Our Guidance
Our guidance helps funders like you amplify your impact in mental health, addiction, and well-being.
We are building the field of philanthropy through our public resources which are free to download. We cover a range of issues that you care about, from topics specific to mental health to adjacent social issue areas and overarching principles in impactful giving.
Mental Health at the Center
A Call to Action for Philanthropy
In recent years, Americans have realized how mental health is intrinsically connected to every part of our lives - our work, our families, and our communities. There has never been a greater opportunity for philanthropy to create impact.
Mindful Philanthropy is calling for all of philanthropy to invest 5x more in mental health by 2035 - to $35B annually - through greater collaboration and bigger, bolder bets.
Intersecting Impact: A Series on Mental Health’s Connection to Other Social Issues
Many funders are already supporting areas such as youth, homelessness, and women and girls that have overlapping impacts with mental health and well-being. In this series, we explore the ways that funders can amplify their impact by intentionally including mental health in their funding strategy.
Empowering Women in the Workplace: How Philanthropy Can Support Women’s Mental Health
Unlocking the full potential of our workforce relies on empowering women in the workplace, whose invaluable contributions drive economic growth, social progress, and community well-being. However, the current workplace structure and systems, while evolving, were not designed to set women up for success, with many working women reporting increased rates of stress, anxiety, and depression. This guide explores practical opportunities to support working women within the existing system while also advocating for philanthropy to pursue bold initiatives that can transform the system for lasting impact on the lives of women in the workforce.
For the Community, By the Community: How Philanthropy Can Support Culturally-Led Mental Health Programs
Culturally-led programs can support the mental health of communities of color by centering their unique needs, histories, and traditions to improve well-being. Yet, these programs are often overlooked and underfunded by philanthropy. This guide outlines five key considerations for supporting culturally-led programs. Accompanying this guide is a resource document highlighting organizations that exemplify one or more of these considerations and serve as examples for funders seeking opportunities for impact.
A Call for Hope: How Philanthropy Can Support 988 and Mental Health Crisis Care
This guide dives deeper into impactful opportunities for funders to support 988 implementation and crisis system reform, with a keen eye toward state and local action. Download this guide to explore the crisis response continuum, access case studies of promising models that can be scaled and adapted across the country, and create an impact through direct services, system capacity building, research & development, and policy & advocacy.
Learn more about 988 and crisis reform here.
Thriving in Schools: How Philanthropy Can Support Young Minds
This guide for funders provides a framework for identifying high impact opportunities in youth mental health. Funders will find key strategies and considerations for maximizing impact for youth mental health, from early childhood all the way to transitioning to adulthood. Opportunities included cut across the full spectrum of how philanthropy can help, including direct services, system capacity building, policy & advocacy, and research & development.
Learn more about youth mental health and Thriving in Schools here.
Health in Mind
This toolkit from The Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania provides funders with five key strategies to address mental health and addiction, with example opportunities in each category. This framework was developed using the best available evidence from academic literature, research, and existing frameworks while incorporating perspectives of funders, clinicians, and practitioners. Health in Mind was co-authored by Mindful Philanthropy founding team member Kristen Ward, and is the groundwork upon which our research and analysis is built.
Partner Resources
Our carefully curated collection of strategic research about mental health and addiction, resources from partner organizations, information about field initiatives and other valuable resources to enhance your knowledge.
Read Our Blog
Work With Us
Let us help you on your journey to impact. To request customized guidance, contact us at info@mindfulphilanthropy.org.
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