National Lottery Funding Secured to Support the Wellbeing of Birmingham’s Changemakers
Wellbeing With Emil CIC has secured funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to launch a 12-month wellbeing programme designed to support charity workers, community advisors, and frontline staff across Birmingham.
Charities, social enterprises, community hubs, and non-profits are under increasing strain. Staff and volunteers are balancing high workloads and complex challenges, all while responding to the growing needs of their communities. These changemakers dedicate their lives to supporting others but often lack structured wellbeing support.
The Wellbeing for Birmingham’s Changemakers programme provides tailored wellbeing support, coaching, and mentoring to help those on the front lines manage stress, build resilience, and safeguard their own mental health, ensuring they can continue their vital work effectively.
Why Prioritising the Mental Health of Changemakers Matters
- 76% of charity workers report workplace stress (Mental Health at Work, 2023).
- 1 in 3 charity employees consider leaving due to burnout (ACEVO Pay and Equalities Report, 2024).
- 776,000 UK workers suffer from work-related stress, anxiety, or depression (Health and Safety Executive, 2024).
- 85% of small organisation leaders say their role negatively impacts their mental health (Breaking Point Report, 2025).
Without structured support, these challenges affect staff retention, service delivery, and long-term sustainability. This new programme directly tackles these issues, providing practical, tailored support to help changemakers thrive.
What the Wellbeing Programme Offers
This comprehensive service includes one-to-one coaching, group wellbeing workshops, peer support networks, and accredited wellbeing training, all designed to help changemakers prioritise their mental health.
One-to-One Coaching, Mentoring and Counselling:
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Personalised coaching to help leaders and frontline staff navigate stress and workplace challenges.
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Confidential sessions for those dealing with burnout and emotional fatigue.
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Practical coping strategies to manage workload pressure and avoid compassion fatigue.
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Flexible session formats (in-person and online) to fit around work schedules.
Group Wellbeing Workshops:
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Interactive sessions on burnout prevention, work-life balance, and emotional fatigue.
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Tools for workplace wellbeing, including mindfulness and stress management techniques.
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Peer learning opportunities where changemakers can share challenges and solutions.
Peer Support Networks:
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Regular meetups to build a sense of community and shared support.
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Safe spaces for discussing mental health and work pressures.
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Collaborative problem-solving, helping changemakers develop healthier work practices.
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Ongoing access to resources, ensuring continued support beyond sessions.
Training for Aspiring Wellbeing Coaches:
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Accredited coaching training for selected participants.
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Equipping changemakers with the skills to support wellbeing within their own organisations.
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Long-term sustainability by creating internal champions for mental health support.
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Mentoring opportunities to ensure new wellbeing coaches feel supported.
Who Can Take Part?
This programme is open to charity workers, community advisors, and frontline staff across Birmingham. Those working in food banks, housing support, youth services, social enterprises, and non-profits often face high levels of stress and emotional fatigue due to the demands of their roles.
Leaders and frontline staff supporting vulnerable communities often struggle to prioritise their own wellbeing, working in high-pressure environments where burnout, compassion fatigue, and mental health challenges are common. Access to tailored support helps them develop practical strategies for managing stress, improving resilience, and maintaining a healthier work-life balance.
Whether leading an organisation, working directly with service users, or providing crisis support, those involved in community-driven work can benefit from structured wellbeing support.
Spots are limited though. So please send an expression of interest to: info@wellbeingwithemil.co.uk
A Step Towards a Healthier Sector
Charities, social enterprises, and frontline organisations play a vital role in supporting communities, yet the wellbeing of those working within them is often overlooked. High workloads, increasing demand for services, and financial pressures contribute to stress and burnout, affecting both individuals and the organisations they serve. Prioritising wellbeing is key to sustainability.
By providing coaching, counselling, group wellbeing workshops, peer support, and accredited wellbeing training, this programme helps frontline staff and charity leaders develop the tools needed to manage stress, prevent burnout, and continue making a positive impact.
Strengthening the wellbeing of changemakers leads to stronger, more resilient organisations and healthier communities.
This work is made possible with funding from the National Lottery Community Fund. Investing in the wellbeing of those who dedicate their time to helping others creates lasting change across the sector.