Active Minds Chapters build community, develop their organizational capacity, and take collective action to change mental health norms in their schools and communities. This includes holding regular chapter meetings, planning events and programs, building partnerships with other campus organizations, and advocating for mental health policy change within their schools and at the local, state, or federal levels.

Chapter activities span many different mental health topics and formats. Some activities include tabling, speaker presentations, discussion panels, movie screenings, stress relief activities, art and music events, mental health screenings, and social events.

More advanced chapters also partner with campus organizations, student government, counseling centers, and community groups to plan and implement strategies aimed at changing mental health policies and norms at the institutional level.

Helpful definitions:

• Mobilize: A group of people coming together to take individual and/or collective actions towards a shared purpose or goal. Active Minds will connect, equip, and encourage youth and young adults with the goal of creating a movement of mental health champions to change mental health norms in their own lives and in their environments and systems.
• Organizational Capacity: Organizational foundation for the Chapter to be successful, including infrastructure (leadership positions, social media accounts, file storage/documentation, etc) and resources (financial, human, time, etc)
• Collective Action: Achieving an aim in our own lives and in the environments and systems we engage in. Collective actions are aims achieved by a group of people. They are typically (though not always) done for the benefit of communities and systems, in this case your school community.
• Mental Health Norms: Mental health values, beliefs, attitudes, and/or behaviors shared by a group of people. These are often expectations that society has for people’s behavior.

No. Active Minds Chapters may not be support groups and do not provide mental health services of any kind. Active Minds adopts a peer-to-peer mental health advocacy approach that is focused on community building for the purposes of mental health awareness, education, and advocacy. This does not include direct mental health care such as a support group.

To launch an Active Minds Chapter, you must have at least three student leaders and one advisor who is an employee of the school. At least one of the three student leaders must not be graduating in the current academic year to support the sustainability of continuing the chapter into future years. Your group must also register as an official student group at your school. More information can be found on our Chapter Interest Guide.

Before you begin, fill out the Chapter Interest Form! You’ll receive more information and instructions for next steps.

Yes, the chapter can function under the counseling center umbrella, if that is ideal for your school. Many chapters find it helpful to “bring mental health out of the counseling center” by being an independent student organization and maintaining a strong, collaborative relationship with the counseling center. Either way, we require chapters to provide documentation from school administration that Active Minds is an officially recognized student group.

Re-activating an inactive chapter looks exactly the same as starting a new chapter! It’s worth finding out if there is a faculty or staff member who was involved with the chapter in the past who would be willing to help you out and give you a head start. You can contact the Active Minds Chapters Team for support chapters@activeminds.org.

Active Minds Chapters are school-based, student-led mental health advocacy groups with the goal of changing the way mental health is viewed and prioritized in their schools, their communities, and society at large. Chapters work towards this goal through a progressive framework: building a strong organizational foundation, developing the skills and capacity to engage their school community, and ultimately taking collective action with school partners to drive meaningful change in mental health norms and policies.

Yes! High schools can register chapters through the same process as a college and are expected to meet the same requirements as a college-based chapter. High school-based chapters are most successful when they have strong administrative and staff support.

No, chapters cannot be formed outside of the context of a school. If you are not affiliated with a school, we encourage you to check out other programs and initiatives to get involved with Active Minds.

Faculty or staff members can play an integral role in the development of an Active Minds Chapter. You might consider, for example, serving as the faculty or staff advisor to the chapter.

Whether or not you become the advisor, you can start by reaching out to students you know who may be interested and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Facilitate an initial interest meeting to get students involved in the process of starting the chapter, and help interested students navigate the school’s process for starting a student organization.

If you’re about to graduate, tell your friends who are still in school about Active Minds and how to start a chapter.

You can help interested students with the initial steps of finding an advisor, recruiting students, and figuring out how to register as a new student organization. Even though you won’t be around to see it all get up and running, you’ll have left an important legacy at your school.

Currently, Active Minds only supports chapters within the United States (including U.S. territories) and Canada to ensure the highest quality of technical assistance and relevant resources. Questions about this can be directed to the Chapters Team at chapters@activeminds.org

Yes! In fact, we have some specialized materials designed to support chapters at community colleges.

No. In fact, some of our chapters at religiously affiliated schools have successfully incorporated their faith into the mental health programming they have at their schools.

No. Inclusion is a core value of Active Minds Chapters, which are open to all students. You do not have to have a mental health condition to get involved with Active Minds. We all have mental health, and the purpose of a chapter is to create open dialogue and foster an inclusive space to talk about all aspects of mental health.

Only high schools, colleges and universities, and graduate schools can start chapters at this time. We encourage you to check out our other programs for ways to get involved with Active Minds.

Once you have the three students and an advisor lined up, the process includes filling out our chapter registration form and going through the process of being officially recognized by your school as a student club/organization.

Your chapter will be registered within two weeks of submitting your registration form with Active Minds; however, the process to register as a student organization varies depending on the unique school requirements.

Leading an Active Minds Chapter is a moderate time commitment that will likely require a few hours each week for planning and meetings, with more time dedicated to large events or initiatives.

One of the most important things to focus on in the early stages of starting a chapter is recruiting a dedicated student leadership board that can share the responsibilities of the chapter. We ask that chapters meet at least three times and hold at least one event or program each term.

It’s important to remember that you can determine how much of a time commitment running a chapter becomes by setting realistic goals and expectations and delegating tasks among all leaders.

Three student leaders are required to register as a chapter of Active Minds, at least one of whom cannot be graduating within the same school year that the registration is completed. Remember that your chapter also must have a Chapter Advisor, even if your school does not require clubs to have one.

If there’s already a mental health education and awareness student group at your school, we encourage you to attend a meeting and find out more about their goals and activities.

The ideal environment for starting a chapter is one in which multiple mental health student organizations can collaborate and complement each others’ efforts rather than duplicate efforts or compete for resources. By partnering with the other like-minded clubs you can reach new audiences, pool resources, and drive collective action toward shared goal.

You can also let the group members know that they could transition to an Active Minds Chapter along with you if they so desire. We recommend you review our Chapter Expectations to understand the goals and requirements of chapters. We do require any organization that transitions into an Active Minds Chapter to use the Active Minds name.

If, once you learn more, you feel that Active Minds would offer something unique to your campus or your group is interested in becoming an Active Minds Chapter itself, complete the Chapter Interest Form.

There are no dues owed to the National Office in association with being an Active Minds chapter. Additionally, individual chapters cannot require their members to pay dues.

That said, all Active Minds Chapters are strongly encouraged to join the Active Minds movement by fundraising to support the growth and sustainability of the organization on a national level.

Chapters’ yearly budgets vary greatly depending on the availability of school-provided funds and a chapter’s ability to fundraise for their specific needs each year. This could range from $0-$5,000+ with most falling somewhere between $100 and $600.

Start by setting goals for the semester or year ahead and calculating the cost associated with each to estimate how much money will be necessary to accomplish your goals. Aim high, but be realistic and know that quite often a funding source will not award the full amount requested.

Chapters are usually able to acquire funds through their school’s budgeting and allocation process for student organizations. The process varies from school to school but typically involves a chapter submitting a proposal or budget to the student government association, which then decides to award some or all of the requested funds.

Chapters also engage in fundraising efforts to support their work on campus such as asking for in-kind donations from local businesses, holding bake sales, and including a donation jar at their events.

Yes. Every chapter needs at least one staff / faculty advisor at all times. This is to ensure that each Active Minds Chapter is supported by an Advisor located directly in their school community.

Successful chapters have a strong relationship with their advisors! Having someone to provide ongoing mentorship, support with goal setting and activities, and reminders to complete requirements helps chapters sustain over time and accomplish their goals.

Often, Chapter Advisors are staff / faculty members who have a role or background related to mental health. This is not a requirement, but a great place to start!

Advisors might be:

• Counselors, psychologists, or clinicians
• Faculty in social work, psychology, public health, or a related discipline.
• Mental health promotion professionals or health educators

Explore your school’s resources and departments to identify potential Advisors and have a conversation with them about roles, responsibilities, and expectations.

Yes! Chapters need at least one Advisor at all times, but can have more than one. This may help Advisors balance the work of their primary role at the school and supporting the chapter.

Mental health is not the easiest or most comfortable topic to discuss, but that’s exactly why the work you’re about to embark on is so critical.

Consider hosting an initial interest meeting advertised through your school-wide email list, flyers, social media, and word-of-mouth. Ask professors to offer extra credit to attend. You can also write an op-ed for your campus newspaper to break the ice and invite people to the meeting.

Once you have students’ attention, talk about why this issue is relevant for college students, perhaps share why you personally wanted to get involved, and let students know that they have an opportunity to do something about this issue by joining Active Minds at your school.

Yes! This can be a powerful tool in your efforts to recruit your initial Active Minds team. Once your chapter is registered you’ll have access to a custom logo with your school name, plus more information about using Active Minds’ official brand and logo.

Each year, all Chapter Presidents and Chapter Advisors must review and agree to abide by the Chapter Expectations. This guiding document includes things like the overall goals of Active Minds, proper usage of our logo and brand, equal opportunity and non-discriminatory inclusion protocols, and more.

You can review and download it before completing the registration process. It will also be available throughout the process after you submit your Chapter Interest Form.

The first step is to complete our Chapter Interest Form! You’ll receive more information and instructions for next steps. If you have questions or need support, please contact the Active Minds Chapters Team chapters@activeminds.org.

The Chapters Team works full-time to support chapters around the country in their mental health advocacy efforts. The team provides technical assistance, educational resources, and direct coaching to help chapters build their organizational capacity and advance toward collective action in their communities.

Support includes virtual and in-person chapter visits, regularly scheduled office hours, an annual mailing of resources and materials, and access to our online resource hub. We highly value our relationship with our chapters and are always happy to help, so never hesitate to reach out at chapters@activeminds.org

As a chapter of a national organization, you are entitled to support, resources, and benefits from us that are only available to Active Minds chapters. These include access to full-time staff dedicated to supporting chapters across the country, including in-person and virtual chapter visits, technical assistance, and coaching, as well as exclusive opportunities to participate in Active Minds national programs, an annual package of chapter resources and materials, and more. You’ll also enjoy engagement with the larger mental health community, connection with thousands of other like-minded students, leadership opportunities, and the backing of a nationally recognized organization.

Chapters are encouraged to adapt our programs and materials as necessary to best suit the needs of their particular school and student body. However, we do have certain expectations of our chapters to maintain affiliation and good standing with Active Minds. These include having your chapter’s activities align with the mission of Active Minds, maintaining a relationship with the Active Minds National Office, using our name and logo, being a registered student organization on your campus, and forming a relationship with a faculty or staff advisor. We also expect that your chapter will be an open and welcoming group to all members of your school community and that no one will be excluded from being involved.

Not a problem! Contact us with the information you need including any documentation requested and we’ll work with you. Please be sure to give us at least a week’s notice to sign any necessary documentation as our schedules tend to fill up from day to day!

In short, no. All campuses and chapters are unique and relatively autonomous. Chapters are encouraged to embrace and adapt our national programs and materials in whatever way best suits the needs of their particular school and student body. That said, all chapters are required to adhere to the Chapter Expectations in order to maintain affiliation and good standing.