19 February 2026
Three years ago we launched ‘Bigger Impact, Brighter Futures – Our Ambitions for 2023-2025’. It was a three-year strategy that aimed to make us even more accessible and inclusive to all young people with a cancer diagnosis in the UK, ensuring every young person experiences belonging and improved mental wellbeing with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. Here’s how we did.
The last three years have been truly ambitious. They have laid the foundations for our future, to go on and have an even greater impact on young people living through and beyond cancer.
Launched on 8 March 2023, 'Bigger Impact, Brighter Futures' changed how we do things. Back then, we had no Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Plan, no online mental wellbeing support, and no carbon measurement. The impact dashboard launched that night, and volunteer development was only just beginning.
It all took hard work from a small team, and we haven’t achieved everything yet. There are success stories and stories that will become a success as we continue to invest time and effort in them.
Here is what we achieved across nine Ambitions for young people, our team, and fundraising and communications.
Our Ambitions for Young People
Build Belonging
We wrote and implemented our EDIB plan for 2023-2026. This provided the roadmap to create a safe, welcoming community that celebrates everyone being their authentic selves. A new Racism and Discrimination reporting process is keeping us accountable. The number of young people of colour we support has increased from 9% to 14% since 2022.
The entire staff team undertook EDIB training, and we made conscious decisions to improve inclusivity on our adventures, including around prayer, food, clothing, pronouns and translations. A third accessible yacht, Kalooki, was added to our fleet.
Our processes for getting young people on trips were updated to reflect ‘belonging by design’, and we were invited to present on our EDIB journey at RYA & ASTO conferences.
Go Further
Thanks to three years of funding from a long-term supporter, we introduced an annual online mental wellbeing programme in partnership with Mind Over Cancer. A total of 54 young people have benefitted from it in its first three years. One-to-one ‘drop in sessions’ were made available to attendees during and after the programme.
One-to-one counselling was offered to those the programme isn't the best option for, and we established year-round referral guidelines for young people with more acute mental health needs.
Specialist funding also grew what we could provide siblings of young people living through and beyond cancer. This year and next will see siblings have two trips, including a sailing adventure for the first time.
Drive Impact
The launch of our live real-time impact dashboard gave us greater insight into the difference we make across different demographics of young people and our trips. Their sense of belonging is measured using a ‘recommendation to a friend’ score.
Informed by the data from this impact measurement, we have made slight changes to our activities to see if their benefits can be improved even further. Impact measurement was also introduced for siblings. We are now better equipped to report to our Trustees and team the impact we make on everyone who comes on a trip.
Our Ambitions for Our Team
Keep the Magic
Our first ever Volunteer Strategy focused on recruitment, onboarding, allocation, retention and equity. We continued to buck the national trend of declining volunteers, with notable success in recruiting new medics and travel volunteers. Non-trip volunteers were recognised and developed for specific skills for the first time, including event and fundraising volunteers.
Skills development played a major part: 168 volunteers and skippers were funded to train as Mental Health First Aiders; volunteers took part in RYA Watch Leader, Essential Navigation & Seamanship & Competent Crew courses to increase impact.
New onboarding processes for volunteers were developed, and feedback processes were reviewed and revised. The Youth Board became the Youth Advisory Group with new and diverse members, with a more practical remit to act as a sounding board.
Ask Questions
We developed inclusive recruitment practices to grow diversity across our team. This remains a priority to be increasingly representative of, and relatable to, the young people we support.
This included a focus on informal recruitment of female skippers and supporting the Board of Trustees in its own EDIB development and action plan. The Board was challenged to hold us accountable as a team and an organisation.
An accessible trip review and scoping are underway, and we researched requirements to apply for funding to help us deliver inclusive recruitment.
Think Planet
Guided by an Environmental Sustainability Policy Statement, we consciously considered the environment, sustainability, and our carbon footprint in all purchasing, resourcing, and other decisions.
Interventions and actions were introduced to reduce negative impact of our trips on the planet, including around plastics, food waste, and recycling. We also developed our carbon measurement capability.
Our Ambitions for Fundraising and Communications
Diversify Income
Investing in extra trust and foundations and philanthropy resource has contributed to a 29% increase in income in these areas in a very tough fundraising environment.
Our new eBay second-hand sailing kit shop launched, our mid-value giving club the Brighter Futures Collective was given a soft relaunch, and our sailing clubs talk plan developed to include 34 talks at clubs across the UK.
Virtual events, including 200 for 20 and Step Into Christmas, generated more than £23,000, and we added 115 new monthly donors (with an 82% retention rate).
We secured places in the TCS London Marathon for the first time for 2026-2029, and we will feature as part of the BBC Radio 4 Charity Appeal in 2026. The annual Royal Yacht Squadron event continues to deliver new income year-on-year.
Grow Loyalty
Developing new and managing existing relationships across our community has been, and remains, a priority, both through team contact and improving our data management systems and processes.
Ongoing stewardship of major donors has resulted in a 100% retention rate, and successful managing of corporate partnerships included renewed contracts with Spinlock and boatfolk.
Bespoke partnering with People’s Postcode Lottery included featuring in their national TV campaign and planning for the 15th anniversary of their support in 2026.
New stewardship events were introduced, including sails with funders and donors, and pre-/post-season Zooms with Friends of the Trust. Scoping is underway to improve the supporter journey further, as is Salesforce development to improve stewardship and use data more intelligently.
Talk Difference
We put ‘difference’ not ‘do’ at the heart of our communications. What we do matters, but the difference we make is the key.
The Theory of Change outcomes from 2020-2023 Ambitions shaped how we talk about the difference: that because of the Trust, young people feel more accepted, independent, and optimistic. External messaging was developed to incorporate key relevant outcomes from 2024’s State of the System report and how we affect each one.
Depending on audience and purpose, we balanced the narrative between short- and long-term impact. Conscious and deliberate choices were made to embed EDIB in our public facing communications.
New investment was made in comms support for a 12-week intern during the summer season.