Program Highlights
Program Highlights
Gathering Day 1: Kicking Off the National Men’s Health Gathering
National Men’s Health Gathering: Black Dog Ride Pitchfest
Gathering Day 2: Moving Men’s Health Forward
Men’s Health Awards 2025 – Nominations Now Open
Gathering Day 3: Finishing strong with many surprises
Black Dog Ride Pitchfest: Shortlisted Projects
1. Run The Tan (Victoria)
Run the Tan (RTT) is a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. It runs a weekly Run the Tan Run Club, providing free, accessible opportunities for men of all ages and abilities to connect, exercise, and reduce social isolation.
Its community outreach programs emphasise men’s wellbeing by promoting healthy lifestyle habits, fostering peer support networks, and encouraging conversations around mental health.
By combining physical activity with a cause-driven purpose, RTT normalises discussions about men’s mental health, reduces stigma, and helps men feel less alone.
RTT us seeking funding to expand its “Legends of the Tan – Men’s Mental Health Series”, a new initiative combining storytelling, community running, and awareness campaigns.
3. Men’s Resources Tasmania
Men's Resources Tasmania (MRT) is a community-based not-for-profit organisation that actively supports and promotes the well-being of men and boys in Tasmania. It is seeking funding for its latest initiative, the Men Against Violence campaign.
They say that male suicide and male violence are critical social issues. Too many men are struggling alone, and too often their pain spills over into harm for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Through advocacy, awareness and education, their initiative aims to provide accessible tools that strengthen their mental health; reduce around help-seeking and resilience and foster safer, healthier communities by addressing the drivers of both suicide and violence.
5. @CecilsMensHub/Paul Kefford
Paul has been working on his passion project – @CecilsMensHub – for 8 years. CECIL stands for Committed to Empower the Community to Improve Lives.
The mission of @CecilsMensHub is to connect men to Men’s Groups, Coaches, Gatherings, and Health Events through an online hub and directory.
Paul is helping men to locate safe, supportive spaces that reduce isolation and encourage early engagement with support before a crisis develops.
He says that by improving visibility and access to cost-effective, sustainable support services, our initiative directly contributes to mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and long-term community resilience.
One of the ways he promotes the resources is through a monthly e-newsletter that is approaching its 100th edition.
7. The Amend Project, NSW
The Amend Project is a community-led initiative that aims to create safer spaces for men and boys to talk openly and access support before crisis point. Currently, The Amend Project runs “Wellbeing Rounds” with sporting clubs across Central West NSW.
They are seeking support to deliver its first-ever Under 16s Wellbeing Round across our entire regional rugby league competition, which would involve 10 clubs from different towns and regions. Each club would receive: An education session for their U16s team, tailored to young players, focused on resilience, normalising help-seeking, and suicide prevention awareness.
9. Counselling Men Project (QLD)
Counselling Men Project (CMP) is a not-for-profit organisation focused on ending homelessness, violence, and suicide. They exist to inspire and encourage men to live lives worth living — lives marked by excitement, vibrancy, and deep personal responsibility.
CMP offers qualified therapeutic services for men who are ready for it and might not otherwise be able to afford it. As one client said
"The sessions opened my eyes to my own worthiness. I will never plan to end my life again, as there are so many people who care for me."
If successful, CMP would use the funding to deliver 25 sessions to men in need.
2. Men’s Wellbeing (QLD)
Men’s Wellbeing Inc is a volunteer-led not-for-profit association and registered charity with a fundamental ethos of men supporting men. It has been running men’s gatherings and men’s groups for over 30 years.
Its Open Men’s Groups (OMGs) are run weekly across Queensland and online, offering men a supportive environment where they can share honestly and be heard without judgement.
They propose to expand our Open Men’s Groups online program, specifically targeting men in regional and remote Australia who often lack access to peer support.
With this support, they anticipate reaching at least 130 new regional men in the first 12 months, men who otherwise might have faced their struggles alone.
4. MKP QLD
MKP (Mankind Project) is a voluntary group that runs men's gatherings and men's groups in Australia and around the globe. MKP’s Queensland arm would like to pilot the Circles of Transition – Supporting Men Leaving Custody project, inspired by a program run ub MKP in the USA.
For many men leaving prison, the greatest challenge is not the sentence itself but what comes after: the transition back into society. This period carries some of the highest risks of relapse, reoffending, mental health decline, and suicide.
The program works with men before and after leaving custody, connecting each man with a mentor and peer support through into an existing local MKPQ group.
6. SOLiD MEN
SOLiD MEN is a volunteer-led group. The run free peer-led workouts for men every week across 5 locations in NSW. They work with church communities and aim to create local support networks of like-minded men to help them improve their physical, spiritual, emotional and mental health.
The post-exercise coffee and chats are an essential part of process, giving men an opportunity to open and speak. The mental health focus continues during the week with members taking part in "Check in Tuesdays" online.
They estimate they can kickstart new groups for as little as $500 and are seeking funding to help them expand the number of communities they serve.
8. Adam Ehm, Victoria
Adam is lived experience speaker focused on mental health, HIV, and LGBTIQA+ issues. He educates school students, medical professionals and police cadets about the importance of mental health, navigating healthcare, and challenging stigma and discrimination that exists in society.
Adam says far too many men suffer in silence, taboos about mental health still exist together with stigma. Mental health outcomes for certain subpopulations of men remain much poorer than the general population.
He is seeking support to develop a network of speakers from marginalised groups of men, to help educate people about the realities of living with a mental health condition and with various identities, including trans, disability, sexuality, employment status, religion etc.