As we recognize Mental Health Awareness Month, Philanthropy Roundtable is dedicated to connecting foundations and individual donors with high-impact organizations addressing the most urgent mental health needs across America. Our recently released article “Why The Time is Now to Fund in the Area of Mental Health” and our Mental Health Playbook are resources that highlight organizations that value liberty, opportunity and personal responsibility in the crucial area of mental health.
One foundation that plays a critical role in mental health-related funding is the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation. Abby Spencer Moffat serves as chief executive officer of the foundation and was recently recognized as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in U.S. Philanthropy” by Inside Philanthropy. Leading her family’s foundation, their giving focuses not only on mental health, but also on a wide variety of issues including America’s founding values, national security and education.
The causes she cares about share a common thread: creativity, drive and the American spirit of innovation. Moffat is leading her family’s foundation in stewarding a multi-generational legacy of embodying the very best qualities of good citizenship. She believes the entrepreneurial mindset means starting every day by asking, “What can we do today to serve others?”
The Roundtable recently spoke with Moffat to learn more about why funding innovative mental health solutions is a deeply important part of their mission.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: Why did the foundation decide to invest in the area of mental health? How do you see these areas intersecting and relating to each other?
Moffat: For 50 years, my father lived with an undiagnosed bipolar disorder. To live with something that he didn’t understand created unbelievable hardship for him and shaped not only how I think of mental health, but how the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation approaches it. Our family was so fortunate to be able to get him the help he needed, but for so many others, that isn’t the case.
We also have a family friend who was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was attending college. She was hospitalized for four years before a psychiatrist came into her life, a Mother Teresa from God who helped heal her. Today, she leads a productive and purposeful life, even running her own nonprofit, while living with her condition.
These are just a few examples of why our foundation funds in the area of mental health: to bring hope and healing. At our foundation’s core, we believe in everyone’s inherent dignity and worth and the understanding that mental health is key to civic community and involvement. It’s all part of building a democracy.
I also view mental health as a spiritual and physical issue. Consider Psalm 34:18, which says, “God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those oppressed in spirit.”
Similarly, we want to usher the nation’s children into the future happy, healthy and mentally equipped to become the leaders and innovators of tomorrow. We work to empower individuals to overcome personal challenges, which enhances their ability to contribute to their families, communities and nation.
Q: What are your mental health funding priorities, and how do you measure success?
Moffat: We break the funding into three primary categories: general mental health services, veterans and family.
In terms of success metrics, we receive feedback not only from the nonprofit but also from outside research. We conduct in-depth, external analysis to ensure that what we are being told is accurate. We’re not looking for short-term gains. We’re looking for long-term, meaningful results.
While we recognize that such results can take a while to emerge, we already see success with groups like the Mighty Oaks Foundation, which focuses on veteran peer-to-peer counseling with an emphasis on spirituality. Veterans who are suffering from PTSD and are in darkness begin to see light as they’re being counseled by peers who have survived similar situations. Through this program, we’re seeing veterans becoming engaged in society and going on to make an impact by opening their own nonprofits, starting jobs successfully and reuniting with their families.
For us, that’s success. We’re seeing marriages and families being saved. That’s huge! If the marriage is saved, the family is. If the family is saved, the community is saved. And if the community is saved, the country is saved.
We also look at how individuals in mental health programs are doing with anxiety or how they are dealing with their PTSD. Are the symptoms improving? We’ve seen veterans and individuals volunteering and becoming involved in their communities. Participants I know from the Hazelton Betty Ford Treatment Center have become professional interventionists due to their personal experiences and desire to make a difference.
Economic indicators are also important. We look at facts such as employment rates and workforce reentry data. Many people have been laid off or are not working because their mental health struggles are too overwhelming. So, if they’ve been healed, they’re back in the workforce, being self-reliant.
Q: What lessons have you learned in your journey of giving in the mental health area? What recommendations would you give others considering funding in this area?
Moffat: As with all our grantees, we monitor them to ensure that donor’s intent is honored and to confirm that they are being effective in pursuing their stated mission. We also are able to provide some of our grantees with technical assistance to help them succeed. We try to help in other ways besides writing a check.
I strongly believe it is essential to keep in touch, check in, follow up and do your own careful analysis. Be willing to take the risk and invest in a startup but stay close to them. See how you can help organizations bear fruit in multiple ways and pull in different resources to help them thrive.
If you are interested in learning more about how Philanthropy Roundtable supports donors committed to addressing our nation’s mental health crisis, please contact Esther Larson, senior director of programs at Philanthropy Roundtable here.
