Exeter YMCA has been in existence for over 160 years. Our mission as a faith-based organisation is “demonstrate the love of Christ in practical and tangible ways to young people and the wider community in Exeter and the surrounding area”. Whilst our team are motivated by our own experience of God’s love for us, all our services are completely open to people of all faiths or none.

We passionately believe in the value of all people, including those who society can all too easily write off, and our projects aim to reflect this commitment to those who often feel excluded from full participation in all that life has to offer. Whether providing supported housing for local homeless young people, working with offenders, helping the long-term unemployed into work, getting alongside disenfranchised teenagers, or whatever else we put our efforts into, we are genuinely passionate about helping people achieve lasting improvement in their lives and their community.

We are an autonomous local charity, governed by a Board of highly skilled and experienced local people who share our ethos and values and give voluntarily of their expertise. We affiliate to the national and international YMCA movement, but like all local YMCAs we seek to develop services and programmes that are shaped by local needs. We raise all our own funding from a variety of sources including donations, fundraising events, grants from trusts and other bodies, as well as generating our own income by renting accommodation or delivering services for the local authority.