Blank Foundation donates over $5M for mental health

Five Georgia-based organizations get $1.3M from initiative.

The Arthur M. Blank Foun- dation announced a new series of grants Wednesday focusing on mental health and well-being in response to America’s growing mental health crisis.

The foundation is fund- ing 15 grants ranging from $100,000 to $2 million to support organizations that address mental health needs, “from crisis to stability to flourishing.” Five of the grants were awarded to Georgia-based organizations.

“Our chairman, Arthur M. Blank, has a keen interest in improving the state of men- tal health and well-being, especially for young people across our nation,” said Fay Twersky, president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, in a news release. “The recent escala- tion and urgency of the crisis has prompted our foundation to make a multi-year, long-term commitment to invest in solutions.”

The foundation noted that the nation’s mental health crisis worsened with the pandemic, but also acknowledged the growing awareness and acceptance around the issues that have led to work being done to solve it.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, 21% (52.9 million) of U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2020. In the United States, suicide is one of the leading causes of death.

Of the five grants given to Georgia-based organizations, $500,000 will go the Carter Center to support its mental health program, $250,000 will go to Kate’s Club to support children who have lost significant figures in their lives, $225,000 will go to CHRIS 180 to provide behavioral health services in Atlanta’s Westside, $100,000 will go to Inner Explorer to launch a meditation program in Atlanta public schools, and $200,000 will go to Resilient Georgia to create a behavioral health network for children in Georgia.

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