Staunton Farm Foundation Trust

Staunton Farm Foundation Trust is one of the most mission-focused behavioral health funders in the mid-Atlantic region — every grant dollar goes toward mental health and substance use services in a defined 10-county southwestern Pennsylvania footprint. Founded in 1937 through the estate of Matilda Staunton Craig, the foundation has grown to $68.3 million in assets (FY2024) and distributes approximately $3 million annually across three structured grant cycles.

The foundation strongly favors organizations that are already embedded in the behavioral health ecosystem — community mental health centers, federally qualified health centers, peer support networks, universities training clinicians, and nonprofits providing trauma-informed wraparound services. Its grantee portfolio reveals a clear preference for multi-grant, long-term relationships: Neighborhood Allies has received 5 grants totaling $552,600; New Sun Rising has accumulated 7 grants totaling $315,250; Awaken Pittsburgh, Brookline Teen Outreach, and Multiplying Good each hold 3+ grants. First-time applicants should approach their LOI as the opening of a relationship, not a standalone transaction.

The foundation operates three distinct grant cycles with meaningfully different processes. The Spring Cycle (LOI due May 15, full proposal June 15 if invited, awards in September) and Fall Cycle (LOI due November 15, full proposal December 15 if invited, awards in March) support larger direct-service programs. The Capacity Building Cycle (no LOI required, direct application window January through April 10, awards up to $25,000 announced by July 1) funds organizational infrastructure improvements. For first-time applicants, the Capacity Building cycle provides the lowest barrier to entry and serves as an ideal introduction to foundation staff.

The foundation entered a significant leadership transition in early 2025 when Monique Jackson succeeded longtime Executive Director Joni Schwager, who had served 26.5 years. Jackson, whose background spans Familylinks Inc. and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, has articulated two headline priorities: eliminating jail as the de facto mental health provider in Allegheny County, and reintegrating behavioral health into primary care settings. A new strategic plan is expected in summer 2026. Organizations whose work intersects crisis diversion, forensic mental health, integrated care, or peer workforce development are particularly well-positioned for funding in the current cycle and beyond.

All applications are submitted through the foundation's Foundant-based Grant Management System at grantinterface.com. Staff contacts are Monique Jackson and Senior Program Officer Bethany Hemingway, MSW, reachable at 412-281-8020 or office@stauntonfarm.org.

Staunton Farm Foundation Trust distributes approximately $3 million per year in grants, a figure that has remained remarkably stable across recent fiscal years: $3.02M (FY2020), $3.13M (FY2021), $3.10M (FY2022), and $3.55M (FY2023). The asset base has climbed from $63.4M in FY2020 to $68.3M in FY2024, with net investment income funding the bulk of grantmaking activity — contributions received are consistently $0, as this is an endowed private foundation with no public fundraising.

Across the full grantee database of 341 grants totaling $10.7 million, the average grant is $31,396. This average is pulled upward by a small number of larger multi-year service grants. In practice, grant amounts cluster into two tiers:

• Capacity Building grants: Capped at $25,000. These fund organizational infrastructure — strategic planning, technology upgrades (EHR implementation, cybersecurity), workforce training, program evaluation frameworks, and quality improvement systems.
• Service program grants (Spring and Fall cycles): Typically range from $75,000 to $150,000 per grant year, with outliers reaching $200,000 to $250,000 for capital-adjacent or high-impact integration projects. Single-grant highs of $250,000 went to Primary Care Health Services (behavioral health capital project for a medical complex) and Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh (clinical services for LGBTQIA+ and IPV survivors).

Geographically, 339 of 341 grants — over 99% — went to Pennsylvania organizations. Two grants reached out-of-state recipients, suggesting extremely rare exceptions. Allegheny County organizations dominate the portfolio given the concentration of behavioral health infrastructure in Pittsburgh, but grants to Lawrence, Indiana, Washington, and Fayette County organizations appear regularly, consistent with the foundation's 10-county mandate.

By program theme, the portfolio reflects five sustained investment areas: workforce development (LCSW fellowships, peer support training, clinical supervision programs); youth mental health (school-based services, teen outreach, trauma frameworks); equity and underserved populations (BIPOC-centered care, LGBTQIA+ services, immigrant community outreach); integrated behavioral-physical health (FQHC-based programs, hospital psychiatric units, street medicine); and public awareness and stigma reduction (NAMI Keystone PA, PublicSource journalism, WESA media series). Multi-grant grantees are the norm rather than the exception, with the average top-50 grantee holding 2-3 grants.

Staunton Farm Foundation occupies a distinctive and largely uncontested niche among Pittsburgh-area funders: it is the only foundation in the region whose entire grantmaking portfolio is dedicated to behavioral health. Peer funders address health broadly or have diversified community missions. This specificity is both a strength (deep subject-matter expertise, trusted relationships with grantees) and a constraint (ineligible organizations cannot pivot their proposals to qualify).

Staunton Farm's concentrated focus makes it uniquely accessible to behavioral-health-specific organizations that may not be competitive at generalist funders. Its three annual cycles — Spring, Fall, and Capacity Building — also provide more application touchpoints per year than many peers, which typically run one or two cycles. The foundation's relatively modest annual giving of $3M is supplemented by its role as a regional convener: it hosts the biannual Rural Behavioral Mental Health Care Conference, maintains an endowed professorship at the University of Pittsburgh, and administers the Albert B. Craig, Jr. Award — activities that amplify its influence beyond direct grantmaking. Organizations that cannot attract Pittsburgh Foundation or Heinz Endowments funding due to mission mismatch will often find Staunton Farm to be their highest-alignment funding partner in the region.

The defining event of 2025 was the appointment of Monique Jackson as Executive Director, succeeding Joni Schwager whose 26.5-year tenure shaped the foundation's modern identity. Jackson, announced in a March 2025 Pittsburgh Union Progress profile, brings 13 years of UPMC Children's Hospital management experience and four years as COO of Familylinks Inc., where she established Allegheny County's first treatment program for commercially sexually exploited youth and implemented Open Access Intake models for behavioral health. Her two headline priorities — eliminating jail as the primary mental health provider and reintegrating behavioral health into physical health care — signal a sharper equity and systems-change orientation.

In October 2024, the foundation announced $1.2 million in grants across its annual cycles, consistent with its historical pattern of $3M+ total annual giving when all three cycles are combined. Highlighted 2024-2025 grantees include Allegheny Family Network (peer-led mental health services across eight counties), Mars Home for Youth (MST-Psych program in Lawrence County providing in-home psychiatric care for youth), and St. Clair Hospital (new psychiatric stabilization unit reducing emergency department congestion).

In April 2026, the foundation funded the launch of WESA 90.5's "Mind Matters: Mental Health in Western Pennsylvania" — a four-part news series with community town halls beginning April 27, 2026 — an unusual media investment that underscores the new ED's public-awareness agenda. The foundation also launched a strategic planning process in fall 2025, with a new plan expected in summer 2026. The Albert B. Craig, Jr. Award for 2026 had a nominations deadline of April 10, 2026.

1. Choose the right cycle before you write a word. The Capacity Building cycle (April 10 deadline, $25,000 max, no LOI) is for organizational infrastructure projects — technology, training, strategic planning, evaluation. The Spring and Fall cycles fund direct service programs through a competitive LOI process. Submitting a service program to the Capacity Building cycle, or vice versa, is an automatic mismatch.

2. Your LOI is the selection filter. For Spring (LOI due May 15) and Fall (LOI due November 15) cycles, the LOI determines whether you are invited to submit a full proposal. Focus your LOI on three things: the specific behavioral health problem you address, the population you serve within the 10 counties, and the dollar amount requested. Foundation staff read hundreds of LOIs — concision and clarity matter more than comprehensive narrative.

3. Lead with equity and access, the new ED's documented priorities. Monique Jackson has publicly stated her commitment to equitable access to behavioral health care, with specific emphasis on BIPOC communities, sexually exploited youth, and populations cycling through the justice system. Applications that center historically underserved populations, or that address the jail-to-community pipeline, are highly aligned with current leadership priorities.

4. Name your evidence base explicitly. The foundation's written guidelines require evidence-based models and measurable outcomes. Do not describe your approach as 'trauma-informed' or 'best practice' without naming the specific model: Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS), Multisystemic Therapy (MST), Motivational Interviewing, IPS Supported Employment, Assertive Community Treatment, or comparable frameworks.

5. Emphasize collaboration and multi-organizational benefit. The foundation's published priority areas explicitly value projects that create regional training, develop shared resources for multiple organizations, or involve unusual cross-sector partnerships (hospital + nonprofit + school district). If your project benefits more than one organization, say so prominently.

6. Build the relationship before the deadline. The foundation hosts a free biannual Rural Behavioral Mental Health Care Conference open to all providers in its 10-county service area. Attending puts you in direct contact with staff including Senior Program Officer Bethany Hemingway, MSW, and ED Monique Jackson. A recognized name on an LOI carries more weight than a cold submission.

7. Budget specificity signals competence. Staff with deep behavioral health expertise will scrutinize consultant rates, FTE calculations, and timeline assumptions. A budget with vague line items signals inexperience. For Capacity Building grants, itemize your technology costs, training fees, or consultant contracts by vendor and scope.