Resources

Catalyzing Mental Health Philanthropy

Our convenings, guidance, and uplifted solutions are resources to catalyze the field of mental health philanthropy and accelerate impact.

Convenings

With in-person and digital convenings, we bring funders together to actively engage and share insights with each other, learn from one another, break down silos, and collaborate to mobilize resources and align efforts.

In-Person Convenings

Learn more about our in-person events by joining the funder community.

Our annual Activate event is a convening of principal level funders in the emerging field of mental health philanthropy.

Activate funder attendees can access event materials on Mindful Connect. ➝

"Activate was an amazing conference, generative on so many levels as an academic, advocate, worker bee, mom, and philanthropist."

– Dr. Sheila Ohlsson Walker, Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University

“Activate was one of the most impressive, well-conceived and executed philanthropy convenings I’ve been to in years.”

- Corporate Funder, Activate Attendee

"The stories shared at Activate deeply resonated with us. We walked out of the event and immediately decided to increase our giving to mental health in Atlanta."

- David & Michelle Hirsch, Hirsch Legacy Fund

In the Spring of 2025 we are launching the Accelerate Summit as an opportunity to build on the success of Activate for a broader set of philanthropic actors. Leaders across the philanthropic sector and beyond will come together to catalyze the future of global mental health.

“Keep an eye out for the joy that can come with connecting good people… So often there can be shared learnings and collaborative efforts; we don’t have to be in silos.”

– Mindful Philanthropy convening attendee

Digital Convenings

We host regional funder convenings as well as webinars on key mental health topics. Explore some of the topics.

Community

Mindful Philanthropy: A Community on a Mission

Mental Health at the Center

Mental Health at the Center: Discussing the Roadmap for Investment

Youth Mental Health

Empowering the Future: A Discussion with Dr. Jonathan Haidt

Webinar

Get Your Head in the Game: Philanthropy in Mental Health & Sports

Webinar

The State of Psychedelics: An Overview of Philanthropic Opportunities

Webinar

How Philanthropy Can Support Culturally-Led Programs

With Her in Mind

With Her in Mind: Women’s Mental Health Across the Lifespan

Thriving in Schools

Thriving in Schools: Supporting Policy Change

Guidance

Our work includes several series and primers available to our funder community and the foundational first three reports of a four-part series, Mental Health at the Center (MHAC).

Mental Health at the Center (MHAC)

This series of reports is defining the gold standard for mental health philanthropy.

REPORT

Mental Health at the Center: U.S. Funding Landscape

The U.S. Funding Landscape is the third guidance in the Mental Health at the Center series and provides a first-of-its-kind snapshot of philanthropic funding for mental health in the United States. It outlines total funding amounts from 2015-2022, trends in giving areas, levers to greater impact, and implications for the field.

View this Report ⟶ 

REPORT

Mental Health at the Center: A Roadmap for Strategic Investment

Building on The Case for Philanthropic Investment, the second guidance in the Mental Health at the Center series helps new and existing funders prioritize investments in support of mental health that are most likely to make a difference. These priorities are not only critical standalone issues, but they are key to population level outcomes. 

View this Report ⟶ 

REPORT

Mental Health at the Center: The Case for Philanthropic Investment

Historically, only 1.3% of all foundation giving is directed toward mental health. Philanthropy has a strategic role to play in filling funding gaps, spurring innovation, and driving meaningful social change. The intersectionality of mental health means that all of philanthropy has a responsibility to this work.

Significant investment is urgent. Mental Health at the Center: The Case for Philanthropic Investment provides a high-level view of mental health needs, gaps, and opportunities to orient funders to the mental health landscape.

View this Report ⟶ 

Join the funder community.

Become a part of Mindful Connect to access all guidance reports.

Uplifted Solutions

We uplift proven solutions for the future of mental health. Our approach includes a diverse array of public-private partnerships, demonstration projects, challenges, for-profit, nonprofit, and advocacy and policy solutions.

Mindful Philanthropy Portfolio

Non-Profits

Public-Private Partnerships

Funds & Investment Opportunities

Advocacy & Policy

Portfolio nonprofits reflect an ecosystem of solutions for mental health in the U.S. We are continually evaluating a wide range of organizations based on quality of programming, potential for impact, and financial and governance due diligence. Organizations are uplifted to funders through our Mindful Connect Community, webinars, and written guidance.

Join our funder community to learn more ➝

Organizations are currently considered by invitation only. Mindful reviews key documents and meets with leadership to assess for: aligned theory of change, quality of programmatic activities, proven or promising impact, strong finance and governance, and a compelling future vision that philanthropy can support. 

FAQ and online application coming soon!

News & Media

Mental Health Catalyst of the Year, 2024 — Inside Philanthropy

"This effort to galvanize a more forceful philanthropic response to America’s mental health crisis has gained increasing visibility since [Mindful Philanthropy] opened its doors — urging funders to step up and offering research, regular convenings and support to help them do so."

How Mindful Philanthropy is Revolutionizing Mental Health Funding

The Business of Giving Podcast, October 2024

CEO Alyson Niemann sits down with The Business of Giving podcast host Denver Frederick to discuss Mindful Philanthropy's role in revolutionizing mental health funding.

In what it describes as a “first-of-its-kind analysis of philanthropic giving toward mental health, addiction, and wellbeing in the U.S.,” the report, “Mental Health at the Center: U.S. Funding Landscape,” provides an overview of mental health funding from 2015-2022, tracks trends in giving and opportunities to leverage change, and underscores the need for more philanthropic investment. 

“Recent reports from Mindful Philanthropy and the White House have underscored the urgent need for greater investment in maternal and infant mental health, an often-overlooked crisis that affects families and communities for generations.”

A new report from Mindful Philanthropy has examined giving from 2015 to 2022 and found that philanthropic giving for mental health has increased a bit faster than the rate of inflation – but still is a tiny fraction of the overall charitable pie. Read our interview with Kristen Ward to learn more.

In September 2024, kate spade new york launched the Global Fund for Women’s Mental Health, in partnership with Pinterest, Saks 5th Avenue, and Mindful Philanthropy.

CEO Alyson Niemann speaks with AP’s James Pollard about philanthropic funding for mental health and the efforts that work best to improve youth mental health.

Mindful Philanthropy has challenged funders to take a bigger role and is providing guidance for how to do so.

Improving Mental Health With Alyson Niemann

The Heart of Giving Podcast, June 2024

CEO Alyson Niemann joins as this week’s guest on the Heart of Giving podcast. Mindful Philanthropy is dedicated to connecting funders and organizations in the mental health and substance abuse spaces, advocating for increased funding, and support for impactful initiatives.

In 2023, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announced a $275,000 grant to Mindful Philanthropy to support the organization’s capacity to expand its research and convening, including conducting a national landscape analysis of philanthropic investment in mental health. 

Mindful Philanthropy is calling for all of philanthropy to invest 5x more in mental health by 2035 — to $35 billion annually

Mindful Philanthropy challenges all funders by 2035 to collectively increase the total amount of philanthropic funding dedicated to mental health, addiction, and well-being by five times to $35B annually.

As Mindful Philanthropy organizes to raise awareness, some philanthropies have been stepping up already.

“Mental health has been wildly underfunded and investments like this only reinforce the need to treat mental health as you would any other health condition.” — Jessica Edwards, NAMI’s chief development officer

There are a few funders IP has been tracking that focus giving on the expansion of the mental health care and service workforce.

The country is experiencing a mental health crisis. Young people appear to be at particularly high risk, including young adults.

We have been in a youth mental health crisis. Here are three high-impact approaches you can take.