The Prince's Trust is the biggest of the charities backed by The Prince of Wales.

The Prince of Wales set up The Prince's Trust in 1976 to help young people to succeed by giving them opportunities which they would otherwise not have. Over half a million, most of them disadvantaged in some way, have been helped by its activities, which continue to expand.

The Prince's Trust, which had a turnover of £32 million in 1998, is the biggest of the charitable organisations in which His Royal Highness takes a guiding interest. He founded most of them himself.

The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation was established in 1979. Originally known as The Prince of Wales's Charitable Trust, it distributes money each year to benefit a wide range of causes throughout the world: in 1997 the Foundation made donations totalling £150,000.

The Foundation derives a significant part of its income from royalties from the sale of books by The Prince of Wales and lithographs made from his own watercolours, together with disposable profits from Duchy Originals Limited, which The Prince established in 1990 to sell a range of food and drink products using simple, natural ingredients.

The Prince's Foundation is a new charitable organisation, formed to unite and extend HRH The Prince's of Wales's initiatives in architectural design, building and urban regeneration. It brings together The School for Architecture and the Building Arts, The Urban Villages Forum, Regeneration Through Heritage, and The Phoenix Trust.

The Prince of Wales, President of Business in the Community since November 1985, is much involved in the strategic direction of the organisation and takes a close interest in its work to inspire companies to increase their contribution to social and economic regeneration. In 1990 he initiated business-led teams in areas including equal opportunities, education and environment.

Experience of business and community partnerships within the UK through Business in the Community led His Royal Highness to form The Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum in 1990, as a focus for international business to work together in the global promotion of socially responsible business practices. It has 50 international member companies.

The Prince is also permanent patron or president of more than 270 organisations, and is temporary patron or president of more than 100 more.