From insight to action

When we published The invisible field in partnership with Movember earlier this year, we wanted to start a conversation about how work supporting boys and young men is recognised and funded. 

Our research found that boys and young men are present across youth provision, but rarely recognised as a distinct group with specific needs, experiences and barriers to support. Of the £2.62bn in youth funding we analysed between 2020 and 2025, only £28.5m, or just over 1%, went to organisations specifically focused on boys and young men.  

That does not mean boys and young men receive only 1% of all youth funding. Much of the support they receive sits within wider work on education, youth services, mental health, employment, violence prevention, family support and community development. But because this work is rarely identified or tracked through a boys and young men lens, it can be difficult to see, connect and strengthen. 

As the report pointed out, this matters. When funding is not visible, it is less likely to be prioritised, coordinated, scaled or sustained. 

Moving beyond the report

A report alone will not change this. So, our second stage of work in collaboration with Movember is about moving from insight to action. 

Over the coming months, we will start by bringing together funders and philanthropists to explore what a stronger response could look like. We want to understand where boys and young men already feature within funding portfolios, what prevents funders from investing more intentionally, and where there may be opportunities for better coordination and collaboration.  

This will include conversations focused on mental health; employment, skills and education; relationships and belonging; and physical and digital safety. These are not isolated issues. They overlap throughout boys’ and young men’s lives and are influenced by poverty, race, sexuality, disability, geography and life stage. 

We will use roundtables, individual conversations and wider engagement to hear from people funding and working in these areas. The purpose is not to arrive with a predetermined answer or to ask people to back a particular organisation or programme. It is to create space for honest discussion, shared learning and collective problem-solving.  

We are starting with funders because they have a key role in making this work more visible, coordinated and sustainable, and we want to understand what would help them act with greater confidence and intention. We also recognise that sometimes there are benefits to funders having these spaces to discuss these challenges alongside their peers. But this cannot be a conversation shaped by funders alone. As the project develops, we will continue conversations alongside those working directly with boys and young men, researchers, practitioners and boys and young men themselves, ensuring that their knowledge and experience help shape the priorities and the action that follows. 

Not a zero-sum conversation

Supporting boys and young men should not mean diverting attention or resources from women and girls. One of the first conversations we had in this phase was with Rosa, the fund for women and girls, and we are looking to run events alongside them to explore this more.

Gender equality is not a zero-sum game. Helping boys and young men to build healthy relationships, find meaningful work, feel a sense of belonging and seek support when they need it can contribute to better outcomes across society – firstly for boys and young men themselves, but also for women and girls, and our wider communities.  

Language problems

We are also clear that boys and young men should not be defined only by crisis, risk or harm. Those challenges are real, but a stronger response must also recognise their assets, relationships, creativity, contribution and potential. 

That means developing a more generous and constructive conversation, while remaining grounded in evidence about where outcomes are poor and support is falling short.  

What are we trying to achieve? 

Our immediate aim is to identify a small number of areas where funders believe greater investment, collaboration or shared learning could make a difference. 

Over the longer term, our ambition is bigger: to increase both the amount and quality of funding supporting boys and young men. This could mean strengthening existing organisations, investing in better evidence, connecting funders and practitioners, and developing collaborative funding around priorities that emerge from the work. 

This will take time. The difference needed will not be created through one report, one event or one funding round. It will happen through relationships, shared language, better evidence, long-term investment and a willingness to act together. We hope that our first report made the invisible field more visible, the next task is to help make it stronger. 

If you fund work connected to children and young people, education, employment, health, relationships, communities or safety, we would like you to be part of the conversation. Please get in touch on alex.hayes@thinknpc.org.