The Mental Health Funders Collaborative brings together philanthropic leaders committed to strengthening Indiana’s mental health system through aligned, strategic investment. By convening funders, sharing data and insights, and coordinating action, the Collaborative helps accelerate solutions that expand access, improve outcomes, and scale what works. Together, members leverage collective resources to drive lasting, system‑level impact for Hoosiers’ mental health.
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Governor Eric Holcomb attended the inaugural Indiana Mental Health Roundtable Summit in May 2023 for a ceremonial signing of Senate Bill 1, enacted at the end of the 2023 legislative session. Described by Holcomb as a “sea change” for getting Hoosiers “the help they need, when they need it,” Senate Bill 1—sponsored by Roundtable member State Senator Michael Crider—added $100M to provide funding for community mental health centers (CMHCs) and to set up the 988 crisis line.
Roundtable member Jay Chaudhary serves as the director for the State’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA). In addition to chairing the Behavioral Health Commission that served as the basis for SEA 1 featured above, DMHA allocated $32.5 million in federal funds to trigger $22.3 million in local and grantee match dollars to fund the Community Catalyst Grant program. The $54.8 in total funding was allocated to 37 organizations to enhance access to mental health services, expand the mental health workforce and invest in the state’s mental health infrastructure.
Indianapolis Colts vice chairman and Roundtable member Kalen Irsay Jackson operates the Colts’ Kicking the Stigma initiative to raise awareness about mental health and provide funding for nonprofits expanding treatment and research. The Irsay family and donors have provided more than $30 million since Kicking the Stigma began in 2020.
Roundtable member Julie Veldman Harris made the first major mental health grant on behalf of her family’s Valinhos Foundation: $30 million to establish the Wilma and Peter Veldman Family Psychology Clinic and expand quality mental health care in the South Bend area.
Roundtable co-chairman John Lechleiter and his wife Sarah made an $8 million donation to Riley Children’s Health in support of its $400 million campaign to expand pediatric behavioral health statewide. Roundtable members Tyler Leishman (Riley’s VP and Chief Strategy Officer) and Dr. Leslie Hulvershorn (chair, IU School of Medicine Dept of Psychiatry) led the strategic planning effort.
Mindful Philanthropy VP Kristen Ward delivered a presentation at the 2024 Indiana Mental Health Roundtable Summit that described the landscape of US philanthropy aimed toward mental health, and she presented a roadmap to Mindful Philanthropy’s big goal to 5x mental health giving by 2035.
