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Shared Futures
Foundation

About the Foundation

Helping communities respond to the problems that affect them.

Shared Futures Foundation works with people who face social or economic disadvantage. We run buildathons, mentoring and practical programmes so they are better able to identify and help meet their own needs.

Participants gathered for a session at Buildathon London 2026
Status
UK charity, in registration
Purpose
Community capacity building
Works in
England and Wales
First buildathon
7 June 2026

Our charitable purpose

For the public benefit, to develop the capacity and skills of people from socially and economically disadvantaged communities in England and Wales so that they are better able to identify and help meet their needs and participate more fully in society, in particular through buildathons, mentoring and practical programmes.

Three goals

What the Foundation sets out to do.

  1. 01

    Help disadvantaged communities work on real problems that affect them

    We bring together people affected by a problem, people who understand it, mentors and participants who can work on practical responses.

  2. 02

    Give people access to opportunities they may not otherwise have

    Buildathons, mentors, tools, technology and practical support. Where funding allows, taking part is free. Priority goes to people with less access to similar opportunities.

  3. 03

    Create work that can also help the wider community

    Teams may produce research, guides, tools, websites and prototypes. Where appropriate, we make these available to the public.

The Foundation does not need every idea to become a business or a permanent product. The purpose is to help communities build their capacity to identify and respond to problems that affect them.

Origin

It started with one person building.

Adil Abbuthalha taught himself to code and launched a platform that reached millions of users. He set up the Shared Futures Foundation so that people who have had fewer opportunities can get access to the same things: tools, mentors, practical experience and other people to work with.

The Foundation is a UK charity, currently in registration with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Its first buildathon took place in London on 7 June 2026.

Read the founder's letter

Leadership

The people responsible.

The trustees approve each programme and make sure it stays within the charitable purpose.

  • Adil AbbuthalhaFounder and Director
  • Iman SayamChair of Trustees
  • Aafreen ArshadTrustee
  • Shomsia AliTrustee

Governance

How decisions are made.

  • Trustees approve every programme

    Before a buildathon runs, the trustees record the problem, who it is for, the evidence of need, the costs and how it supports the charitable object.

  • Conflicts of interest are declared

    If a trustee or someone connected to a trustee could benefit, the interest is declared and that person takes no part in the decision.

  • No equity, no investment

    The Foundation is not a business accelerator. It does not take shares in participant projects or invest in participant businesses.

  • Every programme is reviewed

    Afterwards the Foundation looks at attendance, feedback, the work produced and whether the people it set out to help took part.

Private benefit

What the Foundation is not.

  • It is not a business accelerator.
  • It does not take equity or shares in participant projects.
  • It does not operate a venture capital fund.
  • It does not invest in participant businesses as part of a buildathon.
  • Unrestricted cash prizes for personal benefit are not part of its normal programme.

A participant may gain skills, experience, contacts and confidence from taking part. If they later start a business using an idea they worked on, that is separate from the charitable programme.

Work with us.

Take part, mentor, partner or donate.

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