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What is the biggest threat facing charities? Political uncertainty? Lack of funding? Negative press?

One of the reasons we're so determined to tackle youth homelessness is the sheer amount of waste we see every day - the wasted talent of young people who because they have nowhere to live, struggle to fulfil their potential.

Last night, I had the absolute pleasure of being one of the judges at Construction Rocks. Now in its ninth year it's a staple in every muso's calendar, and channelling my best Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell, I found my skinniest pair of jeans and put my best tapping foot forward.

This was no ordinary team of property graduates. The 14 Knight Frank graduates who decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for LandAid had the kind of track record that makes you feel exhausted just looking at it, ranging from marathons to Tough Mudders, long-distance cycling to epic canoe races, sky-diving to bungee-jumping, and even competing in athletics internationally.

LandAid's most extreme challenge is just around the corner. As the daredevils and fundraising heroes get ready for the return of TowerAthlon, let's take a look back on last year's highlights.

One of the things we're proud of at LandAid is that as well as investing over £1 million every year in projects working to end youth homelessness, we never just write a cheque and walk away. We work alongside the charities we help, bringing in property expertise and often funding them more than once.

It's fantastic to see so many fundraisers from across the property sector rallying people to tackle youth homelessness. The money raised from these efforts makes a huge difference to the lives of young people - a recent example being Roots and Shoots' new environmental learning centre which opened this month.

When a young person falls out of mainstream education, your first thoughts on how to get them back on track probably don't involve gardening gloves, plant seeds and a trowel.

This is the question at the heart of a ground-breaking piece of research LandAid has commissioned from independent experts New Philanthropy Capital.