Trails Youth Initiative (Trails) is a 3-star charity with an Average demonstrated impact. The charity has a B Results Reporting grade, which is average. Its overhead spending is 27%, within Ci’s reasonable range, and its reserve funds can cover just under 6 years and 4 months of annual program costs. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1992, Trails Youth Initiative (Trails) supports at-risk youth in Toronto through outdoor skill development, mentorship, high school credits, bursaries, and job opportunities. It achieves this with its multi-year, multi-step program called Four years, Four Seasons. 

Teachers from schools in Toronto’s most vulnerable neighborhoods refer students to Trails. The charity selects approximately 40 new at-risk youth to join the 4-year program each summer, chosen based on their potential to overcome the challenges they face. The students participate in the program from ages 12 to 16. The program involves a two-week stay at Trails’ camp each summer and a weekend visit once a month throughout the school year.

The program includes physically challenging activities, such as high rope, skiing, and canoe trips. It also provides training on conflict resolution, problem-solving, resume writing, career planning, and communication. Students can receive credit for up to three high school health and fitness courses. In F2024, 148 students were part of the Four Years, Four Seasons program.

The program continues into the fifth and sixth years for select students. In the fifth year, students become leaders for a younger group of participants. In the sixth year, select students can work a paid internship position with the charity, developing their job skills and leadership.

After completing the Four Years, Four Seasons program, alumni can participate in the For Life program, which provides mentorship, bursaries, and networking. In F2024, Trails provided 69 post-secondary bursaries with mentorship and had a network of more than 600 alumni.

In F2024, Trails spent $1.5m on its programs and grants. The charity does not provide a breakdown of its spending by program.

Trails is aiming to expand its programs. It hopes to increase the Four Seasons, Four Years participants to 176 and the For Life participants to 200 by 2026. It also hopes to grow its staff to 15 full-time workers and 46 program facilitators by 2026.

Trails Youth Initiative’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. This means that it separates program, administrative, and fundraising costs.

In F2024, Trails recorded $1.5m in donations and special events income. It recorded $2.0m in investment income.

In F2024, Trails spent $1.3m on its programs, as well as $263k in grants. Trails spent $162k on administration, which is 10% of revenue. The charity spent $244k in fundraising costs, which is 16% of donations. This means that the total overhead costs are 27%. For every dollar donated, 73 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Charity Intelligence’s reasonable range for overhead, which is between 65 and 95 cents.   

The charity recorded a surplus of $1.6m and has net funding reserves of $9.7m in F2024. The reserves can cover 632%, or just under 6 years and 4 months. This is outside Charity Intelligence’s reasonable limit of 300%.

Profile updated by Leah Holmes on June 6, 2025. This charity report is an update that has been sent to the charity for review. Comments and corrections may be forthcoming.