Grants for Organizations that Promote Mental Health and Well-being

Grants for Organizations that Promote Mental Health and Well-being is sponsored by John W. Brick Foundation. The John W.

Brick Foundation supports organizations that integrate exercise, nutrition, and mind-body practices into mental health treatment and prevention.

Projects & Grants - John W Brick Foundation Our submission cycle is complete for 2025 We are not currently accepting LOI's See JWB's Grant Recipients To inquire about funding, please submit a Letter of Intent . The John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation has supported and developed a variety of scientific research, programs, organizations and initiatives.

We focus on the effectiveness of integrating self-care approaches into treating mental health and promoting mental well-being. The Mental Wellbeing Association Our newest initiative, the Mental Wellbeing Association, is the world’s first certification organization, grounded in evidence-based research, self care practices, and a psychological perspective on exercise, nutrition, connection and mindfulness.

We have created our first certification for Fit Pro’s and our second for K-5 Educators is in production. To learn more about the Mental Wellbeing Association, visit www. mentalwellbeingassociation.

org/ Mental Well-Being Certification for Fitness Professionals The Mental Well-Being Certification for Fitness Professionals is the world’s first certification dedicated to integrating mental well-being into the fitness industry. An initiative of the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation, it is grounded in evidence-based research and a psychological perspective on exercise, nutrition, social connection, and mindfulness.

This 20-hour online program equips fitness professionals with the tools to support their clients’ mental well-being, bridging the gap between physical and mental health. By empowering trainers and coaches as champions of self-care, this initiative fosters healthier, more resilient communities.

Mental Well-Being Certification for K-5 Teachers We have created a unique well-being certification grounded in evidence-based research, designed specifically for K-5 teachers. Not only do teachers take on their students’ stress, but they also must manage their own stress and emotions in order to maintain an effective and supportive learning environment.

Through the 6-hour online program, K-5 educators will explore research-based strategies to support students’ emotional well-being, maintain a supportive classroom environment, and confidently navigate early mental health discussions. Move Your Mental Health™ Initiative Over the last several years, the JWB foundation has championed integrative self-care approaches into treating mental health and promoting mental well-being.

Our Move Your Mental Health™ Initiative has included a comprehensive report looking at three decades of science linking mental health and exercise. We’ve also held 5 Move Your Mental Health™ Events since 2020, learn more below.

The JWB Foundation has reviewed the most recent and pertinent scientific data, and has determined that 89% of all published peer-reviewed research between 1990 and 2022 found a positive, statistically significant relationship between exercise/physical activity and mental health. The science is clear, exercise should be integrated into prevention and treatment of mental illness and promotion of mental wellness.

Learn more about the Move Your Mental Health™ Report here Explore our annual event with 10 incredible instructors, 10 days of movement, and 10 minutes each day. All leading the World Mental Health Day October 10th (10/10). Learn more about our Move Your Mental Health™ Events here Upcoming Report on Nutrition and an Anti-Inflammatory Diet The John W.

Brick Mental Health Foundation is developing a comprehensive systematic scoping review focused on anti-inflammatory dietary patterns and interventions, and their relationship to mental health and related outcomes. Keep an eye out for Anti-Inflammatory Diets and Mental Health: A Scoping Review of Randomized Control Trials and Systematic Evidence Syntheses in 2026!

This review examines randomized controlled trials and systematic evidence syntheses to evaluate how anti-inflammatory dietary approaches impact conditions such as depression, anxiety, and stress. The evidence suggests that these interventions—such as adopting the Mediterranean diet—may help reduce symptoms of common mental health disorders.

As research continues to uncover the connection between chronic inflammation and mental health, dietary interventions are emerging as a promising complementary approach to both treatment and prevention. Mental Health Leaders Roundtable The Mental Health Leaders Roundtable is a JWB initiative with a mission create a roadmap to make mental health prevention and care more complete and holistic.

This roundtable shares resources, forms an alliance of mental health organization leaders and supports members – particularly those who are focused on expanding approaches to mental health to include more movement, nutrition and mind-body practices. To be considered as a Mental Health Leaders Roundtable Member, please email info@johnwbrickfoundation.

org Members have included representatives of the Michael Phelps Foundation, Inseparable, Nexus, Same Here, Move Happy, the Greater Good Center at UC Berkeley, Mindful Philanthropy, Digital Wellness, NAMI and others. Join THE hub for mental health leaders and organizations. The JWB Foundation works to magnify the impact of each organization, accelerating new approaches to promoting mental health.

Check out our Events Here The JWB Foundation supports the Holistic Life Foundation as they provide yoga and mindfulness education to the underserved youth and adults in the Baltimore, MD area and beyond. As the HLF continues to empower youth, families, and adults by providing multi-faceted programs (such as yoga, mindfulness, and human and environmental health).

These programs are assisting these communities in a way that helps to improve social, community, educational and emotional outcomes. One program that has made key changes in Baltimore school is “The Mindful Moment” program, which replaces detentions with a room that focuses on self regulation and contemplative practices and improves and promotes positive mental health outcomes.

The JWB Foundation is proud to be an ongoing supporter of HLF. Learn more about HLF here University of California, San Francisco The JWB Foundation awarded a $1. 2 million grant to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), to conduct a gold-standard study to determine the effect of positive stress on mental health.

This study aims to assess the impact of short-term positive stress interventions—including High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), the Wim Hof Method of Breathing and Cold Exposure, and Meditation—on depression. The research is expected to provide innovative insights into the connection between movement, breathwork, cold therapy, and meditation in supporting mental wellbeing.

By examining how daily practices shape the body’s response to stress, enhance mood, and promote overall health, the study is focused on… …advancing the understanding of holistic approaches to mental wellness.

Conducted at UCSF, a leading public research institution, the study will involve participants wearing sensors to track physiological responses, providing saliva and blood samples to assess metabolic changes, and maintaining detailed journals to monitor mood and sleep patterns. As part of the University of California system, UCSF is dedicated entirely to health science.

It has produced five Nobel Prize winners featuring breakthrough research in cancer, neuroscience, aging and stem cells. National Centers for Healthy Veterans The JWB Foundation supports the National Center for Healthy Veterans (NCHV) in its mission to “Return Healthy Veterans to America. ” The JWB Foundation provides ongoing support to the NCHV.

Notably, JWB awarded the NCHV Valor Farm with $100,000 and Ohana Growth Partners (Formerly Planet Fitness Growth Partners) gifted new equipment for the wellness center. NCHV provides a holistic healing environment for Veterans navigating trauma or transition, offering community living to combat isolation, dignified work to restore purpose, faith-based life skills, trauma recovery programs, and career preparation.

Through evidence-based conventional and alternative wellness approaches, NCHV empowers Veterans to achieve mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being, enabling them to thrive as parents, professionals, and community leaders.

The JWB Foundation awarded a grant to Arundel Lodge, a not-for-profit, community mental health center in Edgewater, Maryland, allowing for the renovation of two of the center’s fitness spaces to give patients access to a space that can build a legacy of health and wellness for the community members working hard toward their recovery.

These spaces allow patients to routinely have access to light strength training, cardio, aerobic activities, and classes around nutrition, meditation, yoga, and many more. One community member who suffers from schizophrenia shared that this access to exercise has had a tremendous positive impact. The Arundel Lodge strives to improve those affected by mental health and substance use disorders.

The State of Maryland designated Arundel Lodge as a Center for Excellence in Recovery in 2011, and in 2014 it was awarded the highest level of accreditation by CARF International. United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum The John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation supports the Becoming Your Personal Best (BYPB) program, an innovative educational initiative by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

Designed for teachers, coaches, and youth mentors, BYPB equips young people in grades 4-12 with essential tools to build resilience. Through the inspiring stories of Olympians, students develop self-identity, mindset, problem solving skills, perseverance, relationships and confidence.

With JWB’s support, the program is expanding beyond Colorado to reach schools and communities nationwide, fostering strength and resilience for future challenges. The JWB foundation provided funds to the Catch-A-Lift Foundation to allow veterans suffering from the effects of combat and combat related mental health issues.

The two grants given to Catch-A-Lift allowed veterans free membership to Planet Fitness health clubs and funded their behavioral programming to assist veterans down their unique path toward healing. The Catch-A-Lift foundation is dedicated to changing the lives of combat-wounded or affected veterans across the United States and enabling them with physical and mental support through fitness, rehabilitation, and programming.

Since it was founded in 2010, Catch-A-Lift has built up their program with more than 6,000 veterans and 717 caregivers, with 8,500 grants awarded, $6. 2+ million raised, and are committed to improving veterans’ lives through fitness. Health & Fitness Association (HFA) The Health & Fitness Association (HFA) has been supported by the JWB in their goals of understanding how physical activity impacts mental health and wellbeing.

The JWB Foundation funded a Health & Fitness Association (previously IHRSA) study on the relationship between physical education and mental health and to help educate fitness professionals on being aware of mental health in the community and fitness spaces.

The HFA continues to make great strides in the mental health community and they are currently representing 200,000 health clubs, gyms and studios across the globe, and they have over 7,850 members employing 560,000 fitness industry professionals.

This grant allowed for a project titled “Mental Health Education and Awareness for Fitness Professionals” to include a survey that allows professionals to assess their current knowledge, create a toolkit for educational and awareness campaigns, spread educational and awareness materials across the field, and conduct a follow-up survey to find out how the campaign worked.

Johns Hopkins Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Center The JWB Foundation donated fitness equipment to create an exercise room in the adolescent ward at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The Adolescent Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Hospital provides specialized mental health care for adolescents, offering evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment for psychiatric and behavioral disorders. Since the installation of the fitness center, the use of the restriction room within the adolescent department has been reduced by 90%.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital is ranked #4 in the nation for Psychiatry, in accordance with the U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 Best Hospitals list. Our submission cycle is complete for 2025 We are not currently accepting LOI's The world’s first mental well-being certification, grounded in evidence-based research, self care practices, and a psychological perspective on exercise, nutrition, connection and mindfulness.

To express your interest in an internship or volunteer position, please contact us at info@johnwbrickfoundation. org We currently have no open positions with the JWB Foundation. Please forward your resume to info@johnwbrickfoundation.

org if you would like to be considered for future positions. John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation info@johnwbrickfoundation.

org A 501(c)(3) non-profit. Tax ID# – 46-3112634