How do I find funders for a grassroots mental health nonprofit?

Start with the funders most focused on grassroots mental health organizations, currently National Community Foundation, Sewa-Aifw, NAMI National. Donor-advised funds and mega-funds are excluded, so these are funders that genuinely back organizations your size, not pass-through accounts.

What counts as a grassroots organization here?

Size is the organization's median total revenue across its filings: grassroots (under $1M). Cause is its NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File.

How much grant money goes to grassroots mental health organizations?

$465M reached 3,356 grassroots mental health organizations from 5,664 funders. Money parked in the regranting layer is netted out.

How recent is this data?

It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings across recent fiscal years. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

Causes · Mental health · grassroots

Who funds grassroots mental health organizations

The funders that back grassroots mental health organizations are specialists, not generalists: National Community Foundation gives them 247.8× the national rate, with 83% of its grants going here. These are the small organizations the big-institution funders usually miss, so the funders that show up here are the ones worth a small mental health nonprofit's time.

$465M

granted

3,356

organizations

5,664

funders

The short version

5,664 funders gave $465M to 3,356 grassroots mental health organizations (grassroots (under $1M)) across recent IRS filings.
The most focused funder is National Community Foundation, giving 247.8× the national rate to grassroots mental health organizations.
The largest non-DAF funder is South Florida Behavioral Health Network Inc, at $6M.
The grassroots mental health organization drawing the most is Arizona Therapeutic Learning Center, at $3M.

Funders most focused on grassroots mental health organizations

Not the biggest checks, the most committed: each gives this size and cause an outsized share of its budget against the national rate, shrunk toward that rate so a small specialist needs real volume to rank.

National Community Foundation247.8×$2M · 83% of its giving Sewa-Aifw236.5×$2M · 100% of its giving NAMI National234.8×$3M · 54% of its giving Oriana Services Inc219.2×$2M · 100% of its giving New Directions for Women Inc196.9×$1M · 100% of its giving Bridgeway Recovery Services Inc189.2×$1M · 100% of its giving New Mexico Coalition of Sexual184.4×$4M · 36% of its giving Ten Up Ministries Inc167.6×$1M · 100% of its giving

Largest funders by dollars

Real grantmakers giving the most to grassroots mental health organizations (donor-advised and mega-funds excluded).

1South Florida Behavioral Health Network Inc$6M 2Central Florida Behavioral$5M 3New Mexico Coalition of Sexual$4M 4Caring for Denver Foundation$4M 5Possibility Labs$3M 6NAMI National$3M 7Dogwood Health Trust$3M 8Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault$2M

Grassroots mental health organizations that draw the most

Sized by grant dollars received. Pick one to see exactly who funds it.

3,346 other grassroots mental health organizations$439M

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a grassroots mental health nonprofit?: Start with the funders most focused on grassroots mental health organizations, currently National Community Foundation, Sewa-Aifw, NAMI National. Donor-advised funds and mega-funds are excluded, so these are funders that genuinely back organizations your size, not pass-through accounts.
What counts as a grassroots organization here?: Size is the organization's median total revenue across its filings: grassroots (under $1M). Cause is its NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File.
How much grant money goes to grassroots mental health organizations?: $465M reached 3,356 grassroots mental health organizations from 5,664 funders. Money parked in the regranting layer is netted out.
How recent is this data?: It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings across recent fiscal years. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

More from the funding graph

The regranting layer

51% of grant dollars pass through an intermediary

The DAF merry-go-round

$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds

Strange bedfellows

the named clusters of US funding

The camps

funders cluster by geography, not ideology

By state

where grant money is based, and what stays home

State money flows

the interactive map of money crossing state lines

Size is median total revenue; cause is the recipient's NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File. Read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file XML across recent fiscal years, among (c)(3) funders and recipients resolved by EIN, with the regranting layer netted out. Source: IRS Form 990 downloads.