Advantage Mentoring C.I.C. (Advantage) facilitates unique partnerships between two community assets and anchor institutions – the charitable arms of professional football clubs (known as Club Community Organisations, or CCOs), and their local NHS associated organisations (including NHS Trusts, NHS Integrated Care Boards, and NHS Regional teams). Advantage’s aim is to create sustainable, locally embedded programmes that bridge health and community, ensuring that NHS mental health priorities are supported in a way that is accessible, culturally relevant, and responsive to local needs. During the financial year 2024–25, Advantage provided a blueprint of tried and tested flagship mental health programmes and facilitated/brokered NHS organisations to partner with the CCOs. Advantage acted as both project manager and strategic enabler, ensuring programmes were mobilised and delivered effectively, while maintaining a strong focus on accountability, governance, and quality assurance. This model has enabled Advantage to identify and secure funding for delivery partners through a combination of NHS funding streams and high-net-worth donors. Once secured, Advantage either: - acts as contract manager for the programme, taking a management fee before distributing delivery funds to delivery partners; or - facilitates direct payment from funders to delivery partners, while Advantage receives a membership fee to provide support services and manage the contract. Both models were successfully utilised during the 2024–25 financial year, demonstrating Advantage’s flexibility and ability to adapt to funder requirements and local partnership needs. The core Advantage programme, independently evidenced by the Anna Freud Centre and the Child Outcomes Research Consortium, has been shown to increase access to NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), reduce waiting times, and tackle health inequalities. It provides weekly 1-2-1 mentoring for young people aged 11–21 with mild to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing needs, offering proactive support before needs escalate to specialist services. Over the course of the 2024-25 financial year, Advantage’s flagship programme delivered key interventions and assistance for 177 young people across Hackney, Camden, Islington, Birmingham & Solihull, Ealing, Hounslow, Suffolk, Waltham Forest, Liverpool, Hammersmith & Fulham, Southampton, Black Country, Havering, Tower Hamlets, and Newham. Through this work, young people have been supported to proactively manage their mental wellbeing, re-establish aspirations, and develop a sense of connection with their local communities. The programme contributes directly to the “Getting Advice” and “Getting Help” strands of the Thrive Framework, building capacity within the system without diverting clinical staff time, and supporting NHS access targets. Importantly, delivery takes place in the inspirational environments of professional football clubs, which are uniquely placed to engage young people who may not otherwise access traditional healthcare settings. As a CIC, Advantage has continued to support key NHS priorities for children and young people’s mental health by: - Building an anchor network that links NHS systems with football club community organisations. - Supporting efforts to tackle and reduce health inequalities, including via the Core20+5 frame-work and CCOs’ existing reach into underserved communities. - Increasing equal access, improving young people’s experiences of care, and achieving better outcomes. - Contributing to capacity building and workforce development, both within CCOs and in partnership with local NHS teams.

No consultation with stakeholders

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration