People and supervision
Grow the volunteer mentor workforce alongside the professional team responsible for engagement, intake, matching, supervision and evaluation.
NATIONAL MENTORING EXPANSION
Bring mentorship
within reach.
Back a three-year national growth plan: the people, community hubs, digital access and quality systems that make free one-to-one mentorship possible.
Contact us ↗A funding opportunity · Scope agreed with partners
PREDICTABLE FUNDING FOR NATIONAL REACH
A volunteer’s time
needs a team behind it.
Free mentorship relies on more than the time two men spend together. It needs trained volunteers, skilled staff, local connections and systems that keep support consistent as access grows.
Our white paper proposes a three-year horizon of predictable, recurring funding. That gives MM the capacity to plan recruitment, supervision, infrastructure and accreditation work beyond the next grant cycle.
The aim is to expand an existing service for men aged 18 and over, including men in rural and remote communities and those who need flexible ways to connect.
FOUR BUILDING BLOCKS
Build the capacity
behind wider access.
Community hubs and outreach
Develop trusted local connections and community settings where men can discover mentorship. Help referring services and communities understand who the service is for and how to access it.
Digital access and coordination
Develop MentorConnect and digital delivery: secure communication, service coordination, referral resources and outcome reporting. Support access across distance while keeping suitability and matching decisions with people.
Quality, accreditation and evidence
Prepare for the National Safety and Quality Mental Health Standards for Community Managed Organisations, strengthen safeguarding and measure reach, experience and wellbeing as the service grows.
A THREE-YEAR GROWTH HORIZON
Fund continuity.
Account for progress.
A multi-year partnership would connect funding with a staged workforce, access and quality plan.
Agree milestones for staff and mentor capacity, community reach, digital development and accreditation readiness. Track access, mentoring continuity, participant experience and wellbeing, then use the findings to refine delivery.
Partners can support the national core or an agreed part of the plan. Each contribution would sit within the same budget and reporting framework, so shared costs are counted once.
The independent Model of Care review and evaluation would inform quality and evidence. Violence prevention develops a specific capability within the wider service. Philanthropic growth capital explores a way to finance successive stages of growth.
PURPOSE & BOUNDARIES
Keep the human
part at the centre.
Mentoring Men provides non-clinical life mentorship. Trained volunteers offer conversation and support; they do not provide therapy, diagnosis or crisis care. The team remains responsible for suitability and matching decisions.
Expansion would be planned around service capacity, community needs and the support mentors require. The funding plan would set out digital development, quality and accreditation work, with agreed milestones and reporting.
Read our Model of Care ↗THE THINKING BEHIND THIS PROJECT
Based on Mentoring Men’s 2025 white paper, Proven Impact and the Need for National Support.
Our Men Do Talk report explores what men told us about connection, mentorship and the support they want.
Explore the Men Do Talk report ↗LET’S TALK
Bring mentorship
within reach.
Talk to us about a multi-year partnership, recurring core support or a defined contribution to the national growth plan.