Charity | Inside Go Ape

Giving something back isn’t about being worthy – we just think it’s the right thing to do. And, because a belief in the benefits of adventure is at the heart of Go Ape, that’s reflected in our charitable work.

Go Ape Foundation

In 2024 we launched the Go Ape Foundation to establish a charitable platform through which we could make a long standing commitment. Working with our co-owners and keeping to our core values, we chose our mission carefully: to help people overcome financial challenges to access adventure.

We believe that everyone should be able to experience the fun and transformative effects of adventure and cannot wait to watch our Foundation impact grow.

Working with our current chosen charities, Go Beyond and Free to Be Kids, we will supply grants to help support more places for adventurous residentials and activities to be taken up by disadvantaged young people.

Find out more about the Go Ape Foundation

“It is incredibly exciting to launch the Go Ape Foundation.

Go Ape has a long and successful tradition of charitable fundraising and giving, underpinning our values to "Be Socially & Environmentally Responsible" and to "Do The Right Thing". We can now clearly align our future charitable fundraising activities to our core value of Keeping the "Adventure" in Adventure by focusing the Go Ape Foundation on promoting accessible adventure across the UK. This will help people who are unable to access these experiences for economic and financial reasons.

I know we will all really get behind the Go Ape Foundation to make it a great success over the coming years and we will soon announce a range of ways in which we will get involved and support it in 2024."

Managing Director, Nick Hall

Explorers Connect: Adventure Mind Grant

a family cycling in the forest

In early 2024 we were excited to partner with Explorers Connect and the Helen Davis Foundation to support the first Adventure Mind Grant, a fund to help overcome financial barriers and create adventures.

Explorers Connect is a non-profit organisation founded by explorer and campaigner Belinda Kirk. Similarly to Go Ape, its purpose is to help people live life more adventurously, creating experiences with personal development, wellbeing and community at the centre.

The Adventure Mind Grant is for individuals, families and small teams requiring support to make their adventure possible. Recipients also receive a Go Ape experience ahead of their adventure, to kickstart confidence building, resilience, and teamwork.

Find out more about the Adventure Mind Grant

Other Charitable Work

Over the years we’ve supported some incredible charities, both locally and nationally, by donating gift vouchers and by giving our time at fundraising events. Each of our teams fundraise directly for their chosen local charities. We’re also proud to support national charities such as The Prince's Trust, Help for Heroes, Teenage Cancer Trust and Outward Bound Trust. We’ve had a lot of fun along the way and some amazing personal experiences.

The Prince's Trust

Between 2021- 2023, Go Ape and The Prince’s Trust forged a partnership to support young people across the UK who were unemployed, struggling at school or at risk of exclusion.

From sponsored challenges to fundraising initiatives, our co-owners and customers raised an £196,000 over the last few years. An incredible achievement and something that we're enormously proud of!

We also offered up a number of our locations and outdoor experiences for the Prince’s Trust Youth Development Programmes and welcomed young people into the trees!

We embarked on a two-year partnership with Go Ape in 2021, with a target of fundraising a total of £60,000 across those two years but Go Ape have blown this completely out of the water.

Through Employee Fundraising events like the Banana Relay and Future Steps challenges and donating proceeds from gift card sales during International Women’s Day and Black Friday, they raised over £190,000 – an absolutely incredible effort that we are so grateful for!

In a cost-of-living crisis and in the wake of the COVID pandemic, young people’s confidence is the lowest we’ve ever recorded, so these funds are more vital than ever, and we thank Go Ape’s staff and customers for supporting us so strongly. In addition, staff have also volunteered their time and expertise to help us deliver programmes at their activity centres, helping us to teach young people new skills and develop their confidence. Thank you, Go Ape, for your amazing support!