SimPal 2025: A Year of Growth And Supporting Connection
2025 was the year SimPal truly came of age.
As we completed our ninth year of operation, the landscape around us shifted dramatically. Public services moved decisively online. Healthcare, benefits, education, housing and even basic communication increasingly require a device and connectivity. For millions, that shift created opportunity. For many others, it created exclusion.
What became unmistakably clear this year is that digital access is no longer optional. It is a lifeline.
A Record Year on the Frontline
By every measure, 2025 was our busiest year to date.
Across the year, SimPal distributed:
- 805 mobile phones
- 713 SIM cards
- 43 laptops
Behind every number was a real person, someone managing illness, poverty, disability, homelessness or isolation, now able to access services, stay safe, and reconnect with the world.
Demand surged month on month:
- July alone saw 80 phones and 100 SIMs distributed.
- September brought 78 phones, 100 SIMs and 8 laptops.
- November saw 110 phones, 108 SIMs, and 13 laptops reach people in need.
As the availability of SIMs improved, devices became harder to source, forcing us to rethink supply, partnerships and sustainability at speed.
Real People – Real Impact
Some of the most powerful moments of 2025 came through the stories we were trusted to hold.
A man, once forced to give up portrait painting as his eyesight failed, regained both vision and purpose after cataract surgery. With a SimPal phone and SIM, he reconnected with his daughters, photographed new inspirations, and returned to his art.
Davina received her first-ever mobile phone. Living with arthritis and mobility challenges, she had previously endured painful trips into the city just to manage council tax or GP appointments. Today, she does it all from home, independently, confidently and with dignity.
A young mother, struggling financially, used her SimPal SIM to stay in touch with her support worker. That one connection ensured her son could attend a social prescribing programme. He now volunteers in a community garden, helping create something beautiful for others.
From refugees at risk of slipping through the cracks, to disabled people cut off from healthcare, to families navigating cancer treatment, time and again we saw the same truth:
Connection changes everything.
Partnerships That Changed the Game
2025 was also the year SimPal’s partnerships deepened and matured.
We were proud to welcome Check Point Software Technologies as a global sponsor. A fundraising evening in London in October marked the start of a collaboration that will continue into 2026 and beyond, bringing both funding and advocacy to our work.
Our partnership with 1823 Group grew significantly. Presentations to IT leaders opened new supply lines, leading to dozens of phones and laptops donated from law firms and corporations. 1823 also began producing a short documentary about SimPal, helping tell our story to a broader audience and inspiring further device donations.
We remain deeply grateful to FreeIT Stafford, whose refurbished devices not only support people in need but also reduce electronic waste, proving that inclusion and sustainability can go hand in hand.
Digital Inclusion on the National Stage
The broader conversation caught up with what we see every day.
During Good Things Foundation’s Get Online Week (20–26 October), attention focused on social broadband tariffs and affordability. For many of the people we support, simply knowing these options exist is transformative.
At the same time, announcements about an NHS “Online Hospital” highlighted a growing risk: that moving services online without universal access could deepen inequality. For us, this confirmed what our referrals already show: digital access is now a medical necessity.
Research from the BBC’s Responsible Innovation Centre reinforced this reality, identifying digital exclusion as inseparable from poverty, health, housing and education. Tackling it requires collaboration, exactly the model SimPal has been building.
Strengthening the Organisation from the Inside
Growth like this is not sustainable without care.
In 2025, we made deliberate decisions to protect our volunteers and future-proof the charity. We improved efficiency, introduced a new donation platform, and strengthened governance.
Financially, SimPal reached the most sustainable position in its history, putting us on track to employ our first part-time member of staff in 2026.
We also welcomed new trustees and ambassadors, expanded our team’s skills, and prepared for increased demand, with forecasts suggesting a further 50% rise in 2026.
The People Behind the Mission
None of this happened by accident.
From trustees and ambassadors to volunteers and partners, SimPal is powered by people who care deeply about fairness, dignity and connection. Whether maintaining systems, amplifying our voice online, fundraising, or advocating in their own networks, every contribution mattered.
2025 reminded us that while technology enables connection, people make it meaningful.
Launching No Connection No Chance 2026
As we step into the new year, January marks the launch of our No Connection No Chance 2026 campaign, a bold and necessary response to the growing scale of digital exclusion we are seeing across the UK.
The campaign builds directly on the realities of 2025: rising demand, increasing referrals from the NHS and frontline organisations, and the straightforward truth that without access to a phone, data or a device, people are being locked out of essential services and everyday life.
No Connection No Chance 2026 sets out our commitment to reach more people, strengthen device supply, expand partnerships and secure the funding needed to meet demand sustainably. It reflects everything we have learned over the past year and channels it into a focused effort to ensure no one is left disconnected simply because they cannot afford to connect.
You can find full details of the campaign here
Looking Ahead to Our 10th Year
As we closed the year, planning was already underway for what comes next:
- Deeper collaboration with the National Health Service and local authorities
- Expanded referral pathways
- A renewed 2026 campaign
- And celebrations marking SimPal’s 10th anniversary
There is only so much any organisation can predict. But what we do know is this:
The need is real.
The impact is proven.
And the community around SimPal has never been stronger.
As 2025 ends and 2026 begins, we move forward with gratitude, humility and determination, committed to ensuring that no one is left behind simply because they cannot afford to connect.