Mission & Impact
Championing a New Era of Mental Health since 2003
Young people know best what they need, and we provide it.
It is critical to engage youth & young adults as a key part of the solution.
Mission Statement
Active Minds mobilizes a youth-led movement that is changing how we think about, talk about, and support mental health.
An approach that works
What has guided and distinguished us from the start is the belief that young people will be the drivers of change.
- 1st CHAPTER started at UPenn
- Now: 500+ chapters at high schools and colleges, impacting 8M.
- Becoming official. Active Minds, Inc. officially Incorporated in the District of Columbia as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
- 1st National Conference held
- Now: The 2024 Conference sold out, with over more than 400 attendees.
- Active Minds Founder, Alison Malmon, recognized by Washingtonian Magazine
- Now: In 2024, Alison Malmon is recognized alongside folks like Taraji P. Henson & Lady Gaga in the Verywell Mind 25
- First cohort of the Emerging Scholars Fellowship
- Now: 90% of scholars continue in the mental health field after completing their fellowship
- First display of Send Silence Packing®
- Now: 350 historic stops in 15 years
- Inherited the Active Minds Speakers Bureau from the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign
- Now: 1M+ youth and adults have heard Speakers since
- Pilot of Transform Your Campus program, trained students to advocate for campus policy solutions; 226 campuses joined in 18 months.
- Now: By 2027, we aim to mobilize 1,000 youth to advance federal mental health policy
- NFL players wear Active Minds’ “The World Needs You Here,” bracelets to promote mental health activism
- Now: In 2024, the Indianapolis Colts & New England Patriots help promote A.S.K. Acknowledge, Support, Keep-in-Touch
- RAND data validates Active Minds’ peer-to-peer model improves mental health attitudes & increases help-seeking behaviors on campuses.
- Now: 98% of chapter members said Active Minds positively impacted their college experience
- Launch of K-12 programming, adapting our proven peer-based approach to proactively mobilize & equip youth in their schools.
- Now: We exceeded our 1k-in-1k goal, reaching 2,564 new K-12 schools in 867 days.
- Launched the Mental Health Advocacy Academy, a leadership opportunity that equips high school students to lead mental health change.
- Now: Over 200 students have participated, and we’ve added the Mental Health Advocacy Institute for college students.
- Launched Cause + Career, a mental health Job board and career tool to help pipeline young adult advocates into mental health focused careers.
- Now: 2,700 youth and young adults have used the platform for mental health career exploration
- Launched A.S.K. Acknowledge, Support, Keep-in-Touch, the “stop, drop and roll” of emotional support for supporting friends in partnership with SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment.
- Now: 72% report feeling better prepared to support their friends after seeing A.S.K.
Proof in Action
We believe in transparency and accountability. It is important to show our mission and values being realized through our work. Here are some opportunities to dive deeper into seeing our impact in action:
Impact Report
We publish an Impact Report each year to share our progress in building a movement of lasting champions who are improving mental health norms for all. Take a look!
Strategic Plan
To guide us into a new future, we developed an ambitious, five-year strategic plan. We intend to double our reach to hundreds of thousands more individuals and 1,000 total campuses and communities. This is our commitment — to mobilize youth and young adults for mental health advocacy
Landmark Study
Research from a landmark study by the RAND Corporation confirms what we’ve always found to be true — that Active Minds has a significant, positive impact on student health and well-being by creating a supportive climate for mental health on college campuses.