For our article on the first five years of mental health funding network organization Mindful Philanthropy, Alyson Niemann, the organization’s CEO, observed that the large philanthropic investments in mental health she’s hoped for have yet to materialize.
While the scale of philanthropy’s mental health support still doesn’t measure up to the challenge, the tail end of 2025 saw several major philanthropic commitments that offer grounds for hope.
These philanthropic initiatives come at a good time, because the Trump administration has been working hard to claw back federal support for mental health and addiction programs, despite the mental health crisis gripping the country. For example, the administration scrapped half the staff at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and layoffs and funding cuts at SAMHSA “have ground much of the agency’s work to a halt,” STAT reported. The administration also slashed grants for school-based mental health programs. (See KFF’s tracker for more information on the administration’s actions on mental health and substance use.)
The four recent commitments, all of them from members of the Mindful Philanthropy network, are a good sign that funders — including several big-name philanthropic billionaires — are determined to bolster the nation’s mental health supports at a fraught time.
The new funding prompted Niemann to end last year on an hopeful note: “Looking ahead, I’m optimistic that this level of investment will continue, and that the field is poised for greater coordination and collaboration — not just for increased funding, but for realizing a shared vision of human flourishing,” she wrote in the organization’s December 2025 newsletter.
Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund: $10 Million “Play to Thrive” initiative
Last fall, Laurie M. Tisch announced that her Illumination Fund was launching a $10 million initiative called “Play to Thrive.” The multi-year initiative will support organizations that “use sports to improve youth mental health, expand access for underserved communities, and promote equity across New York City and beyond.”
Tisch is the daughter of New York City philanthropists Joan H. Tisch and Preston Robert Tisch, who was chairman and part owner of Lowes. The younger Tisch’s giving, like her parents’, has a New York City focus; the Illumination Fund’s mission is to “improve access and opportunity for all New Yorkers and foster healthy and vibrant communities.” The Illumination Fund has made the arts a priority, and works to draw a link between the arts and health, as IP’s Mike Scutari has reported.
Tisch announced the Play to Thrive initiative at the Aspen Institute’s first State of Soccer Summit. The initiative will support organizations working to increase young peoples’ access to soccer, including Gotham FC’s Keep Her in the Game, which promotes girls’ participation in soccer, Street Soccer USA, and Playworks.
“Soccer is more than a game, it’s a powerful tool to foster inclusion, leadership and community,” Tisch said when the funding was announced. “But far too many people are left on the sidelines, not because of talent or passion, but because of their zip code and obstacles like cost, infrastructure and safety. Play to Thrive is about breaking down those barriers so that young people have the chance to thrive through sport.”
The Illumination Fund is part of the Mindful Philanthropy network, which published a Primer on Sports and Mental Health to encourage funders to help more young people participate in sports: “By collaborating with existing programs dedicated to serving young people, philanthropy can intervene by creating more inclusive opportunities for youth to engage in sports at all levels of competition and ability from an early age.”
Ballmer Group: $72 million to boost mental health access in Illinois, Kansas and Michigan
In November of 2025, Ballmer Group, Steve and Connie Ballmer’s philanthropy, provided $72 million to boost access to Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in Illinois, Kansas and Michigan. The goal is to strengthen community-based mental health and substance use treatment in those states to “ensure more people get the help they need — when and where they need it,” according to the announcement.
The Ballmer support, awarded to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, will enable those organizations to provide technical assistance to CCBHCs and expand the behavioral health workforce. A shortage of mental health workers is a problem around the globe, and in the U.S., “over 169 million people live in federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (MHPAs), with Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities facing the most significant gaps in care,” according to a report published earlier this year.
CCBHCs provide training and work to increase staff retention. But perhaps most importantly, they provide comprehensive care regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay, which results in fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
The Ballmer commitment seeks to boost mental health access at the state level. According to the announcement, it “reflects a deep belief in the power of state governments and their provider partners to drive lasting behavioral health reform.”
Mental health has become an increasing focus for the Ballmers in recent years. The Ballmer Group works closely with Mindful Philanthropy as one of five members of the Mindful Leadership Council, an invitation-only group of philanthropic leaders who serve as strategic partners for the donor collaborative.
Meanwhile, the Ballmers provide funding for a wide range of causes that intersect with mental health, including for place-based partnerships, summer learning and early childhood. Last year, the Ballmer Group gave over $1 billion with the goal of “improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States.”
Tow Foundation: $10 million for youth mental health
Young people’s mental health is the focus of $10 million in grants that the Tow Foundation announced last November. The money will go to 10 organizations “driving innovative ideas and solutions to the crisis” in youth mental health, according to the announcement.
The Tow Foundation was created in 1988 by Claire and Leonard Tow, who cofounded Century Communications Corporation. The couple’s heirs are deeply involved in the foundation; three sit on the board, including Emily Tow, who is foundation president. The organization’s areas of focus include arts and culture, civic engagement, higher education, equity and justice, and medicine and public health.
The foundation’s $10 million will be distributed through its 2025 Innovation Fund, which Tow launched in 2022 “with the goal of funding creative approaches to addressing issues affecting children and their families.” To qualify for the three-year grants, applicant organizations were required to serve young people in the states of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York or Pennsylvania. Tow was also seeking organizations exploring innovative solutions and supporting young people who face barriers to access. (See a list of grantee organizations).
The Tow Foundation is part of the Mindful Philanthropy network, and Mindful worked closely with the foundation during its grantee selection process.
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Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation: $25 million for youth mental health
After a multi-year exploratory process, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has become a mental health funder with considerable resources and an expansive reach. It recently doubled down on that commitment with a $25 million investment for youth mental health.
In December, the foundation announced that over the next 10 years, its Mental Health and Well-Being grantmaking will focus on three pillars: the creation of secure emotional bonds between parents and infants to foster a strong developmental foundation; school-based mental health support to promote belonging and resilience for elementary and middle school students, and the promotion of teens’ healthy interactions with digital technology.
“These grants reflect our commitment to supporting young people’s mental health and wellbeing at pivotal moments in their development,” said Beth Brown, AMBFF’s managing director of mental health and well-being. “Our strategy is ambitious and hopeful, focused on prevention. We’re pleased to invest in solutions that support the vision that every baby born today will have a stronger path toward flourishing mental wellbeing than any generation that came before.”
The foundation was built on the fortune Arthur Blank made as a cofounder of Home Depot. Blank and his heirs believe in “giving while living,” and as IP’s Ade Adeniji reported, the foundation has been accelerating that giving in recent years. It has supported global causes, democracy promotion efforts, gun violence prevention and rural work; it is also focused on regional issues in Montana and Atlanta’s Westside. Its Mental Health & Well-Being portfolio is broad, and has maintained a strong youth focus, funding organizations like The Goodness Web and Young Futures.
Young Futures, which supports initiatives to promote youth digital thriving, was one of AMBFF’s recent grantees, along with Common Sense Media, Sandy Hook Promise and The Together Project, an organization created by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to promote belonging. (See a complete list of grantees).
Mindful Philanthropy was also a recipient in AMBFF’s latest round of funding; AMBFF is a member of the Mindful Leadership Council.