Prudence Trust

The Prudence Trust is an independent grant-making foundation with a core mission to advance the mental health of young people across the UK through evidence-informed prevention and treatment. Guided by a vision where no young person is defined by mental illness and all access personalised support, its values emphasize long-term systemic impact, innovative partnerships with charities, academics, and public sector collaborators, rigorous evaluation, and translating research into scalable practice. It drives funding decisions via expert advisory panels, prioritizing ambitious projects that build evidence, foster creativity, and address entrenched needs through risk-tolerant, collaborative approaches believing change arises from data-driven innovation and sector-wide learning.

It funds youth mental health research including adolescent mental health fellowships and university-led investigations into prevention methodologies and treatment interventions for anxiety, depression, and diagnosable conditions affecting one in six young people. Supported activities encompass therapeutic services such as clinical support, counselling, and person-centred therapy; social interventions leveraging creativity, arts for wellbeing, and nature-based programs like outdoor therapeutic activities to enhance emotional regulation and resilience; disadvantaged youth initiatives targeting low-income, ethnic minority, or isolated adolescents; capacity building for monitoring, evaluation infrastructure, data-driven projects, staff upskilling in M&E, and consultancy for evaluation partnerships enabling scalable, replicable models. It backs preventative early intervention, trauma-informed care, peer support approaches, and holistic wellbeing services addressing social isolation, complex mental health needs, and barriers to access in diverse communities.

Exclusions include core service delivery costs and retrospective projects, focusing instead on evaluative, innovative work linked to youth mental health rather than unrelated areas. Distinctive priorities favor disadvantaged young people aged 10-25 in urban, rural, and regional UK communities facing inequities; evidence-based, ambitious organizations committed to long-term collaboration, research translation, and systemic change over piecemeal aid; niche interests in arts, environment-nature therapies, and scalable innovations distinguishing it through selective, high-influence partnerships advancing sector practice.