OUR MISSION

The Irish Youth Foundation was founded in 1985 as an independent charitable trust dedicated exclusively to meeting the needs of vulnerable children and young people living in disadvantaged circumstances.

Our mission is to financially support projects and programmes that make a positive difference to children and young people facing adversity in their lives.

Whenever possible IYF seeks to address the underlying causes of poverty, educational disadvantage, homelessness and social exclusion experienced by children and young people. Due to a wide range of social factors many children are denied their most basic rights - the right to a decent education, the right to be supported by caring adults and the right to a way of life that is free of fear and discrimination. The groups we support are innovative “grassroots” projects run by passionate professionals who understand young people and care about them.

Since 1994, the Irish Youth Foundation has been a partner organisation of the International Youth Foundation, headquartered in Baltimore, USA. In 2000, the Partners Network developed its own Standards for Excellence. Standards are yardsticks which organisations use to determine acceptable levels of behaviour. Their purpose is to provide organisations and their stakeholders with an objective measure by which to judge whether or not they are performing well.