What Youth Endowment Fund does

Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a UK registered charity (Charity Number 1185413) established in March 2019 by children's charity Impetus under a £200 million, ten-year Home Office endowment to find what works in preventing children and young people becoming involved in violence across England and Wales. The organisation combines grant-making, rigorous evaluation and movement-building, operating through seven priority sectors: Education, Youth Justice, Children's Services, Policing, Health, Youth Sector and Neighbourhoods. Its core digital asset is the free YEF Toolkit, an evidence-based online repository of programme and system guidance, supplemented by the ORPIC self-evaluation tool, the Core Indicators Dashboard, evidence and gap maps, and an annual Children, Violence and Vulnerability survey that in 2025 reached nearly 11,000 teenagers.

YEF serves practitioners, commissioners, policymakers, academics and youth organisations rather than charging customers: all resources, reports and digital tools are provided free of charge on a freemium basis, and grants are disbursed rather than sold. Distribution runs through the Toolkit website, downloadable guidance and evaluation reports, an Annual Conference, regular sector webinars, a Safe Podcast hosted by Director Ciaran Thapar, and an active social presence across LinkedIn, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Bluesky. The go-to-market motion is community-led, anchored on building a movement of evidence-led practitioners and on direct engagement with ministers and government officials to inform UK policy.

The operating model is funded by the drawdown of the £200m endowment rather than fee revenue, with Impetus acting as sole corporate trustee. Strategic partnerships extend YEF's reach, including Centre for Justice Innovation for diversion practice (supporting over 20 youth justice services and 9 police forces), Behavioural Insights Team on Metropolitan Police data analysis, Cordis Bright on referral decision-making, IPPR and Runnymede Trust on social-movement research, and LBTC on race equity in focused deterrence. Reported outcome signals include a 45% relative reduction in reoffending after diversion (8.2% to 4.5% at six months) and a 33% average crime reduction from focused deterrence, which YEF uses to validate funded interventions.

Name

Youth Endowment Fund

Legal name

The Youth Endowment Fund Charitable Trust

Website

https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Youth Endowment Fund is a UK charity using a £200m Home Office endowment to fund, evaluate and disseminate evidence on what works to prevent children and young people in England and Wales from becoming involved in violence, serving practitioners, policymakers and youth organisations through free guidance, grants and digital tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Violence Prevention Research and Grant-making

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Child and Youth Services (62411), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

Keywords

• Youth violence prevention
• Evidence-based interventions
• Grant-making charity
• Research and evaluation
• Children's services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Endowment: YEF was established with a £200m endowment from the Home Office with a ten-year mandate. The organization operates as a grant-making charity that funds organizations delivering interventions to prevent youth violence.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Youth Endowment Fund is a UK charity that funds organisations delivering violence prevention interventions for children and young people, rigorously evaluates them, and publishes free evidence-based resources (the YEF Toolkit, ORPIC tool, guidance reports, and research publications) so practitioners, commissioners and policymakers across seven sectors can put what works into practice.

Product overview

Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) operates as a unified portfolio of evidence-based products and services focused on preventing youth violence in England and Wales. The core offering is the YEF Toolkit—a free online resource providing evidence-based guidance on effective interventions. Supporting products include the Safe Podcast for public engagement, YEF Guidance Reports for sector-specific practice guidance, annual research publications (including the Children, Violence and Vulnerability Report), and the ORPIC digital self-assessment tool for youth justice partnerships. Additional offerings include Evidence and Gap Maps, an Outcomes Framework for evaluators, a Youth Advisory Board for stakeholder engagement, and a Core Indicators Dashboard for statistical data. Funding programmes and grant-making services complement the product portfolio. The organisation does not operate a traditional SaaS platform but provides publicly accessible resources, tools, and research to practitioners, policymakers, and organisations working to prevent youth violence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Safe Podcast: A podcast from the Youth Endowment Fund exploring why violence affects children and young people, and what actually works to prevent it.

Products and services

• YEF Toolkit A free online resource for youth organisations, practitioners and policymakers across England and Wales that helps put evidence of what works to prevent serious violence into action across seven sectors (Education, Youth Justice, Children's Services, Policing, Health, Youth Sector, Neighbourhoods).
• ORPIC (Out of Court Resolution Practice Insight Creator) A free digital self-evaluation tool for youth justice partnerships to assess their out-of-court resolution practice against the best available evidence and practitioner insights, with instant insights and action planning capabilities.
• YEF Guidance Reports Evidence-based practice and system guidance reports covering sectors including Children's Services, Youth Justice, Education, Policing, Health, Neighbourhoods and Youth Sector to protect children from involvement in violence.
• Children, Violence and Vulnerability Report Annual report surveying teenage children aged 13-17 in England and Wales about their experiences of violence.
• Evidence and Gap Maps Interactive maps showing evidence and gaps in programmes and systems approaches to violence prevention.
• Core Indicators Dashboard Interactive dashboard providing statistical briefings and core indicators of violence affecting children and young people.
• YEF Outcomes Framework Framework providing guidance and policies for evaluators on measuring outcomes in youth violence prevention programmes.
• YEF Grant Funding Programmes Grant funding programmes that award money to organisations across England and Wales delivering promising interventions to tackle youth violence, including the Violence Against Women and Girls Prevention Programme and multi-site trials.
• Safe Podcast A podcast exploring why violence affects children and young people, and what actually works to prevent it, featuring conversations with researchers, practitioners, campaigners and young people, hosted by Ciaran Thapar.

Quantifiable outcome

• Diversion reduces reoffending by 45% (from 8.2% to 4.5% after six months)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, supporting and minor.

• Centre for Justice Innovation (CJI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYEF partnered with CJI to develop Diversion Practice Guidance and support implementation across youth justice services. CJI provides training, workshops, and on-the-ground support to services implementing evidence-based diversion approaches. The partnership has supported over 20 youth justice services and 9 police forces.
• Behavioural Insights Team (BIT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted research on diversions from the criminal justice system in London, analyzing 264,932 records of children and young people who interacted with the Metropolitan Police. Research found diversion was associated with reduced reoffending.
• Cordis BrightmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted research exploring how arrested children are referred into diversionary support, examining decision-making variability and support alignment with evidence base across England and Wales.
• IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with IPPR to investigate what has worked for movements trying to solve complex social problems like young people's involvement in violence, resulting in the 'Making change: what works?' report.
• Runnymede TrustsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Runnymede Trust on research examining what works for social movements addressing youth violence and complex societal challenges.
• Laurelle Brown Training and Consultancy (LBTC)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRace equity consultancy providing the Fairness Framework for child and family systems, supporting organizations to implement race equity in focused deterrence programmes in Leicester, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, and Greater Manchester.
• Professor Iain Brennan (Hull University)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpert advisor who co-developed the ORPIC digital tool for youth justice partnerships to self-evaluate out-of-court resolution practice against best available research.
• United BordersminorOthersCharity featured on YEF's Safe Podcast discussing the Music Mentoring Bus programme tackling territorial violence. YEF has funded related programmes.
• Durham University (Professor Carlene Firmin)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Carlene Firmin contributed expertise on contextual safeguarding, featured on YEF's Safe Podcast and referenced in YEF's guidance on extra-familial harm.
• Youth Justice BoardsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerYEF works with the Youth Justice Board on diversion data and initiatives, and references YJB's Prevention and Diversion Assessment Tool in their guidance.
• Children's Commissioner (Dame Rachel de Souza)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerYEF collaborates with the Children's Commissioner on advocacy for children affected by serious violence and extra-familial harm.
• Child Safeguarding Practice Review PanelsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerYEF engages with the Panel on safeguarding children from extra-familial harm and serious violence, with Panel Chair Sir David Holmes endorsing YEF guidance.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: One of the UK's largest children's charities, running direct services for vulnerable children including those affected by violence and exploitation. Comparable in target beneficiaries but is a direct service provider rather than a grantmaker.
• The Children's Society: Large UK charity supporting disadvantaged children including those at risk of exploitation, county lines, and youth violence. Comparable mission and beneficiary group, though focused on direct service delivery and advocacy rather than grantmaking.
• NSPCC: The UK's largest children's charity, with broad remit across child protection, services, and policy. A broad incumbent in the children-and-youth sector with overlapping interest in violence and safeguarding, but operating at far greater scale and breadth.

Direct peers

• Paul Hamlyn Foundation: Major UK grantmaking foundation supporting children and young people, including evidence-based and migration-focused programmes. Closely comparable in function as a strategic grantmaker in the youth sector with a focus on what works.
• Impetus: UK children's charity that serves as YEF's sole corporate trustee and shares a mission of supporting disadvantaged young people through evidence-led funding and evaluation. Direct parent/peer given the structural and operational overlap.
• Lloyds Bank Foundation: UK corporate-affiliated foundation funding charities working with people facing multiple disadvantage. Comparable as a multi-million-pound grantmaker focused on disadvantaged populations including young people in the justice system.
• Dulverton Trust: UK grantmaking trust funding youth opportunities, education, and welfare. Comparable peer given its youth-focused grantmaking model and similar endowed, evidence-informed approach to funding charities.
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: UK grantmaking foundation funding work across children and young people, social change, and the environment. Comparable as an endowed grantmaker using evidence and learning to allocate multi-year, often thematic, funding.
• Centre for Justice Innovation: UK charity developing and evaluating justice innovations, including youth diversion — a core YEF priority. Co-developed YEF's Diversion Practice Guidance and works on overlapping practitioner and police force engagement.

Emerging players

• Early Intervention Foundation: UK charity advocating for and evaluating early intervention programmes for children and young people. Highly comparable methodology — evidence reviews, programme ratings, and guidance for commissioners — though a smaller thematic footprint than YEF.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/youthendowfund
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@youthendowmentfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youth-endowment-fund
• Instagraminstagram.com/youthendowfund
• TikToktiktok.com/@youthendowmentfund

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Youth Endowment Fund