Its goal is to be the global youth empowerment organisation and partner of choice: empowering, inspiring and mobilising young people to find and share their voice on the issues that matter to them and to the world. It operates in four main areas through YMCA Vision 2030: Community Wellbeing, Meaningful Work, Sustainable Planet, and Just World.

YMCA helps young people to better themselves, to better their communities, and to better their world. It is the oldest and one of the largest youth organisations in the world. Founded in London in 1844, it has grown to reach over 65 million people a year across 120 countries. It has deep roots in communities, decades of experience enabling young people and communities to thrive, and an extensive global network. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches worldwide.

The Y in Canberra was founded in 1941, with the organisation growing alongside out city here in the bush capital. In 2020, the Y Canberra and the Y Queanbeyan merged to better serve our collective communities.