From strategy to success: boosting Stonewall Housing’s engagement & funding

In brief

Stonewall Housing partnered with Gate One to strengthen its ambassador and champion programmes, which had grown organically but lacked strategic clarity. Through a collaborative strategy day, the team co-created a shared vision, mapped ambassador journeys end-to-end, and identified key pain points and opportunities. The session produced a prioritised roadmap with quick wins and long-term initiatives. The day also led to greater team alignment, programme engagement, and positioned the charity to better attract and retain support. The Stonewall Housing team left with a clear plan for utilising the ambassadors and champions programme to increase the charity’s visibility, funding, and ultimately sustainably grow its service offering.

Stonewall’s challenge

Stonewall Housing is the UK’s leading national charity supporting 45,000+ LGBTQ+ people of all ages since 1983 who are experiencing homelessness or living in unsafe environments.

Following an earlier collaboration with Gate One on data-related work, the charity approached us for strategic support to bolster its ambassador and champion programmes:

• Ambassadors are often individuals with lived experience of homelessness who previously accessed Stonewall Housing’s services. They play a vital role by sharing their stories, speaking at events, and featuring in campaigns.
• Champions are public figures, activists, and community leaders who lend their influence, time, and platforms to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ homelessness and housing inequality. They help amplify Stonewall Housing’s message, advocate for systemic change, and reach new audiences (West End star Jordan Luke Gage for example).

LGBTQ+ people remain disproportionately affected by homelessness, in fact, up to 20- 40% of homeless people identify as LGBTQ+, many facing family rejection, domestic abuse, and systemic discrimination. These programmes provide a platform for advocacy and storytelling, helping Stonewall Housing secure sustainable funding, influence policy, and enabling the charity to expand its services. However, both programmes were in need of clearer structure and strategic alignment to fully realise their potential – prompting the need for a strategic reset and roadmap to unlock their value.

Stonewall Housing partnered with Gate One to strengthen its ambassador and champion programmes, which had grown organically, but lacked strategic clarity. Through a collaborative strategy day, the team co-created a shared vision, mapped ambassador journeys end-to-end, and identified key pain points and opportunities.

Our approach

To help Stonewall Housing overcome challenges in its ambassador and champion programmes, Gate One delivered a dynamic one-day strategy workshop with eight team members. The session was highly collaborative and engaging, combining strategic planning tools with visioning exercises to define what the future of these programmes should look like. Interactive activities such as journey mapping and idea prioritisation ensured the day was practical and outcome-driven.

With limited time and budget, we needed to maximise impact within a single day. This meant prioritising a wide range of outcomes while aligning diverse perspectives across two distinct programmes. The lack of existing structure added complexity, the ambassador and champion initiatives had evolved organically, so Gate One’s role was to bring clarity without compromising their authenticity.

While introducing best practices from leading charities, we ensured the roadmap stayed true to Stonewall Housing’s mission and values. Our goal was to create outputs that were not only actionable immediately but also inspiring enough to maintain momentum and engagement over the long term.

Participants were encouraged to share insights and co-create solutions, resulting in a roadmap that clearly articulated ownership across the team. What made this pro bono initiative unique was its tailored approach. We drew on external models from organisations such as Movember and Clarion Housing Group, embedding Stonewall’s values, and delivering a prioritised set of actions that balanced quick wins with strategic impact.

Key results

The workshop delivered clear, tangible outcomes for Stonewall Housing:

• Over 80 initiatives generated by the team that could be adopted to elevate the two programmes.
• It provided a prioritised roadmap of initiatives, breaking them down into clear actions and assigning owners to take them forward – this enabled the charity to take immediate action while planning for long-term impact.
• Attendees reported stronger team alignment, improved engagement with the programme, and clarity on the future direction of the ambassador and champion programmes, with renewed confidence and momentum.
• As a result of all of the above, Stonewall Housing is now better positioned to grow visibility, deepen engagement, unlock new funding opportunities, retain support and ultimately sustainably grow its service offering.

Our support has helped contribute to Stonewall achieving the following in 2025:

• 3,733 LGBTQ+ individuals supported in the past year, averaging 75 referrals per week.
• 690 advice calls and 300+ online chat sessions handled quarterly.
• Domestic abuse service success: every client rehoused in safe accommodation within six months.
• Financial empowerment: 270 budgeting sessions delivered to improve long-term stability.

A survey by the Taproot Foundation found that 76% of employees who participated in pro bono work were more likely to recommend their company as a great place to work. Gate One aspires to always make pro bono projects work fun and create meaningful, measurable social impact.

By helping Stonewall Housing shape the foundations of their new ambassador and champions programme, our consultants gave them the space and structure to develop ideas that will boost their visibility, unlock funding, and ultimately expand the services they provide to those most in need.