How We Are Funded
Original Editor - Rachael Lowe Top Contributors - Rachael Lowe, Lucy Aird and Vidya Acharya
How We're Funded
Free access to trusted physiotherapy knowledge is fundamental to our mission. Here's how we make it sustainable.
Physiopedia is a registered charity (UK registration 1173185). As a charity, we are committed to transparency about how we generate revenue and how those funds are used to achieve our mission. This page explains our funding model and how we ensure long-term sustainability whilst maintaining free access for all.
Our Commitment
The core Physiopedia platform will always be free for everyone, everywhere.
This commitment is fundamental to our charitable mission: to provide universal and equitable access to trusted physiotherapy knowledge. We will never put the main Physiopedia knowledge base behind a paywall. Whether you're a student in a low-income country or a clinician in a major teaching hospital, you have the same free access to evidence-based physiotherapy content.
How We Generate Revenue
Physiopedia's sustainability depends on ethical revenue generation that aligns with our charitable mission. We currently generate revenue through three main streams:
Physiopedia Plus
Physiopedia Plus is our premium online learning platform, providing over 2,000 hours of structured continuing education courses. More than 220,000 physiotherapy professionals worldwide subscribe to Plus for their professional development.
What Plus offers:
- Structured CPD/CE courses across all physiotherapy specialisms
- Interactive AI supported learning with quizzes and case studies
- Certificates and CPD points/CEUs for professional portfolios
- Ongoing access to updated content
How this helps:
Plus operates on a modest annual subscription model. Revenue from Plus subscriptions directly funds the free Physiopedia platform, enabling us to:
- Maintain and improve the website infrastructure
- Support our editorial team and content quality processes
- Develop new features and functionality
- Keep the core knowledge base free for all
This model ensures that those who can afford to invest in premium continuing education help sustain free access for everyone else, including students and professionals in low-resource settings.
Physiopedia AI Assistant
Physiopedia AI Assistant (PAI) is an AI-powered clinical support tool designed exclusively by physiotherapists for physiotherapists. PAI licenses Physiopedia content to provide its knowledge base, ensuring that the AI assistant delivers evidence-based, quality-assured responses grounded in trusted physiotherapy knowledge.
What PAI offers:
- AI assistant trained on Physiopedia's evidence-based content
- Clinical reasoning support with cited sources
- Documentation assistance (SOAP notes, referral letters, discharge reports, and more)
- Patient education material generation
- Exercise programme recommendations
- Red flag screening support
- Research, education and leadership guidance
How this helps:
The content licensing arrangement between Physiopedia and PAI generates revenue for the charity whilst ensuring that:
- AI responses are grounded in quality-assured, human-reviewed content
- Sources are provided with every answer, maintaining transparency
- Physiopedia's intellectual property is protected and properly attributed
- The AI tool advances our mission of making physiotherapy knowledge accessible
This licensing model demonstrates how we can responsibly use AI technology to extend Physiopedia's reach whilst maintaining our commitment to quality, transparency, and human expertise. Unlike AI tools trained on unverified internet content, PAI provides physiotherapy professionals with an AI assistant they can trust because it's built on Physiopedia's evidence-based knowledge base.
Partnership Grants and Educational Initiatives
Physiopedia receives grants, partnership funding and philanthropic support from individuals to support specific educational initiatives that advance our mission. These collaborations with NGOs, foundations, international organisations and individuals enable us to deliver structured education programmes whilst generating revenue for the charity.
Examples of partnership initiatives:
- Educational programmes addressing rehabilitation needs in humanitarian contexts
- Professional development initiatives in low-resource settings
- Structured learning programmes aligned with global health priorities
How this helps:
Partnership grants provide project-specific funding whilst also contributing to our core operations. This enables us to:
- Develop high-quality educational content that remains freely available
- Extend our reach to underserved populations and contexts
- Build partnerships with organisations advancing rehabilitation globally
- Generate sustainable revenue whilst delivering charitable impact
These partnerships demonstrate how we can work with like-minded organisations to advance physiotherapy education whilst maintaining financial sustainability. The content created through these initiatives often remains on the free Physiopedia platform, benefiting the global physiotherapy community long after the initial project concludes.
Why This Model Works
Our funding model is designed around several principles:
Ethical and mission-aligned
Both Plus subscriptions and partnership grants advance physiotherapy education whilst generating sustainable revenue. We never compromise educational quality or independence for commercial gain.
Accessible pricing
Plus subscriptions are priced accessibly for individual professionals. We also provide free Plus access to individuals in low-income countries and discounted access to students and people sin middle-income countries, ensuring financial barriers don't prevent professional development.
Diversified and sustainable
Multiple revenue streams reduce dependency on any single source and create long-term financial stability.
Charitable reinvestment
All revenue goes back into achieving our charitable mission. As a registered charity, we have no shareholders and no profit motive beyond sustaining and growing our impact.
Where the Funds Go
All funds raised by Physiopedia are reinvested into achieving our charitable mission. As a UK registered charity, we operate under strict governance and publish annual reports showing exactly how funds are used.
Our funds support:
Platform & Technology (Infrastructure, hosting, development)
Maintaining and improving the Physiopedia website, ensuring fast, reliable, secure access for millions of users worldwide. This includes servers, security, mobile optimisation, and ongoing technical development.
Content Quality & Editorial Team (Quality assurance, editorial support, content review)
Supporting our volunteer editorial team with the tools, training, and coordination needed to maintain quality standards. This includes leadership roles, quality assurance systems, and editorial resources.
Educational Development (Course creation, partnerships, learning resources)
Developing new educational content and learning resources in collaboration with partners for the global physiotherapy community.
Global Expansion (Translation, localisation, international reach)
Expanding Physiopedia's reach through multilingual content, partnerships in new regions, and ensuring the platform serves physiotherapy professionals in all contexts.
Charitable Operations (Governance, administration, legal compliance)
Essential charity operations including governance, financial management, regulatory compliance, and strategic planning to ensure long-term sustainability.
Financial Accountability
As a registered UK charity, Physiopedia is subject to rigorous oversight and reporting requirements:
Charity Commission oversight
The UK Charity Commission monitors our activities, finances, and governance to ensure we operate for public benefit and meet charitable standards.
Annual reporting
We publish detailed Trustees' Annual Reports showing our income, expenditure, activities, and impact. These reports are publicly available and filed with the Charity Commission.
Independent governance
Our Trustees provide independent oversight, ensuring funds are used appropriately and decisions align with our charitable mission. Trustees receive no remuneration for their governance duties.
Transparent decision-making
Major financial and strategic decisions are made by the Trustees based on our Strategic Plan, which is developed with input from stakeholders and reviewed quarterly.
Supporting Our Mission
There are several ways you can help ensure Physiopedia's long-term sustainability:
Subscribe to Physiopedia Plus
Your subscription directly funds free access for everyone. Plus provides excellent value for your own professional development whilst supporting the global physiotherapy community.
Make a donation
One-off or regular donations help us invest in platform development, expand to new languages, and reach more physiotherapy professionals worldwide.
Partner with us
If you represent a university, clinic, professional organisation, or NGO, explore partnership opportunities that benefit your community whilst supporting our mission.
Share Physiopedia
The more physiotherapy professionals who use and value Physiopedia, the stronger our case for partnerships, grants, and philanthropic support. Simply using and sharing Physiopedia helps demonstrate our impact.
Learn More
- About Physiopedia - Our mission, vision, and strategic priorities
- Governance - How we ensure accountability and transparency
- Our Impact - How your support translates into global impact
- Our Partners - Organisations we work with worldwide
Every contribution to Physiopedia's sustainability helps maintain free access to trusted physiotherapy knowledge for professionals worldwide.