FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question? We’re here to help.

General

We’ve covered Islington (where we are based), Hackney and Haringey for a few years. Membership is now open to people living in all London boroughs and environs.

Our mission is to give adults of all ages opportunities to meet people with shared interests, build and sustain their social circles and experience a deep sense of community, enabling them to enjoy life and age well.

We are a Community Interest Company (CIC), a type of social enterprise, which means we exist to benefit the public first and foremost. We reinvest the majority of any profits to further our social mission.

We treat people with respect and kindness and listen to them. We expect the same in return. We do not tolerate threatening, aggressive, violent or abusive behaviour towards our community which includes derogatory remarks, rudeness, inflammatory statements and unsubstantiated allegations. This includes staff and members, and applies whether in-person, over the phone or online. If this code is breached, we reserve the right to review your involvement with us and take further action as we see fit.

Members

We use social science research around how friendships form and a personalised approach to ‘engineer serendipity’ and bring people together who will likely click based on the things they have in common to help create meaningful, enduring friendships. All helped by our ‘Friendship Finder’ technology.

BuddyHub gives you the opportunity to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds that you would never usually meet in the normal course of life with all the benefits that brings.

We require Members to verify their identity before joining our community.

Any adult who:

  • Would like to increase their social circle.
  • Is living in a London borough or environs.
  • Can pass our verification process by providing proof of who they are.
  • Can attend their Welcome Chat at our Islington office or online
  • Can communicate and engage with our team and other members.
  • Is able to get outside and be active.
  • Is able to register online or do so with support from a friend or relative.
  • Is living with a mental health condition provided it is managed and stable.
  • Is not deemed an ‘adult at risk’ or with a dementia diagnosis.

Our communities are geographically based to create a new intergenerational group of friends who live locally and can support each other. For now, we only accept members who live in London and environs (but see FAQ below).

Please subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on our activity and news of our expansion plans (maybe the next area will be yours!). You can also get involved by gifting a membership to someone who cannot afford it.

Our activity is currently centred towards North and Central London. By living closer to other members, you can spend more quality time together, which is what it’s all about. However, if travel time is not an issue for you because your place of work is located in London, feel free to join BuddyHub!

Yes. Adults of any age are welcome to join (you must be 18 or over).

  1. Register via our website.
  2. We’ll take you through the steps to membership.
  3. You meet us for your Welcome Chat at our Islington office or online.
  4. You join our Community Platform.
  5. You have the opportunity to join groups and attend events based on your interests, hobbies and passions.
  6. We work our magic and carefully match you to up to three other Members around your joint interests so you can meet up and see if you click.

Supporters

Anyone can become a Community Sponsor. This means you don’t need to be an active member of our community. But if you believe our work to build inclusive, intergenerational communities is important, you can help a person on a low income who would benefit from increasing their social circle by gifting a place to them.

BuddyHub is a membership community and to be truly inclusive we want adults on low incomes or facing financial hardship to be able to join. The more Community Sponsors we have, the more people on lower incomes who can join us. The contribution of Community Sponsors is vital to our social impact and growth.

If you wish to stop contributing to BuddyHub, simply let us know at hello@buddyhub.co.uk and we will cancel this for you. You can also change your contribution at any time, if needed.

Referrers

Any adult who:

  • Would like to increase their social circle.
  • Is living in a London borough or environs.
  • Can pass our verification process by providing proof of who they are.
  • Can attend their Welcome Chat at our Islington office or online
  • Can communicate and engage with our team and the members they are matched to.
  • Has sufficient mobility to get outside and be active.
  • Is able to register online or do so with the support of a friend or relative.
  • Is living with a mental health condition provided it is managed and stable.
  • Is not deemed an ‘adult at risk’ e.g. with a care package or with unmet care and support needs or with a dementia diagnosis.

No. People who are ‘adults at risk’ are not eligible to join BuddyHub. Our guidance on friendship boundaries requires members to exclude activities that would require compliance with safeguarding legislation such as conveying other members to a healthcare, personal care or social work appointment or any assistance with household matters. If a member of BuddyHub goes on to develop care and support needs (and is then considered an ‘adult at risk’), we would review arrangements.

Current membership plan fees can be found at Become A Member.

BuddyHub is a paid membership community and everyone pays the same joining fee and monthly subscription, regardless of age. We place everyone on an equal footing as a member, with equal rights and equal responsibilities. Our fees enable us to run the services we offer to our members. As a social enterprise, our aim is to develop a sustainable business model which will allow us to grow the organisation, attract and pay our staff fairly, expand our reach and provide our services to a much wider group of people.

  1. We will get in touch with you if more information is required.
  2. We send information about BuddyHub to the person you referred.
  3. If they’re interested, they register via our website.
  4. We meet them for a Welcome Chat at our Islington office or online.
  5. They join our online community platform.
  6. They have the opportunity to join groups and attend events based on their interests, hobbies and passions.
  7. We work our magic and carefully match them with up to three other Members around joint interests and help with introductions.