GiveReady › Guides › Best Youth Mentoring Charities to Donate To (US and UK, 2026)

Best Youth Mentoring Charities to Donate To (US and UK, 2026)

Published 2026-06-21

Best Youth Mentoring Charities to Donate To (US and UK, 2026)

One-to-one mentoring is one of the most evidence-backed ways to help a young person facing disadvantage — a consistent adult relationship measurably improves school engagement, confidence, and long-term outcomes. The five charities below all run mentoring programmes and are verified in the GiveReady directory, which means a person has confirmed each one's legal registration, mission, and donation route rather than relying on an automated import.

Each entry lists where the charity operates, who it serves, and one verifiable detail you can check yourself.

United States

1. Friends for Youth (one-to-one mentoring, California)

Friends for Youth is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 94-2961034) founded in 1979 and based in Redwood City, California. It provides community-based one-to-one mentoring to low-income young people aged 8 to 17 across San Mateo and northern Santa Clara counties, and has fostered more than 2,500 mentor-mentee matches with a long-term match rate well above the national average. If you want a long-running, single-focus mentoring charity, this is one of the strongest in the country.

2. Reintegration Support Network (peer mentoring, North Carolina)

Reintegration Support Network (Carrboro, North Carolina) was founded in 2005 in memory of 18-year-old Matt McQuiston. It serves young people aged 13 to 20-plus across four North Carolina counties, staffed by certified peer-support specialists with lived recovery experience, and provides one-to-one mentoring, weekly peer-support groups, and an eight-week life-skills curriculum. It holds a three-year, $600,000 federal SAMHSA grant.

3. Grow & Lead (youth leadership, Michigan)

Grow & Lead (Marquette, Michigan) was founded in 1998 out of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Youth Initiative Partnerships. It supports rural young people across Michigan's Upper Peninsula with mentoring, skill-building workshops, and leadership development, drawing on more than 75 years of combined team experience in youth development.

United Kingdom

4. MCR Pathways (school-based mentoring, Scotland)

MCR Pathways is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation regulated by OSCR (Scottish charity number SC045816), founded in Glasgow in 2007. Its programme matches care-experienced and disadvantaged young people with a trained volunteer mentor who meets them for one hour a week, now running across more than 100 schools. A strong choice if you want to support mentoring for young people in or leaving the care system.

5. Mentoring Plus (tailored mentoring, England)

Mentoring Plus is an England & Wales registered charity (Charity Commission number 1112534), based at the Riverside Youth Hub in Bath. It supports young people aged 5 to 25 across Bath & North East Somerset through tailored one-to-one mentoring, inclusive youth clubs, and activities that build confidence and reconnect them with education.

How these charities were checked

Every charity on this list carries a verified status in the GiveReady directory. Verification means the organisation's legal registration — its IRS 501(c)(3) status in the United States, or its OSCR or Charity Commission registration in the United Kingdom — along with its mission and donation route, has been confirmed by a person, not generated automatically. We excluded organisations that have stopped accepting donations.

To compare more organisations working with young people, browse the youth empowerment cause page or the education listings.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best youth mentoring charities to donate to in the US?

Friends for Youth (Redwood City, California, EIN 94-2961034, founded 1979) runs one-to-one mentoring for low-income youth aged 8 to 17. Reintegration Support Network (North Carolina) provides SAMHSA-funded peer mentoring, and Grow & Lead supports rural young people in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. All three are verified in the GiveReady directory.

Where can I donate to a youth mentoring charity in the UK?

MCR Pathways (Scottish charity OSCR SC045816, founded 2007) mentors care-experienced and disadvantaged young people across more than 100 schools, and Mentoring Plus (Charity Commission number 1112534, Bath) mentors young people aged 5 to 25. Both are verified in the GiveReady directory.

How do I know a youth mentoring charity is legitimate?

Check its registration — IRS 501(c)(3) status and EIN in the United States, or an OSCR or Charity Commission number in the United Kingdom. Every charity in this guide has been verified against those registers in the GiveReady directory, and organisations that have stopped accepting donations are excluded.