Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
## Trustee and Annual Report 2024-2025
For the year ended 31 March 2025
## Administrative details
Men up North (MUN) Registered number 1195801 Charity Address: 108 the moor, Sheffield, S1 4PD
## Introduction
Men up North (MUN) is a small Charity that delivers interventions with the aim of improving Men’s Mental Health. The overarching vision behind the organisation is to support men of all ages who may be on the periphery of poor Mental Health, or languishing, to navigate their way to improved Mental Health. This is achieved through peer support and primarily by providing a safe space for facilitated coaching conversations and other interventions which
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
promote increased resilience, better connection with themselves and their emotional world, a connection with others in a supportive community, and a reconnection with Nature and the World around them.
## Aims and Purposes
Men Up North exists to promote and protect the mental health of men in the north of England through support and practical advice in particular, but not exclusively, by providing workshops and peer to peer support groups. Developing a supportive community, thereby reducing isolation and loneliness in our communities.
## Objectives and Activities
We provide free access to bi-weekly self-help group coaching and peer support men’s circles in a safe and confidential environment, free from advice and judgement. We have been running the group coaching sessions since 2017 during which we have developed a unique philosophy and approach that works in engaging men in difficult but ultimately transformational conversations. The scope and breadth of the sessions we provide with this goal in mind has continued to expand.
We also provide numerous social activities generated by community co-production that helps to better mental wellbeing. These include weekend resilience retreats, woodlands activities and Creative opportunities.
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
## Achievements and Performance
‑ Samaritans report that around three in four suicides registered in 2024 were men, and middle aged men had the highest suicide rate of any group.
‑ Males accounted for about three quarters of these deaths _(Office for National Statistics)_
We are determined to have an impact on these figures initially locally, but then through expansion and growth of the MUN ethos and concept.
We’re passionate about creating safe spaces for diverse men to be in and to enable them to develop connections with themselves with other men and with the natural World. Our sessions are unique in that they are delivered and facilitated by professionals with lived experience who embrace and utilise
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
## their vulnerability.
## **Quality Assurance**
Our sessions are delivered by trained facilitators who receive ongoing supervision and support in accordance with our Line Management and Supervision/Support of Workers policy. This ensures:
- Consistent quality across all sessions
- Peer learning and continuous improvement
- Early identification of concerns
- Facilitator wellbeing and resilience
We operate within clear professional boundaries, recognising that we provide peer support and group coaching, not clinical therapy. Participants with acute mental health needs are signposted to appropriate professional services.
During this period, we ran:
- 26 x Can We Talk group coaching & peer to peer support sessions. (Average 9 men / session = 234 men attended )
- 13 x group guided nature walks (Average 7 men / session = 91 attended )
- 1 x bushcraft woodlands sessions ( 8 men / session = 8 attended )
- 12 x woodland meetups groups ( Average 7 men / session = 84 attended )
- 2 x Men’s Community Sauna Sessions (7 men / session = 14 attended )
- 2 x Cultivating Resilience Weekend Retreats ( 30 men in total attended )
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
We have 91 regular registered members. Our diverse community ranges from the ages of 18-72 drawn from 14 different heritage backgrounds.
In addition, we have an active online group and WhatsApp group where members engage with each other outside of our regular sessions to support each other and build the friendships that are often initiated in the groups we run.
Some of the differences that have we made that our members have reported include:
- Men feeling less lonely, and developing friendships and support networks
- Men feel more open expressing their vulnerabilities and difficulties.
- Men feeling more positive in navigating the changing world.
- Men feel better connected to nature which supports their mental wellbeing.
- Men of colour feel more comfortable accessing nature.
This year we’ve really focused on nature connection as the main focus based on the demand from the community. We’ve learned that repetition and space helps our community build confidence in accessing nature.
We’ve also started trialling a men’s community sauna as a different way of coming together as a community which has been really successful and we’re planning to continue to do this regularly.
We’ve done 2 retreats this year, a highlight for our year where we take men through a deep dive into the patterns that's holding them back touching on topics of coping mechanisms/addictions,
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
vulnerability from radical authenticity, psychological flexibility and values-lead living. We combine evidence based methodologies from Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Positive Psychology and combine these with somatic techniques with nature immersion. This continues to be fully booked every single one, we’re on number 9 next year.
## **Award**
We received an award from the Prime Minister’s office, 10 Downing St, called the Point of Light award for our work in the community with men.
## Financial Review
We received one grant from Garfield Weston for our work and the rest of the income was from attendees of the retreat and donations.
We run the retreat on a pay-it-forward scheme to ensure it’s self-sustainable. We applied to 5 funds that unfortunately were not successful.
We will review this and seek help from experts for advice on how we can improve this next year. The restricted fund we spent this year was £5000 from the Garfield Weston funding and the rest of continuation of the previous year's project received from previous funding.
## Volunteers
We’ve grown our volunteers in the charity by having a pool of men as facilitators and running a supervision whatsapp group to discuss any issues arising.
A new group of volunteers were developed this year that can lead the woodlands and nature sessions.
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
## Risk Management
The trustees maintain a risk management framework to identify, assess, and mitigate key risks facing the charity.
Principal risks identified and managed during 2024-25:
## **Financial Sustainability** _(HIGH PRIORITY)_
- **Risk:** Grant-dependent income model with low success rate on new applications
- **Impact:** Relying more on volunteer to keep going on current service levels; reserves depletion
- **Mitigation:** Diversifying income through pay-it-forward retreat model; seeking fundraising expertise; building relationships with local funders; trustees monitoring reserves quarterly
## **Volunteer Capacity** _(MEDIUM PRIORITY)_
- **Risk:** Volunteer burnout; insufficient facilitator capacity for demand
- **Impact:** Service reduction; quality deterioration
- **Mitigation:** Line Management and Supervision policy; peer support for facilitators; expanding volunteer pool; recognition and appreciation initiatives
## Public Benefit
The trustees have regard for the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit. All activities are open to men experiencing mental health challenges, regardless of ability to pay.
Our pay-it-forward retreat model ensures financial barriers do not prevent participation. These matters are regularly reviewed at trustee meetings.
## Structure, Governance and Management
The CIO was formed and registered with the Charity Commission on the 13th September 2021. Activities prior to this were run through MEN UP NORTH (an unincorporated organisation).
The trustees have regard for the guidance issued by the Charity Commissions on public benefits and this is regularly discussed at our trustees’ meetings.
We grow our activities through co-production and suggestions from our community.
The charity operates with a comprehensive suite of policies ensuring robust governance, and safeguarding:
Core Governance Policies:
- Financial Policy and Procedures (v1.0)
- Conflict of Interest Policy (v1.0)
- Complaints, Compliments & Suggestions Policy (v1.0)
- Review Procedures for Policies
- Serious Disclosure Policy (v1.0)
- Whistleblowing Policy (v1.0)
- CIO constitution (v1.0)
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
Operational Policies:
- Line Management and Supervision/Support of Workers Policy
- Volunteer Policy (v1.0)
## Safeguarding:
- Safeguarding Adults Policy (v1.2)
All policies are subject to regular review to ensure they remain current and effective. The trustees maintain a policy review schedule to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and best practice.
The trustees for this period were:
|ees for this period were:||||
|---|---|---|---|
||||**TRUSTEES**|
|Praveen Paramanantham|Operations||MEN UP NORTH Trustee board|
|Abokor Ahmed|Finance||MEN UP NORTH Trustee board|
|Mohamed Yusof|Chair||MEN UP NORTH Trustee board|
Senior Leadership for this period were:
|Anggakara
Narendradhipa|Head||Management|
|---|---|---|---|
|David Hitchmough|Operations
Support||Management|
## Additional information p.m.
We’ve been successful in nurturing access free of charge to develop a men’s woodland glade locally in Sheffield with a private woodlands owner. We’ve continually developed activities and running co-production sessions on how to use this best.
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
Financial Statement – Receipts and payments Receipts and payments 1.04.2024 – 31.3.2025
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Restricted**
**funds**||**Endowment**
**funds**||**Total funds**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**to the**
**nearest £**||**to the**
**nearest £**||**to the**
**nearest £**||**to the**
**nearest £**||
|**A1 Receipts**|||||||||
|Garfield Weston
Funding|||**5,000**||||**5,000**||
|Individuals
donations|**4,250**||||||**4,250**||
|**_Sub_**
**_total(Gross_**
**_income for_**
**_AR)_**|
**4,250**||**5,000**||||**9,250**||
|**A2 Asset and**
**investment**
**sales, (see**
**table).**|||||||||
|**_Sub total_**|**4,250**||**5,000**||||**9,250**||
|**_Total_**
**_receipts_**|
**4,250**||**5,000**||||**9,250**||
||||||||||
|**A3 Payments**|||||||||
|Stationery|||**300**||||**300**||
|Subcontractor
costs|||**9,890**||||**9,890**||
|Office Equipment|||**170**||||**170**||
|Accommodation|||**1,560**||||**1,560**||
|Accountancy
Fees|||**810**||||**810**||
|Subscriptions|||**125**||||**125**||
|Meals|||**1,818**||||**1,818**||
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**_Sub total_**|**0**||**14,673**||||**14,673**||
||||||||||
|**A4 Asset and**
**investment**
**purchases,**
**(see table)**|||||||||
||||||||||
|**_Total_**
**_payments_**|
**0**||**14,673**||||**14,673**||
||||||||||
|**_Net of_**
**_receipts/_**
**_(payments)_**|
**4,250**||**-9,673**||||**-5,423**||
|**A5 Transfers**
**between**
**funds**|||||||||
|**A6 Cash**
**funds last**
**year end**|**12,466**||**28,052**||||**40,518**||
|**_Cash funds_**
**_this year_**
**_end_**|
**16,716**||**18,379**||||**35,095**||
||||||||||
||||||||||
|**Section B**
**Statement**
**of assets**
**and**
**liabilities**
**at the end**
**of the**
**period**|||||||||
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
|**Categories**||**Details**||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Restricted**
**funds**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||
|**B1 Cash**
**funds**||Cash at bank||**16,716**||**18,379**||
|||||||||
|||||||||
|||**_Total cash funds_**||**16,716**||**18,379**||
|||(Agree balances with receipts
and payments account(s))|
|OK||OK||
|||||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Restricted**
**funds**||
|||**Details**||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||
|**B2 Other**
**monetary**
**assets**||||||||
|||**Details**||**Fund to**
**which asset**
**belongs**||**Cost**
**(optional)**||
|**B3**
**Investment**
**assets**||||||||
|||**Details**||**Fund to**
**which asset**
**belongs**||**Cost**
**(optional)**||
|**B4 Assets**
**retained for**
**the charity’s**
**own use**||||||||
|||||||||
|||**Details**||**Fund to**
**which**
**liability**
**relates**||**Amount due**
**(optional)**||
|**B5**
**Liabilities**||||||||
|||||||||
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Men Up North (Charity Number 1195801)
|Signed by one
or two trustees
on behalf of all
the trustees|Signature||Print Name|Date of
approval|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||Praveen Paramanantham|18/01/2026|
||||Mohamed Yusoff|18/01/2026|
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