Organisations & Partnerships
From funding and venues to technology, volunteering and campaigns, organisations can help Empty Chairs reach more communities while keeping every event free to attend.
Talk to us about a partnershipYou don’t need a finished proposal. Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll start there.
Empty Chairs started with one person at one table. Today, volunteer hosts are creating places for connection in communities across the UK and beyond.
Why organisations matter
An Empty Chairs event is deliberately simple: a volunteer host wears orange, sits at a table in a public place and leaves some chairs empty for anyone who wants to join them. There’s no charge and no need to register.
Behind that simplicity sits the infrastructure needed to make a growing network of events safe, reliable and sustainable.
The right support helps us build what sits behind the table while keeping the experience simple for the person who turns up.
Talk to us about a partnershipWays to work together
Some partnerships might be financial. Others might involve people, places, technology, expertise or reach. Start with the route that feels closest to your organisation.
A defining moment to get involved
Empty Chairs is still being built. A Founding Partner would make a significant contribution during the early growth of the movement — helping build the foundations that allow it to grow sustainably and reach many more communities.
This is for organisations interested in building something meaningful with us over time.
Talk to us about becoming a Founding PartnerEmpty Chairs needs welcoming places to happen. Pubs, cafés, restaurants and venue networks can help create the right spaces in one community, a region or across a wider network.
Explore a venue partnershipFinancial support can strengthen safeguarding, host support, technology, event resources, coordination and community expansion — while helping every event remain free to attend.
Talk to us about financial supportGive employees practical ways to support connection through hosting, local activity, skills-based volunteering, fundraising or helping Empty Chairs grow where they live and work.
Explore employee involvementUniversities and student organisations can help establish sustainable student-led activity through host recruitment, campus awareness, communications and suitable places to meet.
Explore a university partnershipFootball has the power to bring people together. Empty Chairs Matchdays creates simple opportunities for people to meet before a game.
Talk to us about MatchdaysHelp bring Empty Chairs to towns, cities or regions where it doesn’t yet exist by supporting local awareness, host recruitment, event resources and sustainable growth.
Help us reach more communitiesA simple experience at the table needs good systems behind it. Support could include software, communications, data, reporting, digital infrastructure or technical expertise.
Explore a technology partnershipExpertise in legal, safeguarding, finance, governance, research, communications, design, data, operations or impact measurement can help Empty Chairs build properly.
Offer professional supportBuild a thoughtful campaign around loneliness, belonging, community or social connection through storytelling, awareness, employee involvement or public activity.
Discuss a campaign ideaNot every good partnership fits into a box. If your organisation has people, places, expertise, funding, technology, reach or a different idea, we’d still like to hear it.
Tell us what you have in mindYou don’t need to work out which box you fit into before getting in touch. A good conversation is enough to begin.
Start a partnership conversationWhat support makes possible
However an organisation works with us, the objective stays the same: make Empty Chairs easier to find, safer to run and available in more communities.
The idea should always remain this simple
A person sees an orange host. There is an empty chair. They can sit down.
Something important is growing. The right organisations can help build it well.
Protecting what makes it work
People should be able to attend Empty Chairs without feeling they have walked into a marketing campaign. These boundaries keep the community experience simple and help partnerships work better.
Bring something to the table
Whether you’re thinking about funding, venues, employees, matchdays, universities, technology, professional expertise, a campaign or something completely different, we’d like to hear from you.
Start a partnership conversationTell us a little about your organisation and what you have in mind.