King's Trust

King's Trust
Formation1976; 48 years ago (1976)
FounderCharles III
TypeCharity
PurposeThe development and improvement of young people
Location
  • London, SE1
    United Kingdom
Region served
United Kingdom and the Commonwealth
United States
Subsidiaries
  • King's Trust International
  • King's Trust Australia
  • King's Trust Canada
  • King's Trust New Zealand
  • King's Trust USA
  • King's Trust Trading
Staff1,241 (2019)[1]: 75 
Volunteers
9,000[2]
Websitekingstrust.org.uk
Formerly called
Prince's Trust

The King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust) is a United Kingdom-based charity founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are unemployed or struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by the trust face issues such as homelessness, disability, mental health problems, or trouble with the law.

It runs a range of training programmes, providing practical and financial support to build young people's confidence and motivation. Each year they work with about 60,000 young people, with three in four moving on to employment, education, volunteering, or training.

In 1999, the numerous trust charities were brought together as the Prince's Trust and acknowledged by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace where she granted it a royal charter. The following year it devolved in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and other English regions but overall control remained in London. The King's Trust fundraising and campaign events are often hosted by and feature entertainers from around the world.

The King's Trust is one of the most successful funding organisations in the UK and is the UK's leading youth charity, having helped over 1,000,000 young people turn their lives around,[3] created 125,000 entrepreneurs, and given business support to 395,000 people in the UK.[4] From 2006 to 2016, its work for the youth has been worth an estimated £1.4 billion.[5]

In 2019, the then Prince's Trust signed a partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care to support 10,000 young people (16-to-30-year-olds) into health and social care jobs. This initiative aims to future-proof the sector, provide employment opportunities to young people, and support the department's "widening participation" goals, increasing the diversity of its workforce.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2019 Report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Our people". The Prince's Trust. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Education and Young People: The Prince's Trust". Prince of Wales. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  4. ^ Callander, Rebecca Burn (7 September 2013). "Prince's pride as charities inspire 125,000 to start their own business". The Sunday Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference work was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "£20 million funding to help 10,000 young people into NHS careers". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.