John Lyons Charity Publishes 10-Year Review of Young People’s Foundations
Ten years on - the case for Young People’s Foundations (YPFs) is stronger than ever. After all the discussion about the new National Youth Strategy, and the renewed attention on what young people need to thrive, the John Lyons Charity Report looking at a decade of the Young People’s Foundations, offers a moment for reflection.
John Lyon’s Charity’s Ten Years On: Celebrating a Decade of the Young People’s Foundations report offers a rare, long-term view of how place-based youth infrastructure has developed since the first Young People’s Foundations were established in 2015. Its findings are both encouraging and useful for the next ten years and beyond.
YPFs emerged in response to a youth sector under intense pressure. As statutory provision was stripped away following austerity, local voluntary and community organisations were left navigating dwindling resources, fragmented systems and rising need. The YPF model was designed to address this gap - not by delivering services directly, but by strengthening the conditions that allow youth organisations to survive, collaborate and ultimately thrive. The first YPF was established in 2015, and eight were launched across the John Lyon’s Charity Beneficial Area by 2019 - Young Hammersmith & Fulham being one of these inaugural YPFs. Since then, the model has expanded nationally, with 24 YPFs now active across the UK, alongside several further developing or pending Foundations.
Since 2015, John Lyon’s Charity has invested £9 million into the development of YPFs. Over the same period, YPFs have helped distribute more than £17 million in grants into local youth sectors, funding, that many organisations report, they would otherwise have struggled to access.
Ten years on, the report has found that this role is widely understood and valued. Across the country, YPFs are seen as trusted intermediaries: convening local youth sectors, distributing funding, and acting as a bridge between grassroots organisations, funders and local authorities.
YPFs are trusted intermediaries
“This report confirms what we see every day in Hammersmith & Fulham: when local youth sectors are connected, properly resourced and listened to, funding goes further and impact deepens. The challenge now is ensuring that this infrastructure is protected and able to grow, not treated as optional or temporary.”
One of the clearest findings from the review is how the YPF role has evolved. Whilst grantmaking and networking remain core to its DNA, many Foundations are now operating as a bridge between strategy and frontline action. YPFs are ensuring that the lived realities of youth organisations inform decision-making at higher levels. This role is becoming increasingly important as policy ambitions grow. The report notes that YPFs are often the organisations best placed to hold relationships across sectors, maintain local intelligence, and connect strategic priorities with what is feasible on the ground.
Feedback from community member organisations reinforces this picture. 88% of surveyed members reported being quite or very satisfied with their local YPF. Almost half said their membership helped them secure funding they were previously unaware of or unable to access, unlocking close to £900,000 in a single year.
The challenges that still remain
The review is clear about the challenges that remain. Despite their success, most YPFs continue to rely heavily on a small number of funders to cover core costs. On average, Local Authorities now contribute 38% of YPFs’ core funding, with John Lyon’s Charity contributing around 35% - a sign of growing local buy-in, but also of ongoing vulnerability if either source shifts.
There is also evidence of continued confusion about what YPF “membership” means, and how Foundations sit alongside frontline providers. As the model matures, the report highlights the importance of clearer communication - not only to funders and partners, but to the youth sector itself.
If you want to read our no-nonsense guide to what YPFs are, look no further.
What does this review mean for the next decade?
Taken together, the findings make a strong case for the YPF model - but also a clear case for its continued evolution. As the Youth Matters, National Youth Strategy, places renewed emphasis on place-based working, collaboration and youth participation, the success of those ambitions will depend on strong local infrastructure to carry them.
For Young People’s Foundations, the next chapter should be less about proving relevance, and more about ensuring sustainability: diversifying core funding, clarifying purpose, strengthening leadership capacity and continuing to act as honest brokers between policy and practice.
Ten years on, the lesson is clear. Where youth sectors are supported to work together - with trusted, locally rooted infrastructure as the lynchpin - investment travels further, collaboration deepens, and young people benefit in ways that short-term programmes alone cannot achieve.