The Men's Health Community Fund (MHCF)
Grants are available to voluntary and community sector organisations in England for actions that support the delivery of the Men’s Health Strategy for England by investing in preventative, community-led approaches to improve health and wellbeing and build understanding of what works to engage men.
The Men’s Health Community Fund (MHCF) is a partnership between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Movember, and People’s Health Trust (PHT) combining government commitment with philanthropic expertise to support community-based men’s health across England.
PLEASE NOTE that the following application process is for DHSC applications only. Visit the Movember website for details of how to apply to its fund. The People’s Health Trust funding will open to applications later in 2026.
The fund supports delivery of the Men’s Health Strategy for England by investing in preventative, community-led approaches that improve health and wellbeing and build understanding of what works to engage men.
It also aims to generate practical evidence on improving engagement, help-seeking and reducing health inequalities among men and boys to inform future policy, commissioning and system change.
The 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. DHSC 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, and/or
- 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.
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.
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 (eg retirement, bereavement, relationship breakdown, caring responsibilities etc). Please note DHSC may not award the full amount, subject to final programme requirements, affordability and value for money.
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. If you wish to apply for Movember funding, you must apply directly via the Movember website.
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 that the People’s Health Trust funding pot will open later in the year.
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:
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.
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 generate 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.
DHSC will only award grants to organisations that have been established for a minimum of 3 months. Eligible organisations must be one of the following:
- Charity registered in England, Scotland or Wales
- Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
- Company limited by guarantee
- Community Interest Company (CIC) limited by guarantee (not shares)
- Charitable Community Benefit Society
- Community Benefit Society with a charitable asset lock and clearly defined members
- 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 3 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 3 months of any grant offer and before any funds are released.
Further information, guidance and how to apply for DHSC funding is available on the GOV.UK website.
The deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest is Wednesday 15 July 2026 at 5pm.
For details about funding through Movember and the People’s Health Trust please check the Movember and PHT website.