Finance Score: 8
Governance Score: 0
Support Score: 12
  • Liabilities <10%: +3
  • Strong growth: +2
  • Fundraising costs low: +3
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • All female board: -3
  • Overall weighted support: +12
Overall GiG Score: 20 ?

BIRTH COMPANIONS

Overview

Birth Companions provide support services to pregnant women and new mothers in prison, and those facing multiple disadvantages in communities while fighting for the rights of these women in campaigning and policy work.

Their engagement with government was critical in securing the priority release of pregnant women and those in Mother and Baby Units from prison during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were commissioned by NHS England to provide support services to these women after release that included offering of practical items such as maternity/breast feeding bras, taxi services to hospitals and phone top-ups.

A majority of their funding is based on restricted grants but programmes have continued to expand and introduction of remote access to their services via phone, e-mail and letter has helped reduce impacts of increased prison restrictions.

Source: Giving is Great

Mission:

Providing practical support to isolated mothers before, during and after birth
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • This charity has a robust balance sheet
  • There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
  • Fundraising costs are unusually low relative to funds raised
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • One or more trustees receive payments or benefits from the charity for providing services to the charity
  • The Board is completely female

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit £k
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/03/24£604£644£-40£16£592£57510.71632
31/03/23£549£589£-40£15£632£62312.71132
31/03/22£592£470£121£12£672£54113.81077
31/03/21£611£421£190£1£550£35710.2885
31/03/20?£490£446£44n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/18£403£356£47n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/17£347£246£100n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/16£200£186£13n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/15£165£166£-1n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/14£80£135£-55n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/13£153£119£34n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/12£131£115£16n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/11£126£100£26n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/10£60£50£11n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/09£38£52£-15n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/08£68£61£7n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 2.6%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 2.4%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 12%
Highest pay band: £60,000-£70,000
Liabilities/Assets: 5%
Liabilities/Income: 5%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 97%
Reserves/Spending: 10.7 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 11 months
Quick Ratio: 17.5
Asset Split ?
Balance Sheet History
Comment: Birth Companions growth has been significantly aided by support from the Big Lottery Fund amongst other major grant givers. Service level agreements with the NHS have also helped their expansion remotely.

Source: Giving is Great

Established: 17 years

www.birthcompanions.org.uk

info@birthcompanions.org.uk

020 7117 2824

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies House
UN SDGs
?
How you can help
What it does
We support women experiencing severe disadvantages in the period before, during and after the birth of their babies. We run groups and give one to one support to women in four prisons and in the community in London. We have a national remit to improve the experiences and care of women facing health and social inequalities in the perinatal period through training, research and influencing change.
Listed activities
  • General Charitable Purposes
  • Other Charitable Purposes
GiG Classification
  • Practical support, advice & companionship
How it operates
  • Other charitable activities
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Throughout England,
Who it helps
  • Other Defined Groups

Who supports them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Major supporters in last 5 years
Esmee Fairbairn£130,000
The Bromley Trust£95,000
The Segelman Trust£90,000
Ministry of Justice£89,863
The Rayne Foundation£60,000
AB Charitable Trust£45,000
DCMS£30,500
City Bridge Trust£30,242
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
AB Charitable Trust - A grant to Birth Companions
£20,000 14/03/2024
An unrestricted grant of £20,000 for 3 years (This grant is renewable - year 2 of up to 3 years). Birth Companions provides emotional and practical support to pregnant women and new mothers within ....more
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Birth Companions
£10,000 30/01/2023
Towards unrestricted core costs as a Cost of Living Uplift
London Catalyst - Birth Companions - 9
£2,000 29/09/2022
Hardship Fund
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Birth Companions
£100,000 20/07/2022
Towards unrestricted core costs to support pregnant women, new mothers and babies with multiple disadvantage
Ministry of Justice - Women's Community Sector - Core Costs Funding
£9,863 01/04/2022
To further increase the sustainability of the sector, and to provide funding for services and interventions.
The EQ Foundation - Grant to Birth Companions
£6,250 15/02/2022
Big Give Champion Pledge
The Bromley Trust - Unrestricted grant
£75,000 17/01/2022
Birth Companions support women experiencing severe disadvantage during pregnancy, birth and early parenting. They support pregnant women and new mothers both in prison and the community. This a three ....more
AB Charitable Trust - A grant to Birth Companions
£15,000 07/10/2021
An unrestricted grant of £15,000. Birth Companions offers practical and emotional support to pregnant women and new mothers affected by the criminal justice system in prisons and the community.
London Catalyst - Birth Companions - 8
£1,750 11/05/2021
Hardship Fund
The Segelman Trust - Grant to Birth Companions
£90,000 04/05/2021
36
To support core costs
Ministry of Justice - Women's Community Sector Core Costs Funding
£45,000 01/04/2021
To support organisations which are developing a whole systems approach to female offenders across the country.
The EQ Foundation - Grant to BIRTH COMPANIONS
£5,000 11/02/2021
Big Give Christmas Challenge 2020
The Bromley Trust - Restricted additional support grant towards policy and communications work
£10,000 18/01/2021
12
Birth Companions support women experiencing severe disadvantage during pregnancy, birth and early parenting. They support pregnant women and new mothers both in prison and the community. This a ....more
Ministry of Justice - Women's Community Sector Funding
£35,000 18/01/2021
The womens community sector grants scheme offers £2.5 million in funding for core costs to promote greater financial stability throughout the sector.
The Rayne Foundation - Grant to Birth Companions Ltd
£60,000 15/12/2020
36
Towards developing its community based antenatal education programme in Hackney and Islington; and evaluating its impact to support sustainability and future growth.
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£30,500 29/09/2020
"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to ....more
City Bridge Trust - Grant to Birth Companions
£25,242 13/08/2020
towards the costs outlined in your application for the Birth Companion’s Community Link service including the cost of the Community Link Co-ordinator role
AB Charitable Trust - A grant to Birth Companions
£10,000 02/07/2020
An unrestricted grant of £10,000. Birth Companions offers practical and emotional support to pregnant women and new mothers affected by the criminal justice system in prisons and the community
The Pilgrim Trust - Grant to Birth Companions
£20,000 03/06/2020
12
Covid-19 emergency support for pregnant women and new mothers in prison and upon release
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Birth Companions
£20,000 05/05/2020
6
towards unrestricted costs as a COVID-19 Fast Response grant
CAF - Grant to Birth Companions
£4,000 24/04/2020
3
Grant to Birth Companions to support the organisation through COVID19
City Bridge Trust - Grant to Birth Companions
£5,000 13/04/2020
A grant of £5,000 to fund the essential and urgent costs outlined in the application, so that the organisation can carry on providing support to Londoners.
Charles Hayward Foundation - Grant to Birth Companions
£7,000 18/03/2020
Consolidating and developing services for pregnant women and new mothers at HMP Foston Hall
London Catalyst - Birth Companions - 6
£5,000 06/02/2020
Providing care and improving services for pregnant women and new mothers experiencing multiple disadvantage in Islington
The Bromley Trust - Restricted additional support grant towards policy and communications work
£10,000 06/01/2020
12
Birth Companions support women experiencing severe disadvantage during pregnancy, birth and early parenting. They support pregnant women and new mothers both in prison and the community. This a ....more
The EQ Foundation - Grant to BIRTH COMPANIONS
£5,000 15/12/2019
Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Birth Companions
£105,000 11/09/2019
36
towards three years' continuation funding of a project providing support for pregnant women in Bronzefield, Peterborough, Foston Hall and Low Newton prisons, and pre and post natal support for ....more
AB Charitable Trust - A grant to Birth Companions
£10,000 25/04/2019
An unrestricted grant of £10,000. Birth Companions offers specialist practical and emotional support to women before, during and after birth in prison. They provide woman-to-woman support and engage ....more
Ministry of Justice - HMPPS Innovation Grant Programme 19-20
£95,573 01/04/2019
To improve the Health and Well-being of Offenders within the Criminal Justice System.    
People's Health Trust - Pregnancy & Early Parenting Support in Prison
£31,895 12/09/2018
This two-year project built on existing work by Birth Companions to support pregnant women and new mothers (including separated mothers) in HMP Peterborough Prison. Weekly group sessions, co-designed ....more
Ministry of Justice - Improving the Health and Well-being of Offenders within the Criminal Justice System - Birth Companions
£75,351 06/07/2018
To improve the Health and Well-being of Offenders within the Criminal Justice System.    
London Catalyst - Birth Companions - 4
£5,000 21/06/2018
Targeted antenatal classes for women with complex social factors
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to Birth Companions
£15,000 18/04/2018
12
Birth Companions is seeking funding for the development of a new website, design work, marketing materials and service user consultations
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Birth Companions
£160,000 10/04/2018
48
Towards core funding to enable Birth Companions to improve the lives of pregnant women and new mothers facing severe disadvantage.
DCMS - Tampon Tax Fund
£30,000 01/04/2018
to provide support to women in prison and the community through pregnancy, birth and early parenting, in London and Peterborough
The Bromley Trust - Unrestricted grant
£45,000 25/10/2017
36
Birth Companions support women experiencing severe disadvantage during pregnancy, birth and early parenting. They support pregnant women and new mothers both in prison and the community. This a three ....more
The Bromley Trust - Unrestricted grant
£15,000 25/10/2017
Birth Companions support women experiencing severe disadvantage during pregnancy, birth and early parenting. They support pregnant women and new mothers both in prison and the community. This is a ....more
DCMS - Tampon Tax Fund
£30,000 01/04/2017
to provide support to women in prison and the community through pregnancy, birth and early parenting, in London and Peterborough
National Lottery Community Fund - WGI Stage 2
£648,133 22/03/2016
36
This project aims to extend the support to vulnerable mothers in prison and in the community providing support for a greater number of women for a longer period of time; and to create new ....more
The Rayne Foundation - Grant to Birth Companions Ltd
£45,000 14/03/2016
36
Towards core costs to support pregnant women and their babies and the dissemination of the organisation's expertise by training other professionals.
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Birth Companions
£75,000 10/03/2016
36
towards three years' continuation funding of the running costs of an organisation supporting pregnant women in HMP Holloway
Lankelly Chase Foundation - Grant to Birth Companions
£33,000 02/03/2016
6
An extension of Lankelly Chase’s existing grant to enable Birth Companions to complete a review of their strategic and operational plans to ensure the provision of effective support for new mothers ....more
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Birth Companions
£90,000 19/11/2014
36
Towards core support to ensure vulnerable women are supported through pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
Lankelly Chase Foundation - Grant to Birth Companions
£9,517 15/10/2014
For the completion of a strategic review of services for pregnant women and new mothers facing severe disadvantage
National Lottery Community Fund - Birth Companions - Services for pregnant women and new mothers in HMP
£114,000 16/06/2014
36
Not Available
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Birth Companions
£75,000 14/03/2013
36
towards three years' running costs of an organisation that provides support to pregnant women in HMP Holloway
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Birth Companions
£60,000 16/02/2011
Towards core support to maintain and expand Birth Companion's services, supporting pregnant women and new mothers in prison through each stage of their pregnancy and into early parenthood.
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How do they operate?

Birth Companions Support Services

Objectives: To ensure every mother has the support she needs to give her baby the best possible start in life, whatever her circumstances

Intervention period: Throughout pregnancy and into new motherhood

Beneficiaries: Pregnant women and new mothers in the most difficult and disadvantaged circumstances in prisons and communities

Location: UK

Description: Birth Companions offers community and prison support services to pregnant women through 1-to-1 sessions, group work, classes and online resources. Their staff and volunteers help women develop their birth preferences; support and advocate for them during appointments with professionals including midwives and obstetricians, social workers and the family courts; provide support with breast feeding and caring for new babies; make referrals to other support agencies and spend time with women, listening to them, supporting them and being there for them. They also support women who might otherwise give birth on their own and women or their supporters can phone Birth Companions 24/7 birth-line to mobilise specialist volunteers who offer practical and emotional support and advocacy during labour, birth and the immediate postpartum period. They provide a full range of high-quality recycled items for mothers and babies too, and help women with other needs, such as maternity/breast feeding bras, safe transport in labour, a hospital bag for birth, topping

....more
Birth Companions Policy and Campaigning

Objectives: To ensure every mother has the support she needs to give her baby the best possible start in life, whatever her circumstances

Beneficiaries: Pregnant women and new mothers in the most difficult and disadvantaged circumstances in prisons and communities

Location: UK

Description: Birth Companions policy work and campaigning fights for changes in treatment of women in the prison system and those facing multiple disadvantages in the community. After campaigning to secure priority release of pregnant women and those in Mother and Baby Units in prisons, the government announced plans to allow such releases (where women were deemed eligible). Birth Companions have been working closely with HM Prison and Probation Service, the Ministry of Justice, and a range of partners across the voluntary sector to ensure these women get the services and support they need to successfully resettle in the community. Their access to pregnant women in prisons and the community allow unique engagement and they have gathered data about experiences women face that they feed through to stakeholders at a local and national level. Some examples of this include evidence submitted to the Women and Equalities Committee for use in reporting and the development of

....more
How effective are they?
Outputs
Outcomes
Y/EWomen supported in prisons and the communityWomen supported during the birth of their babies
31/03/20222452
31/03/20212346
Y/E22 women through our new Probation service31 women in prison through our Peer Support services in prisons
31/03/20222231
Notes: Evidence of Birth Companions impacts are limited by a lack of consistent, reliable information provided by the criminal justice system. An absence of this overall transparency has restricted their ability to show long term interventions effectiveness. Though informing decisions through their advocacy work has also been impacted, they have made great strides in advising policymakers including a Birth Charter for Women in Prison in England and Wales that sets out recommendations for the care of pregnant women and new mothers in prison.

Commentary: Pregnant women in the prison system and community groups that use Birth Companions services may have to deal with multiple issues, coming from a range of disadvantaged backgrounds. Though these challenges are significant, data collected through surveys consistently indicates the charity is providing high levels of practical support and guidance to a growing number of women. This not only adds ease to the birthing process but improves the mental health and wellbeing of the women they work with, which will have a knock-on effect to their babies lives.
See what you could achieve with a donation of: £
How do we calculate this?

Who works here?

  • NAOMI DELAP
    CEO
    Appointed: May 2014
Naomi came to Birth Companions after running Inside Job Productions, a social enterprise working with women and ex-offenders. She has a background in communications, training at the BBC and working as a documentary film-maker in the UK, and in Communications for Development in East Africa before moving to the voluntary sector.
  • ANNA WISE
    Head of Operations
    Appointed: January 2011
Anna has been involved with Birth Companions since 2007 and started out as a volunteer before joining the staff. She manages their website, database and external communications management, and oversees evaluations and monitoring which include tracking aspects of support and generating impact data for fundraising activities.
  • DENISE MARSHALL
    Head of Services
    Appointed: January 2005
Denise’s role is to co-ordinate the services Birth Companions provide for women in prison and in the community, and to support the staff and volunteers who do this work. She also supports new birth companions through their training year. She joined Birth Companions in 2005 and has been instrumental in the growth and development of the organisation.
  • KIRSTY KITCHEN
    Head of Policy and Communications
    Appointed: January 2019
Kirsty leads their work to build greater understanding of multiple disadvantage during pregnancy and early motherhood, in order to inform and influence policy and practice. She works directly with the Lived Experience Team and with policy-makers, parliamentarians, commissioners and the media to help make sure women’s voices are heard and responded to. She joined Birth Companions after many years working as a consultant specialising in charity ....more
  • KATE CHIVERS
    Engagement Project Manager
    Appointed: January 2012
Kate worked at HMP Holloway when she first joined birth companions and co-ordinated their services at HMP Peterborough and then managed a three year National Lottery Community Fund project in User-Engagement. Her current role is Engagement Manager, leading the Lived Experience Team (LET) The LET offers opportunities for women to influence maternity services through consultation and co-production. She liaises with commissioners, public bodies and ....more

How is it governed?

Trustees (11)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split
Based on 10/11 persons

Age Range of Trustees: 34-74
Commentary:Their Board is 100% female and over the years, there has been a lack of interest from qualified men to take up a Trustee role. They have only received two male applications in the past and on these occasions, one chose not to pursue the position and the other did not have suitable experience. Their long standing Chair, Diana Parkinson has been with the charity since 2001 and was a founding member.
  • ANNE STEPHENS Appointed: 2014 Occupation: Magistrate
Anne Stephens was a member of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Holloway for 19 years until December 2013. She worked as a volunteer for Citizens’ Advice Bureau for 10 years. She has been a Magistrate in the Adult and Family courts since 2004. She is a member of the Steering Group of PECAN Moving On project which mentors young women....more
  • DIANA JANE PARKINSON Appointed: 2007 Occupation: Director
  • ELIZABETH HOGARTH Appointed: 2012 Occupation: Retired Civil Servant
Elizabeth worked in the voluntary sector and probation service before heading up the probation team in HMP Holloway for eight years. At the Home Office and MoJ Liz worked closely with Baroness Corston on developing the Corston Report and implementing its recommendations. She was awarded the OBE in 2008 for services to women offenders. Liz now....more
  • JENNIFER KERR-DAVIS Appointed: 2019 Occupation: Researcher
Jenny is a former criminal and family law barrister who joined the voluntary sector to focus on improving services and support for mothers and babies experiencing disadvantage. She is also a health services researcher at Oxford University and has a particular research focus on volunteer, peer and doula support for families....more
  • JULIE JULIFF Appointed: 2020 Occupation: Retired
Julie retired from the NHS in 2018 after 38 years’ service as a nurse and manager. Her last role was maternity commissioner for the North Central London Local Maternity system (LMS), which involved working with providers, women, voluntary organisations and other commissioners to ensure families received the best possible maternity care and....more
  • KLARE EMMA MEYER Appointed: 2022 Occupation: Charity Worker
  • LUCY BALL Appointed: 2013 Occupation: Charity Consultant
Lucy is a policy adviser and consultant with particular expertise in setting up and running grant making trusts and foundations and corporate giving to charity
  • LYDIA FOWLES Appointed: 2024 Occupation: Accountant
  • SALLY ANNE MATTHEWS (Chair) Appointed: 2018 Occupation: Charity Worker
Sally Anne (Sam) is Director of Deliver at Leap Confronting Conflict, prior to that she was CEO at Charities Evaluation Services. Leap supports young people to gain a greater understanding of themselves and their relationship to conflict – the organisation works in prisons and in local communities. Sam’s career spans over 20 years in the civil....more
  • TUESDAE MONCRIEFFE Appointed: 2021 Occupation: Sales Assistant
  • VIVIENNE SARAH GRAY Appointed: 2010 Occupation: Midwife
Viv is also a founding member with a background in birth education and support. She is a midwife in an independent practice, acupuncturist and a trainee clinical hypnotherapist.
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 21/09/2007, number: 1120934
  • Registered at Companies House on 05/06/2007, number: 06269047
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints policy and procedures
  • Conflicting interests
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
  • Internal risk management policy and procedures
  • Investing charity funds policy and procedures
  • Investment
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
  • Social media policy and procedures
  • Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
  • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
16 returns made; all on time
Recent reorganisation events:
  • Asset transfer in from MIDWIVES FOR WOMEN on 18/10/2019
Main office

Office 118
372 Old Street
London
EC1V 9LT

Objectives

(1) 'TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELFARE OF PREGNANT WOMEN AND NEW MOTHERS WHO EXPERIENCE SEVERE AND MULTIPLE HEALTH AND SOCIAL INEQUALITIES BY THE PROVISION OF PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND PRACTICAL SUPPORT DURING PREGNANCY, LABOUR, CHILDBIRTH AND THE POST-NATAL PERIOD.'In these objects “pregnant women and new mothers who experience severe and multiple health and social inequalities” shall be defined as pregnant women and new mothers in need by reason of their health, disability, financial hardship or social or economic circumstances.(2) ADVANCE AND EDUCATE THE PUBLIC IN PARTICULAR THE BENEFICIAL CLASS IN MATERNITY CHILDBIRTH AND PARENTING.

Defined Area of Benefit:

NOT DEFINED. IN PRACTICE NATONALLY IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving

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