, Educate, and Empower — delivering mentorship and tailored advice to at-risk young people in London to prevent knife crime, serious youth violence, and school exclusions. The organisation also maintains an online Educate Hub portal at educate.livesnotknives.org for educational resources and engages schools, corporates, and pro bono supporters as delivery and funding partners.
Is LIVES NOT KNIVES a public or private company?
LIVES NOT KNIVES is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was LIVES NOT KNIVES founded?
LIVES NOT KNIVES was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is LIVES NOT KNIVES based?
LIVES NOT KNIVES is headquartered in Croydon, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does LIVES NOT KNIVES make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are fundraising Events, corporate Partnerships and shop Sales.
Who are LIVES NOT KNIVES's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are StreetDoctors, Redthread, MAC-UK, St Giles Trust, Leap Confronting Conflict, Key4Life and Safer London. Broad incumbents are Catch22, Barnardo's and The Prince's Trust.
Does LIVES NOT KNIVES have an API?
No public API is recorded for LIVES NOT KNIVES.
What industry is LIVES NOT KNIVES in?
LIVES NOT KNIVES's product category is Youth Violence Prevention Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAM, Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits, with a secondary code of EDAJAIAH, Crisis Response & Threat Assessment (Suicide Prevention, Violence Prevention). Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.