Australian youth mental health NFPs among recipients of US$3m grants from Lady Gaga’s foundation

A number of local organisations working to help improve outcomes for young people’s mental health and wellbeing were among 65 charities in 10 countries to receive grants totaling US$3 million from the Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) in collaboration with the Cotton On Foundation. Among them were the Raise Foundation, Strong Brother, Strong Sister and batyr.

The grants, valued individually at up to $150,000, came from the foundation’s Kindness in the Community Fund in what it called one of the largest funding efforts to provide direct support for youth mental health across the world.

The Born This Way Foundation was founded in the US in 2012 by the recording artist Lady Gaga, aka Stefani Germanotta, and her mother Cynthia Germanotta with a mission to empower and inspire young people to build a kinder, braver world that is inclusive and supports their mental wellness. It aims to make “kindness cool” and eliminate the stigma around mental health.

Announcing the grants in the media, Cynthia, who is also the foundation’s president, said: “It’s my daughter’s and my vision to be able to act on the research and thousands of conversations we’ve had with young people globally, where youth have asked for responsive services and programs that meet their needs and support their mental health and whole wellbeing.”

Raise Foundation, which has seen 15,000 young people go through its programs since 2008, provides a 6-month mentoring scheme (main image) that is achieving positive outcomes in terms of school retention and wellbeing resilience in young people who had been at risk of disengagement.

CEO Vicki Condon said the grant from BTWF will fund 30 additional mentees in two new high schools. “We’re excited to be part of international funding and recognised alongside other youth mental health charities. I think there were around 1,100 applications, so it’s a wonderful outcome for us and the other NFPs in Australia,” she said.

“Our focus on early intervention is something that appealed to BTWF. Investing in the Raise Foundation means its supporting young people to learn life-long skills to have agency over helping themselves with their mental health. The inclusivity of our programs and making sure everyone has access was also important.

“Brand awareness through an association like this is invaluable as it puts us in front of global partners and more of the young people themselves we’re trying to reach who may not know about our programs. This will really help with that.”

Vicki said that the in-kind support via BTWF’s social media reach and connecting Raise with other similar charities in Australia and internationally that they could collaborate with is also something that will significant benefit the not-the-profit.

BTWF employed a participatory grantmaking approach and said that young people in each region were engaged at every step and that their insights and lived experience were central to the decision-making process. Vicki said: “We love that young people have chosen us.”

Cormach Evans, Managing Director of Strong Brother, Strong Sister, said that the organisation was incredibly grateful for the support from BTWF, which has “enabled us to extend our impact into the Northern Territory on Larrakia Country while furthering our initiatives on Wadawurrung Country”. 

“This partnership not only signifies our resilience but also underscores a crucial truth known to First Nations charities. Despite being custodians of the world’s most ancient living culture, we often face systemic barriers, unrealistically low expectations and other obstacles that hinder our progress here in this Country we call home. 

The CEO of batyr, Katie Acheson, said that 2 in 5 young people in Australia were experiencing mental ill-health and those numbers continuing to rise. She thanked the BTWF for believing in batyr’s preventative approach and said that the funding would provide “the opportunity to have an even greater impact in the lives of young people”.

“Our work is more critical than ever. We know that our work on the ground is pivotal in lessening the impact of the devastating youth mental health statistics we are faced with here in Australia and globally. 

“It’s partnerships like this that enable us to lead the charge against mental health stigma and ensure that every young person understands how to care for their mental health and those around them, before reaching a crisis point.”

The other Australian recipients are Human Nature, LifeChanger, Live4Life, Man Up, PROJECT ROCKIT, Satellite Foundation, ReachOut Australia, Minus18, The Flourish Journey, Youth Opportunities, Youth Projects and Zero2 Hero.