YPF Trust and Henry Smith Foundation launch £3m Core Memories Fund

About the Fund

At 18, the support stops. For young people who are care-experienced, excluded from school, LGBT+, or living with learning disabilities, that moment can arrive across several systems at once. Since 2010, youth services have been cut by 76 to 80% in some parts of England. What remains is fragmented, short-term, and organised around crisis rather than potential. Core Memories backs organisations that show up at the moment statutory support steps away. It starts with a different question. Not: what has gone wrong? But: what helps young people thrive?

Research on Positive Childhood Experiences shows that access to a trusted adult, a sense of belonging, and a genuine say in decisions are not extras. They are the conditions that protect young people and build independence over time. Yet funding has long required organisations to evidence damage before support arrives. Core Memories invests before the crisis, not after.

The fund commits £3 million over three years, delivered through YPF Trust's network of place-based Young People's Foundations. Grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 will reach an estimated 170 to 513 grassroots organisations across six areas: Merton, Dorset, Kirklees, Stockton-on-Tees, Medway, and Staffordshire. A youth worker who knows your name. Access to sport, arts, and community. A place where you belong before things fall apart. Core Memories funds organisations doing exactly that work, in the places where it's needed most.

The model builds on work pioneered by John Lyon's Charity, which established the first Young People's Foundation in Brent in 2014. YPF Trust was created in 2019 to take that model national. The network now spans nearly 70 foundations across England. Grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 will reach an estimated 170 to 513 grassroots organisations across six areas: Merton, Dorset, Kirklees, Stockton-on-Tees, Medway, and Staffordshire.

Chris Murray, CEO of YPF Trust, said: "We are thrilled to partner with the Henry Smith Foundation at such a pivotal time. Their commitment to long‑term, flexible funding and their focus on youth advocacy and independence will allow us to deepen our Core Memories work and reach even more young people navigating complex transitions. This investment strengthens the sector and, more importantly, strengthens the young people at its heart."

Ghino Parker, Director – Building Independence at Henry Smith Foundation, said: "For too long, funding for young people has been built around what they lack. Core Memories asks a different question: what do they need to thrive? A trusted adult. Somewhere they belong. A real say in their own lives. The Henry Smith Foundation is backing this fund because we know these things are not peripheral — they are the foundation of an independent life."

For a young person who has never had that, it changes the pattern entirely.

Organisations involved

About YPF Trust. The Young People's Foundation Trust supports a network of nearly 70 place-based foundations across England, built to strengthen the organisations that support young people.

About the Henry Smith Foundation. The Henry Smith Foundation is one of the UK's largest independent funders, with a 400-year history of backing work to tackle poverty and build a more just society. Core Memories sits within its Building Independence priority: backing organisations that show up at the moment statutory support steps away.

About John Lyon's Charity. John Lyon's Charity established the first Young People's Foundation in Brent in 2014 and created YPF Trust in 2019 to support the national growth of the network.

Contact

Cohort 1 opens in 2026. Further cohorts follow in 2027 and 2028.

For more information, contact: [email protected]