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Innovative Approaches to Funding Mental Health led by BFN Members
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month this May, we're showcasing the significant contributions of some of our members to mental health care.
Note: this overview represents a snapshot and may not be exhaustive of the entire philanthropic landscape.
East Bay Community Foundation funded 227 mental health care grants to 112 organizations between 2019-2023, totaling $26,121,470.
In December 2023, EBCF’s ASCEND: BLO launched the Pilot Wellness Grants, offering six-month, unrestricted grants of $20K for each of ten grantees to build out or implement wellness programs, initiatives, and practices without burdensome reporting requirements. They shared findings in this report.
Between 2020 and 2024, the California Endowment funded 128 mental health care grants to 93 organizations totaling $9,488,980.
California Wellness Foundation funded 100 mental health care grants to 59 organizations between 2019-2023 totaling $2,771,036.
Blue Shield of California Foundation has provided grantmaking support and resources to support Black mental health, including:
$200,000 to AfroLA Media Group for local, solutions-based, and culturally responsive journalism focused on changing attitudes to advance multigenerational approaches to prevent domestic violence in Black communities throughout California (Award date: 3/21/2025)
$400,000 to Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective to support the prevention of domestic violence across generations for Black men in California (Award date: 10/3/2024)
$700,000 to Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth to evaluate, strengthen, and expand access to practices that prevent domestic violence in California (Award date: 7/1/2023)
Click here to learn more.
Blue Shield of California Corporate Giving Program has provided three $25,000 grants to three organizations totaling $75,000. Areas supported include community mental health care, mental health care, and mental health counseling.
Between 2019 and 2023, Stupski Foundation funded nine mental health care grants to five organizations totaling $877,000. In June 2024, Stupski Foundation announced a $2.9 million investment in student and community wellness in Hawai’i and the San Francisco Bay Area, allowing Bay Area community organizations to provide students and school support staff a range of community-informed wellness programs to address trauma and mental health needs.
The expansion in overall philanthropic giving to mental health is a positive and much-needed practice, reflecting a growing awareness of the importance of mental well-being. While overall mental health grantmaking has grown, a closer look at the data reveals disparities in funding for people of African descent. Here’s how Bay Area grantmakers are funding mental health:
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The insights shared in this newsletter are not just informative statistics; they are a call to action. To impact mental health and wellness, funders should consider:
Increasing dedicated funding to organizations and programs focused on Black mental health outcomes
Supporting Black-led initiatives that cater to specific community needs
Addressing social determinants that impact mental health; socioeconomic factors and support initiatives that address housing stability, employment, healthcare access, and other root causes of distress
Funding efforts that remove barriers to care, increase awareness, and reduce stigma within the community
