Philanthropy, trusts and foundations

Help make the moments that transform lives forever

YHA creates the moments that matter in young lives; the extraordinary moments when young people begin to believe in themselves, discover their talents and find new ambition.

Children and young people growing up in challenging circumstances miss out on these moments. We are determined to change that. Some children can’t wait for life to change. Now is the moment they need you most.

By giving a significant gift to YHA you can help make that change possible.

Together, we can transform young lives forever through travel and real adventure.

Contact us

If you’re looking to make a significant gift or find out more, our dedicated team is here to help you along the way

Get in touch

How we’ll support you as a major donor

Dedicated fundraising contact to answer your queries and questions about giving to YHA

Regular updates and communications on the impact of your gift in action

Invitations to special events and to visit hostels across the YHA network

Collaborative relationship to ensure your gift goes towards the projects you care about most

Projects your donation could support

Person helping children cross a stream

No child left behind appeal

The number of children experiencing poverty is rising. And with the squeeze on school budgets and household purses, more school residential trips are being cancelled. Whole classes miss out.

For children from low-income families, it could mean missing out on their only night away from home.

Help give more children access to amazing adventures

Find out more

Heart of the community appeal illustration

Heart of the community appeal

Help us install a life-saving defibrillator at every YHA hostel for the benefit of the whole community.

According to the British Heart Foundation, 30,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of hospital each year in the UK. Sadly, 90% of these are fatal.

We want to play our part in investing in our local communities and in creating a nation of life savers.

Find out more

Child looking up

Breaks programme

Our Breaks programmes aim to reach young people and families with the most challenging lives and provide them with life-changing experiences.

Today, young people face many challenges. Financial hardship, homelessness, disability, long-term illness, bereavement, caring for a parent and other circumstances all limit children’s opportunities. We are here to create new opportunities for those in the greatest need.

Find out more

Guided walking group at YHA Streatley

Outdoor Citizens

We’re working with community organisations across England and Wales to tackle inequality of access to the benefits of the great outdoors.

We have formed a community of practice to bring together small charities, not-for-profit groups and organisations that are working to support more people to access the outdoors.

Find out more

Capital projects

YHA’s diverse range of locations across England and Wales is in constant need of revitalising and improving to ensure we remain fit for purpose to deliver our charitable aims.

Get in touch to find out about projects happening in your region and across our network.

Discover the difference your gift could make

As a charity, we focus on improving physical and mental health, wellbeing and life skills through travel and real adventure. We’re here to enrich the lives of all our guests, yet we know we make the greatest difference to young people – and especially those coping with challenges that mean they otherwise miss out.

YHA’s annual report gives a comprehensive review of our activities for the year. Find out more and download your copy.

Perranporth Young Carers

We gave 20 young carers a free break to YHA Perranporth. Much more than a holiday from their responsibilities, this respite trip gave these young people from a deprived area the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, learn to surf and spend time with peers who know exactly what they’re going through. Crucially, these precious few days away brought happiness and hope for the future.

Cuts to youth provision in their area mean that these young people simply would not have been able to take this break without YHA and the generosity of our supporters. Because of this trip, these young people had taken more exercise, improved their communication skills and reported greater wellbeing.

Project 90

In 2019, in anticipation of YHA’s 90th birthday celebrations, we launched a special appeal to fund unforgettable activity breaks for 900 young carers and other children with challenging lives.

Then the pandemic hit, dealing a severe blow to our income and bringing sorrow and hardship to many more in our community. For young carers and children with challenging lives, bad situations were made worse. For NHS staff and key workers, the burden of stress was unimaginable.

So we extended our Project90 appeal to fund adventures for young carers, respite breaks for NHS staff and key workers, and low-income families. Thanks to the generosity of our members and supporters, we exceeded our target, raising over £550,000.

Fantastic Mr Fred

Fred is 8 years old and has a progressive eye condition which may eventually cost him his sight. YHA has made book-mad Fred’s dreams come true by going on an adventure like the Famous Five and find treasure and fossils. Fred and his family experienced a holiday at YHA Boggle Hole, on the coast of North Yorkshire.

The two-day break was provided by YHA’s Family Breaks programme. This programme supports children and their families and provides them with the opportunity to access positive life changing experiences, creating memories that last a lifetime.

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Christmas appeal

With our Christmas appeal, December 2021, we aimed to raise £50,000 to support 20 schools from areas of greatest deprivation to each bring a class of 30 children away with YHA.

Thanks to the generosity of our members and our supporters, we raised over £70,000 — enough to support 875 pupils.

This is our most successful individual giving campaign of recent years. The funds raised were used as bursaries and given to schools that would otherwise not have been able to afford a residential. We have since launched a national campaign to to raise £1m to support schools and families so that no child is left behind.

Our major donors and supporters

We are grateful to every person who gives a gift to YHA of any size. We’d like to thank all our major supporters and donors for their generosity.

Together, we can transform young lives forever through travel and real adventure.

The Pilgrim Trust

In 2023, The Pilgrim Trust pledged £50,000 of funding towards our Outdoor Citizens programme as part of YHA’s commitment to ensure that a more diverse range of people have access to activity in the outdoors, nature and heritage in all its forms. This funding will reach people who might otherwise miss out to ensure the removal of barriers preventing them from engaging with the outdoors and tracking the impact this has on them. This includes people from lower social economic groups, culturally diverse communities and women and girls. A huge thank you once again to The Pilgrim Trust for their generous support.

Peter Harrison Foundation

The Peter Harrison Foundation’s generous funding has ensured that young people most in need in the South East will benefit from a fully-funded adventure away from home. By pledging £25,000 over two years, six fully-funded residential breaks will provide young people with a break that will have lasting benefits, such as improving their mental health and encouraging them to be more active in the future.

Individual donors

“Our Uncle was most positively a life-long supporter and was very happy in providing essential funding towards the wonderful work YHA does. He will be looking down feeling very proud to have been part of YHA, knowing he contributed to something special.”
– The family of Dr F G Pink, YHA’s first million-pound donor

“I wanted to support an amazing organisation that is doing a good job and is close to my heart.”
– Jo

“I decided to support YHA so that young people can continue enjoying the freedom of travel and adventure as I did in my youth.”
– Bruce

“I have pleasure from supporting a charity that continually provides life enhancing and life changing experiences for those that cannot take part themselves without YHA’s contributions to cost. YHA offers exciting and memorable stays away for a few days, similar to what I enjoyed as a child every day.”
– Kay

“I happily donate to YHA. Modern life is difficult for many young people. YHA offers opportunities from a motivated, friendly, supportive and talented staff and management team.”
– John

View our donors and supporters

Contact us

If you’re looking to make a philanthropic gift as an individual or family, we’d love to hear from you.

Make a philanthropic donation

If you’re looking to make a philanthropic gift as an individual or family, we’d love to hear from you.

Contact Darren Worthy to discuss.

Email:  [email protected]

Phone:  07977 185 455

Give via a trust or foundation

If you’re looking to make a gift via a charitable trust or foundation, we’d love to tell you more about our work.

Contact Carl Jones to discuss.

Email:  [email protected]

Phone:  07989 731 482

Donate online

If you would prefer to donate online, please donate using our philanthropy donation form

Donate online
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