The New Philanthropy Capital and Movember report on “The invisible field: Why we need to have a conversation about funding for boys and young men,” is an important staging post in turning the growing mainstreaming of men and boys’ issues into concrete policy and tangible action. While the report is focused primarily on the funding community, its contribution also acts at a macro-political, societal and cultural level. It is why were pleased to have been asked to contribute to the report and to wholeheartedly support it.

Given the ignored report by the 2012 Young Foundation into this area, the aim and hope is that the conclusion in this evidence-based report sticks. There should be much confidence that it will. This is based on the growing maturity and depth of the organisations in the field including the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys, the growing evidence base, and the growing political, societal and cultural acceptance that not all is well with men, young men and boys.

The report highlights

• Boys and young men are present across youth provision, but they are rarely recognised as a distinct group with specific needs, experiences, and barriers to support.
• Of 71,812 youth-focused organisations analysed, only 1,426 explicitly focus on boys and young men, equivalent to 1.99% of the youth sector.
• Funding follows the same pattern: of £2.62 billion in youth funding analysed from 2020 to 2025, only £28.5 million, or 1.09%, went to organisations specifically focused on boys and young men

The welcome recommendation and conclusion is, “The answer is not just to grow the funding going to organisations specifically focused on boys and young men. It's to grow and develop the field, sharing learning and building infrastructure.”

Meeting the policy and research challenge is now going through the gears. Moving from a relatively recent deficit-lens position focus on “the problems that men and boys cause,” to the asset and solution-based focus of “the problems that men and boys have” – albeit I still detect hesitation in parts about ‘men’ as an overall term as opposed to ‘young men and boys’.

There is a growing political infrastructure from the first ever Men’s Health Strategy, the promised Government-led Men and Boys’ summit with ministers with specific delivery responsibility (a political first), a range of All-Party Groups including on men and boys overall, and a Labour Party caucus on men and boys. The subject has a real cross-party feel (see Jake Richards MP Spectator article this week). There is also a panoply of policy reports that have been produced with more to come including the Boys’ Education Commission hosted by the CPRMB, and the final report on male community-led programmes. More academics are entering the field and there have been many great written contributions – none more so than Richard Reeves’ Of Boys and Men. And of course, great campaigns from fatherhood to suicide, prostate cancer to mentoring.

There is much more to do especially in the field of online harms, mentoring, employment (including NEETs), skills, health, fatherhood, crime, identity, culture and beyond.

All of this is underpinned by the growth in charities and organisations supporting men and boys - some still resolutely local and others growing at pace. And as the report shows, this can be in the face of a lack of funding and recognition. Having been in this sector for nearly 20 years, so many still rely far too heavily on the will and the skill of those who set them up, and would grow if they were given more opportunity.

What is clear now is that the issues facing men and boys have been cemented as a distinct area of public policy, professional practice and public concern. This evidence-based report further proves it and helps move it forward.

It crucially both shows that the funding community has yet to catch up and also that is has a great and positive opportunity to do so. We cannot have recognisable change in public policy and public concern at one end, and then at other end, not have the funding to deliver the actual change on the ground. I am confident that the funding community will respond positively and we stand ready to support them.

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