Active Minds

Active Minds’ chapter organization are responsible for raising their own funds but may receive up to a $250 grant from the national organization to get started. ² The national organization also charges the chapter organization if it requests to host any events, programs, or speakers from Active Minds. ^{3 4}

History

Active Minds Inc (Active Minds), originally named Open Minds, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded by Alison Malmon in 2003 following the suicide of her brother, Brian. It operates through a network of over 600 chapters at secondary and post-secondary schools, consisting of over 1.9 million students each year. ¹

Active Minds’ chapters work to increase awareness of and destigmatize mental health issues. ¹ It advocates for schools to increase mental health services to students, including time off. ⁵ Active Minds’ activities are mostly exclusive to creating school-level chapters that support students dealing with mental health. It argues that mental health issues are more prominent among ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ community, which Active Minds states is why its objectives include having equity standards, resembling the concept of intersectionality associated with identity politics. ⁶

Structure

Active Minds’ national headquarters is based in Washington, D.C. Its staff offers a variety of program services to the chapter organizations, at the cost of the individual chapter. ^{3 3} Its services include hosting events, providing speakers, and access to full-time staff who consult chapters on how they can advocate for mental health awareness and support students. ²

The Active Minds headquarters recommends that prospective schools provide their own funding or fundraising for chapter organizations but offers grants up to $250 to start a chapter. Chapters do not have to pay dues for membership, but Active Minds requires each chapter to be responsible for its own fundraising, including for the use of various program services offered by the organization and speakers from the organization. ²

Services

Active Minds’ services include advocating for mental health awareness, services, and support for college students. ⁷ It has a variety of employees that offer guest speaker services for schools, covering a wide range of topics under mental health and including the identity politics concept of intersectionality. ⁸ Active Minds’ guest speaker application asks for budget options from the chapter, ranging from options of under $500 to over $10,000. ³

Active Minds offers a “Send Silence Packing” event program to chapters where members set up a large display of backpacks that represent sending silence “packing” otherwise described as denouncing being silent about mental health issues. The display also includes photographs and stories regarding suicide. ⁹ The event lasts all day and Active Minds provides it to between 60 and 80 schools a year. ¹⁰ Active Minds charges $6,000 to host its Send Silence Packing program. ⁴

Financials

In 2020, Active Minds reported receiving $3.8 million in contributions, $646,000 in program revenue, and total revenue of $4.4 million. ¹¹ It reported having $2.0 million in total expenses, $1.0 million on salaries and compensation and $834,000 on conferences. ^{12 13}

In 2025 Active Minds received a grant from Yield Giving, MacKenzie Scott’s philanthropic initiative started in 2022. Scott is the former wife of Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos and gave over $7.16 billion to various organizations in 2025. ¹⁴