20 Mental Health Project Funders: Grants and Funding Opportunities for NGOs

Overview

Nonprofit organizations, community groups, and social-impact initiatives addressing mental health and psychosocial support can explore twenty different funders and funding pathways. Mental health is a key development priority in communities affected by poverty, conflict, displacement, disasters, gender-based violence, and limited healthcare access. A variety of foundations and international organizations offer grants, partnerships, stipends, and other forms of support, focusing either specifically on mental health or on related areas like child wellbeing, trauma recovery, women's rights, youth development, and community health. The funding options include Peace of Mind Foundation, Ember Mental Health, Khyentse Foundation, Nederlands Albert Schweitzer Fonds, African Women’s Development Fund, Grand Challenges Canada, Movember Foundation, Baring Foundation, One Mind, Fondation de France, Firelight Foundation, Waterloo Foundation, Guerrant Foundation, Independence Foundation, Osprey Foundation of Maryland, Comic Relief International Fund, Tudor Trust, StrongMinds Replication Partners, Fondation d'Harcourt, and Mental Health Innovation Network Partner Grants.

Who can apply

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, community groups, social-impact initiatives, local innovators, and grassroots organizations. Depending on the specific funder, organizations may need to operate in particular regions, such as low- and middle-income countries, Africa, Francophone Africa, or specific countries like Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda. Certain funders focus on organizations assisting children affected by conflict, displacement, and disasters, or those working with children and young people, women's rights and wellbeing, men and boys, underserved populations, or individuals experiencing social disadvantage and inequality. Some opportunities are tailored for early-stage innovators, organizations using creative or arts-related approaches, or those working with or adapting the StrongMinds model.

What you get

Selected organizations can receive various forms of support, including grants, financial stipends, and 12-month partnerships. For example, the Peace of Mind Foundation provides mental health and psychosocial support grants that generally range from $50,000 to $150,000. Other funders offer financial stipends and support for community-level interventions, partnership-based funding for scalable depression treatment approaches, and periodic funding windows or small grants for innovators developing locally relevant mental health solutions, awareness campaigns, and psychosocial education.

Requirements

Requirements vary depending on the specific funder and program. Applicants for Peace of Mind Foundation support may be required to complete a short eligibility quiz before proceeding to a full proposal. Organizations interested in Fondation d'Harcourt should review current calls carefully because funding priorities and geographical eligibility can change. Other initiatives require organizations to address specific issues such as depression, trauma, psychosocial education, suicide prevention, or trauma-informed and community-based programs, while some consider compassion-based values or broader social and development challenges.

Key dates

Ember Mental Health provides selected organizations with a 12-month partnership. For all other listed funders, applicants must monitor the respective organization for when funding calls, innovation calls, or application windows are open.