Our Impact: Introduction
As a member-led welfare charity, our vision is an RAF community that is connected, empowered and resilient.
To achieve our vision, we are committed to a simple yet important mission: to support and enable the RAF community to meet the challenges of everyday life.
The RAF Association’s role is that of a central, coalescing force; one that brings together individuals and communities to improve the lives of those who serve and have served, their families and loved ones.
In 2023 and 2024 we spent more than
£21million
helping individuals and families to lead the independent and fulfilled lives they deserve.
89 pence
of every pound we raise is spent on our vital welfare work.
Our community
The RAF Association is one of the oldest military charities. We offer support to an RAF community of one million people.
Our greatest strength is our global community of supporters, which combines our members, volunteers and employees into one dedicated, expert and sustainable team of over 66,000 people, all committed to making lives better.
How we keep our community connected
From providing local veteran communities with places to find friendship and support, to alleviating the stress of separation for serving RAF families, we have helped our community to foster and sustain important bonds.
Every day, the RAF Association’s Connections for Life service demonstrates the power of a simple phone call. The service continues to be a lifeline for thousands in the RAF community, reducing the mental and physical impacts of loneliness and isolation by pairing volunteers with beneficiaries to forge new friendships and help them reconnect with the outside world.
83% of those receiving regular calls through the RAF Association’s Connections for Life service have increased their sense of social connection and decreased feelings of loneliness.
“RAFA Connections for Life really does mean that. For me, it’s two people that have become friends. I was so pleased. It restored my faith in human nature.” – Gerry, Connections for Life beneficiary
Click below to read more about how Connections for Life has made a difference to the RAF community.
Over the last two years
we reduced loneliness and isolation by making over
50,000
calls to 3,214 people.
In 2024, we provided high-quality,
affordable childcare to 2,338 children.
93% of parents said RAFAKidz has improved their child’s wellbeing.
Our support for service personnel and their families has continued to grow over the last two years with the expansion of our network of award-winning RAFAKidz nurseries. With 19 settings across 16 locations, RAFAKidz is now the largest provider of early years childcare to the RAF, directly supporting retention and operational effectiveness.
We understand that the needs of military families can be distinct, and we are careful to ensure those needs are met.
In 2023 and 2024, we helped 1,008 deployed RAF parents to be part of their young children’s daily lives, despite the separation caused by RAF Service, through our Doodle Box initiatives.
“Our daughter absolutely adores RAFAKidz Leeming. It gives her confidence and nurtures her to flourish. It is a very special community and was a great support when my husband was deployed. The staff are caring, friendly and provide the children with lovely experiences.
We are so lucky to have this nursery.” – Parent at RAFAKidz Leeming
How we keep our community empowered
“I’d gone from being a serviceman fighting on the front line, to fighting to put food on the table.” – Warren King
Read more about the support we provided Warren King by clicking below.
Through our field-force of highly-trained welfare casework volunteers, we were able to provide practical support, access to financial help, specialist services and advice to 7,806 individuals in 2023 and 2024.
Over half of our cases typically involved emergency financial assistance. But our support goes beyond simply the practical and financial help people receive; the team help them to regain a sense of purpose and belonging and to rebuild strong connections with the RAF community – making a tangible difference to their lives.
95% of those supported by our casework volunteers said we had improved their sense of wellbeing.
Of the 296 people we supported through our Navigating Dementia courses, 99% felt better equipped to provide support and better able to talk about the subject.
How we build resilience
We know how vitally important personal resilience is and we have continued to work to help build this within the RAF community by alleviating some of the additional strains caused by the unique nature of RAF service.
Over the last two years, we have continued to develop our ‘Finding it Tough?’ (FiT) programme for non-serving members of the community. Through education, FiT supports our RAF Whole Force by preventing everyday mental wellbeing challenges such as stress, anxiety and depression from developing into conditions requiring clinical intervention. In 2023 and 2024, 949 people took part in one of our three course variants.
We have helped ease the burden for serving personnel with distance caring responsibilities through our Navigating Dementia course and online hub. In 2024 we expanded this service further, introducing face to face course available to serving personnel, veterans and anyone in the RAF community dealing with the challenges associated with dementia.
Every year, we make a tangible difference to the lives of thousands of members of our RAF community.
“I’m stubborn, fierce and proud, but when something like this happens, you need a lifeline. And that’s where the Association came in.” – Matt
Read more about the impact the support we provided Matt by clicking below.
Over the last two years,
we have made 17,705 outreach calls to RAF veterans and their families to check on their wellbeing and find out if they needed help and support.
One in five needed our help.
