Inner Circle Foundation Grants

Inner Circle Foundation Grants is sponsored by Inner Circle Foundation. The Inner Circle Foundation supports Oklahoma's first responders, veterans, and high-trauma professionals with mental health resources and funding.

Mental Health Funding Circle Creating more impact for mental health Our simple application process for charities interested in receiving funding Applications for the Fall 2025 round are closed. We expect to open applications again in March 2026. You can leave your email at the bottom of this page to be notified when applications open.

Please only apply once a year. Why the area of mental health ? Mental health disorders are an important problem in the world.

According to the Global Burden of Disease Study , mental disorders were the seventh leading cause of health burdens in the world in 2019; causing about 5% of all disability adjusted life years , and 14% of years of life lived with a disability . According to the WHO, mental health is the most neglected health issue and should urgently receive more global investment.

The Happier Lives Institute also argues that mental health disorders are particularly neglected, especially considering that they have some of the greatest impact on life satisfaction. Additionally, some initial estimates suggest a high cost-effectiveness and there seem to be shovel-ready charities with important gaps that we can fill. What is a funding circle ?

A funding circle is a collaboration between a number of funders who typically target a certain cause area . For example, Farmed Animal Funders (FAF) is a group of funders who are all keen to support the end of factory farming. Many of these funders have varying interests and they range fairly dramatically in size.

FAF has a couple of staff who help the members of the network research and find opportunities, as well as generally coordinate between them. This reduces the risk of double-funding, or missing promising opportunities. Another example is Big Bang Philanthropy .

Funding circles can be a powerful way to leverage and coordinate multiple funders that share a common interest . Often a cause area will have a number of funders; but between closed application rounds, unclear standards, and disjointed networks, the funding is not organized as well as it could be.

Having different funder views is really important for a good funding ecosystem, but a funding circle has the added, massive benefit of having a centralized point of contact . This means organizations can apply as if applying to a single large funder, but gain exposure to several potential funders.

The structure also means that if one member of the network discovers a promising opportunity, but it falls outside of their scope, communication channels are open and ready for them to pass the project on to a grantmaker who is a better fit. Our mission is to cause more impact on the cause area of mental health by supporting key projects , even at an early stage. Interested in joining our network?

We are always looking for more funders to join our network, although we do try to keep the group small enough to allow easy cross-member engagement. We get together twice a year to launch a call for proposals, and during each round we'll have 3-4 meetings to discuss and decide . Note: MHFC is not a pooled fund and each funder makes their decisions individually.

We expect funders to only fund proposals they find through the funding circle if they pass their individual funding bar. Request For Proposals - Fall 2025 The Mental Health Funding Circle is a network of donors dedicated to supporting high-impact, cost-effective programs that improve mental...

Martijn Klop Aug 21, 2025 Announcing our Autumn '24 grants results We just wrapped up our Autumn 2024 round, and we’re delighted to be supporting organisations doing highly impactful work in the space of... Mental Health Funders Feb 17, 2025 Request for proposals for High-Impact Mental Health Projects Yes, it's that time of year again. AIM 's Mental Health Funding Circle is running its fall grantmaking round!

If you are (or someone you... Mental Health Funders Aug 15, 2024 Stay in touch for future funding round announcements !