Men’s Health Community Fund

Funding Structure 

The fund is made up of three separate funding streams, each with a distinct focus and target group – but with the overarching goal of supporting men to prioritise their mental and physical wellbeing and seek help when needed.  

1. DHSC funding envelope (up to £3 million)****: supports programmes for two groups: men aged 35–59 who are unemployed, economically inactive or facing economic precarity; and older men (60+) experiencing key life transitions (e.g. retirement, bereavement, relationship breakdown, caring responsibilities etc.).
2. Movember funding envelope (£3 million)****: supports programmes for young men aged 16–35, with a focus on community-based approaches that strengthen social connection and encourage men to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing – seeking help when needed.   
3. People’s Health Trust funding envelope (£300,000, with fundraising planned to increase to up to £1.25m): supports programmes for men working in industry.  

• Please note DHSC may not award the full amount, subject to final programme requirements, affordability and value for money.
• If you wish to apply for Movember funding, you must apply directly via the Movember website.
• People’s Health Trust funding pot will open later in the year. 

Rationale 

As highlighted in the Men’s Health Strategy for England, many men across England do not access support for health concerns early enough, contributing to poorer health outcomes and significant inequalities. Barriers such as stigma around help-seeking, restrictive masculine norms, social isolation, low health literacy, limited trust in services and wider social and economic pressures can all shape whether men feel able or willing to seek support.  

These barriers do not operate in isolation. Men who experience them most acutely are also more likely to face overlapping forms of disadvantage, which compound their impact. The resulting inequalities are stark: men living in the most deprived areas of England die on average more than 10 years earlier than those in the least deprived areas. Addressing these intersecting factors is therefore critical to improving outcomes and reducing avoidable variation in men’s health. 

Across the MHCF, partners have aligned to cover this challenge across the life course. Movember is focused on younger men aged 16–35, with an emphasis on strengthening social connection and encouraging men to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing – seeking help when needed. People’s Health Trust will focus on men working in industry; DHSC’s focus complements this by targeting men aged 35 and over who are unemployed, economically inactive, or facing economic precarity, as well as men in later life. Together, this provides more comprehensive coverage of the different points at which men’s health risks emerge and escalate, helping to generate evidence on what works for different groups of men. 

Within this context, DHSC’s focus is on two cohorts where these challenges are particularly pronounced, and where gaps remained in the Strategy: 

1. Men who are unemployed, economically inactive or facing economic precarity are at heightened risk of poorer health and wider disadvantage. Evidence from England shows that unemployment and economic inactivity are strongly associated with worsening self-reported health over time, while wider evidence links economic inactivity to work-limiting ill health, precarious employment to poorer mental wellbeing, and unemployment among men to lower engagement with health services. Supporting this cohort also aligns with government ambitions on growth and labour market participation, recognising poor health as a key barrier to returning to work.  
2. Older men may face particular risks to their health and wellbeing, including being less likely to report loneliness and more likely to experience challenges engaging with support. These risks can be heightened during key life transitions – such as retirement, bereavement and changes in relationships or living circumstances – which can disrupt social connections, identity and daily routines, increasing the likelihood of loneliness and social isolation. 

Given the ongoing challenges in engaging these groups through traditional services, there is growing evidence that community-based, non-clinical approaches can successfully engage men about their health. Delivery through trusted, community settings can provide more accessible and acceptable routes into support for those who are otherwise disengaged. However, there are gaps in the evidence. While community-led approaches show promise, there is limited understanding of what works, for whom, in which contexts, and why.  

The Men’s Health Community Fund is designed to address this gap by generating practical learning. It focuses on men facing intersecting forms of disadvantage who are not well served by services that assume a baseline level of health literacy and ability to engage. The aim is to build robust, transferable evidence on how community-based approaches can reach these groups and to better understand the mechanisms that drive improved engagement and outcomes to inform future health policy, commissioning and service design. 

Funding is being provided on a one‑off basis to support innovation, learning and evidence‑building in this area. 

Who is this opportunity is geared towards? 

This fund is designed for community voluntary sector organisations (VCSEs) in England that are already doing meaningful work with men and who want to strengthen, develop and share learning about what makes that work effective. We are particularly looking for organisations with strong community trust, lived-experience-informed approaches and existing reach into communities of men and boys who may not see services as relevant, trusted or accessible, or who are at an early stage of recognising their own health needs.  

This opportunity would be particularly relevant for organisations that:  

• have established trusted relationships and meaningful connections with specific communities of men and are embedded within those communities
• have specific expertise in designing and delivering work for men, rather than general community provision
• use insight, evidence, practitioner knowledge and lived experience to shape and improve their work, including learning from previous delivery and engagement with the communities they serve 
• have a strong understanding of the wider inequalities affecting men’s health and wellbeing, including the role of poverty, exclusion, discrimination and gender norms in shaping health outcomes
• are open to learning, collaboration and reflective practice, including working alongside researchers, evaluators and peer organisations to strengthen understanding of what works and why in the sector.  

Illustrative examples include prevention-focused work in a community based, non-clinical settings such as peer-led groups, sports or gaming initiatives, creative arts or nature-based initiatives, or faith-based peer support groups. These examples are not exhaustive.  

Which voluntary organisations are eligible? 

DHSC will only award grants to organisations that have been established for a minimum of three months. Eligible organisations must be one of the following: 

1. Incorporated Organisations

• Charity registered in England, Scotland or Wales
• Charitable incorporated organisation
• Company limited by guarantee
• Community interest company limited by guarantee (not shares)
• Charitable community benefit society
• Community benefit society with a charitable asset lock and clearly defined members   

     2. Unincorporated Organisations / Constituted Community Organisations 

• A constituted group, voluntary organisation, or association with a social or charitable purpose   

All eligible organisations must have a minimum of three trustees, directors, or management committee members who are not related to each other, all aged over 18. Where this requirement is not met at the time of application, it must be satisfied within three months of any grant offer and before any funds are released.   

Exclusions: DHSC will not award funds to companies limited by shares or limited liability partnerships.  

Application Routes 

Funding rounds will open at different times across partners. DHSC and Movember funding pots will open together on 22 June 2026.  

• This application process is for DHSC funding only.
• Applications for Movember funding must be submitted directly via the Movember website.
• The People’s Health Trust funding pot will launch separately later in the year, with its own application process.  

Evaluation 

We will be running an evaluation of this programme funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to understand what works and why, contributing to a national evidence base that will inform how men’s health services are designed and commissioned in the future.  

Due Diligence

Any award is subject to proportionate due diligence, including legal status, bank account, governance, safeguarding, and the right to pause payments if performance or assurance is weak.