Youth Experience In Sport (yes)

Charity Number: 1050465

Annual Expenditure: £0.2M

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Quick Stats

  • Charity Number: 1050465
  • Annual Giving: £158,920 (2024)
  • Annual Income: £261,461 (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly available
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
  • Grant Range: Not publicly specified
  • Geographic Focus: East and North London
  • Founded: 1995 (registered 27 October 1995)

Contact Details

Website: www.yescharity.org.uk

Email:

  • General enquiries: FGSHEARER@GMAIL.COM
  • CEO: rscown@yescharity.org.uk

Phone: 020 8504 3611

Address: c/o Star Capital Partnership Ltd, 33 Cavendish Square, 15th floor, London

Overview

Youth Experience in Sport (YES) is a London-based grant-making charity founded in 1995 by Tony Mallin MBE and members of Lea Rowing Club. The charity was established in response to the void left by the abolishment of the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) in 1986, which had previously provided extensive sporting opportunities, including rowing, to young people in East London. Initially focused solely on junior rowing projects, YES expanded its scope in 2007 to engage with a range of sports clubs in disadvantaged areas across the capital, including boxing and other sports. The charity has 7 trustees and 20 volunteers, with annual expenditure of £158,920 (year ending 31 July 2024). YES provides vital financial support to sports clubs, youth centres, and sports charities in East and North London, helping create safe environments where disadvantaged young people can play, learn, and grow through sport.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

YES provides financial support to sports clubs, youth centres, and sports charities serving disadvantaged young people in East and North London. Specific grant amounts are not publicly disclosed on their website or in publicly available materials.

The charity's approach has evolved from direct project funding to creating “more self-sustainable” initiatives with greater long-term impact, according to CEO Rebecca Scown.

Application Method: No public application process is advertised. The charity appears to identify and approach clubs to support based on their work with disadvantaged youth.

Priority Areas

YES actively funds organizations that:

  • Provide sporting opportunities for disadvantaged young people in East and North London
  • Create safe, structured spaces where sport helps young people grow in confidence, discipline, and purpose
  • Serve areas with limited play spaces and high facility costs
  • Work with youth who may lack parental support or face socio-economic barriers to sport participation
  • Offer coaching, mentorship, and positive role models through sport
  • Promote diversity and inclusion in youth sports programmes

Specific funded areas include:

  • Junior rowing programmes (including youth coach funding, outreach with local schools, training camps, environmental awareness programmes, basic development courses, and courses catering for differing religious backgrounds)
  • Boxing clubs and programmes
  • Other youth sports activities in disadvantaged areas

Examples of supported organizations:

  • Lea Rowing Club (Hackney) - YES is the club's biggest donor, providing ongoing financial support and advice
  • Islington Boxing Club - Multi-year sponsorship relationship providing funding and opportunities for youth
  • Fight for Peace - Mentioned in YES charity updates

What They Don't Fund

While not explicitly stated, YES focuses exclusively on:

  • Sports-based activities (not other youth services)
  • East and North London geography (not other UK regions)
  • Disadvantaged young people (not elite sport development)
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Governance and Leadership

Founder: Tony Mallin MBE - Former president of Lea Rowing Club and founding trustee of YES

Current CEO: Rebecca Scown - Double Olympic rowing medallist (bronze at London 2012, silver at Rio 2016) who retired from competitive rowing in 2017 and moved to the UK to lead YES. Rebecca brings an “athlete mentality” to charity management and has focused on making the charity's projects more self-sustaining with maximum long-term impact.

Governance: 7 trustees oversee the charity. No trustees receive remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity. The charity has no employees with total benefits over £60,000 and operates with 20 volunteers.

Rebecca Scown's perspective on YES's work: “Sport is the most effective way to keep these young people positive about life and their aspirations. Creating opportunities to take part in sport means they have access to coaches, role models, are part of a supportive community.”

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

YES does not have a public application process. The charity operates by identifying sports clubs and youth organizations working with disadvantaged young people in East and North London and approaching them to offer support.

According to available information, YES “finds sports clubs and charities which are helping disadvantaged young people to be more engaged in sport and helps them increase their impact by finding financial support from the private sector.”

Clubs interested in potential support should contact CEO Rebecca Scown directly at rscown@yescharity.org.uk or the general enquiry email FGSHEARER@GMAIL.COM to introduce their organization and explain how they serve disadvantaged youth through sport in East or North London.

Decision Timeline

Not publicly disclosed. The charity operates on a relationship-based model rather than formal application rounds.

Success Rates

Not applicable - no public application process exists.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - no public application process exists.

Application Success Factors

Given that YES operates without a public application process, organizations seeking support should focus on the following approaches:

Geographic and Demographic Alignment

  • Operate in East or North London serving disadvantaged communities
  • Work with young people who face barriers to sport participation (socio-economic challenges, limited play spaces, lack of parental support)

Demonstrate Community Impact

  • Show how sport creates safe spaces and positive role models for at-risk youth
  • Evidence that your programme helps keep young people “on the right path”
  • Demonstrate ethnic and socio-economic diversity in your participants

Long-term Sustainability

  • Rebecca Scown has emphasized creating “self-sustainable” projects with “greater long-term impact”
  • Show how YES's support would help build sustainable programmes, not just short-term activities

Alignment with YES's Evolution

  • The charity has grown from exclusively rowing (pre-2007) to multiple sports including boxing
  • Projects should demonstrate how they fill gaps in youth sport provision in underserved areas

Connection to the Sector

  • YES was founded by Lea Rowing Club members and maintains strong ties to the rowing and broader sports community
  • Connections through sport sector networks may help get on their radar

Key Quote: According to Rebecca Scown, YES helps "kids from East London's lower-income areas“ access ”coaches, role models, [and] a supportive community" through sport.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public application process exists - This charity identifies and approaches clubs rather than accepting open applications; focus on networking and making direct contact with CEO Rebecca Scown
  • Geographic specificity matters - Must serve East or North London; this is not a national funder
  • Disadvantaged youth focus is central - Your programme must demonstrably serve young people facing socio-economic barriers to sport participation
  • Long-term impact is valued - Show how funding would create sustainable change, not just immediate activities
  • Relationship-based funding model - Building a relationship with YES leadership and demonstrating alignment with their mission is more important than a formal proposal
  • Sport as social intervention - Frame your work around how sport provides positive pathways, role models, and community for at-risk youth
  • Evolution and growth - YES has expanded beyond rowing to other sports; demonstrate similar commitment to serving broader needs in your community

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