If you’re reading this, chances are, you are a dedicated advocate working tirelessly to accelerate social change. Perhaps you’re a nonprofit leader who is on the frontline of social issues affecting your most proximate community. Maybe you’re a donor, looking to ensure every dollar is being efficiently and effectively directed to those with bold solutions. Or maybe you’re simply a compassionate individual interested in social causes.

Whoever you are, you are devoted to tackling the world’s biggest problems. And doing this work day-in and day-out can sometimes take a mental toll, interfering with our ability to show up ready to solve the world’s problems.

That is why it is essential we care for the mental health of our communities and those who serve them. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we are shedding light on not only the organizations prioritizing mental health, but also the very necessary resources available to support us in our work to accelerate positive change in the world.

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Resources for Advocates and Nonprofit Organizations

Resources for Funders

Resources for Advocates & Nonprofit Organizations

One of our Social Impact Partners, Amna – a nonprofit working to build community capacity for healing – believes self and organizational care is essential for humanitarian care. Being in a profession that is required to support the trauma and resilience of others can often affect one’s wellbeing. By working with values, maintaining professional boundaries, and supporting each other, we can ensure we not only are caring for ourselves but are providing quality services to the communities we serve.

Later this month, Amna will be leading workshops on organizational care and wellbeing for our Bold Solutions Network members – and we thank them for the important work they are doing for hundreds of organizations working to tackle social change. Learn more about their approach with Amna’s self-guided exercises here.

In addition, another Social Impact Partner of ours, IMAGO Global Grassroots, previously hosted webinars in 2020 with Bold Solutions Network members about organizational resilience during challenging times. When the world is experiencing unprecedented events, it calls for developing resilience within ourselves, in our communities, and in our organizations. In doing so, we are growing strong support systems that allow us to sustain ourselves and our organizations

For those of us working within social change, these lessons in building resilience are critical to our individual mental health in a constantly evolving and increasingly more complex world. Learn more about these resilience workshops and access IMAGO Global Grassroots’ guide for challenging times here.

Resources for Funders

If you are a donor who deeply cares about improving mental health outcomes, we are delighted to share these seven organizations doing tremendous work in each of their communities. Each of these nonprofits belong to our Bold Solutions Network meaning their proposals have been vigorously vetted and evaluated by our team, sector advisors, and experts:

• Communities United and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is bringing to scale “Healing through Justice,” a youth-led movement for healing to make breakthroughs in supporting and sustaining community-led approaches to healing-centered communities.
• IRD Global’s GogoPlay project is building ecosystems for early childhood development (ECD) in rural South Africa by upskilling women in play and well-being within communities, co-creating centralized playhouses for integrated ECD service delivery, and an outreach arm to extend the reach and impact of the innovation.
• Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health and partners worldwide are scaling culture-based home education and intergenerational playspaces for the well-being of Indigenous children and families.
• Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI)’s is freeing every Texan from depression by scaling three existing initiatives statewide, with the goal of increasing the rate of recovery from depression in Texas from less than 10% today to more than 50% through early detection and treatment in primary care.
• Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF) and the Opportunity Youth Action Hawaiʻi (OYAH) group at the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center (KYFWC) is replacing youth incarceration with a Native Hawaiian restorative system that empowers communities, trains youth healers, and shifts resources to community-driven and culturally-grounded sanctuaries of support.
• Project ECHO is connecting frontline workers in health care, education and other social determinants of health to lifesaving knowledge and expertise through virtual communities and mentorship including a mental health support program for first responders and enhancing mental health care in the Global South.
• Trust for Public Land (TPL) is leading a holistic national movement to empower under-represented communities to transform their schoolyards, creating healthy, nature-rich outdoor play-spaces for all children to play and learn.

We invite you to learn more about each organization in our Curated Collection for mental health organizations here.