MacKenzie Scott's $20 Million Gift Accelerates Active Minds' National Leadership in Youth Mental Health

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Active Minds, the nation's leading nonprofit mobilizing youth and young adults to change the culture around mental health so that it is prioritized in society, today announced a $20 million unrestricted gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott — the largest gift in the organization's history. The gift follows Scott's previous $4 million gift to Active Minds in 2021, reinforcing the organization's position as a national leader in youth mental health and its mission to create a society that forever values and prioritizes mental health.

Since receiving the gift, Active Minds has been working alongside its Board, youth and young adult leaders, and school partners to identify strategic investments that will strengthen the organization's long-term impact. Through this collaborative process, Active Minds has developed a multi-year strategy focused on scaling the national infrastructure that builds community, mobilizes youth leadership, funds youth-led solutions, and translates youth voices into system change.

Active Minds plans to expand investments in youth-led solutions through initiatives such as the Active Minds Mental Health Advocacy Academy for High School Youth and Active Minds Mental Health Advocacy Institute for College Students, increasing the number of youth and young adults who can gain the leadership, advocacy, and organizing skills needed to drive meaningful mental health change in their schools, campuses, and communities. More broadly, the funding will help expand access to Active Minds' national programs, ensuring more youth and young adults have opportunities to develop mental health literacy, strengthen peer networks, use their voices to influence change, and help build communities where mental health is valued and prioritized.

While this unrestricted gift is transformational for the organization, the investment reinforces the critical need for sustained and immediate support for youth mental health.

"This is a defining moment for Active Minds and for youth mental health in this country," said Alison Malmon, Founder & Executive Director at Active Minds. "We are profoundly grateful to MacKenzie Scott for her trust in our mission and our community. This gift allows us to make bold, long-envisioned investments in youth leadership and youth-led solutions to champion a new era of mental health."

For more than two decades, Active Minds has worked to shift the culture surrounding mental health through youth and young adult leadership, peer-based connection, education, and advocacy. The organization was founded by Alison Malmon during her junior year at the University of Pennsylvania after the suicide of her older brother and only sibling, Brian.

Since launching its first college chapter in 2001, Active Minds has grown into a nationwide movement reaching more than 4.5 million youth and young adults through peer-led programs, education, advocacy, and community engagement initiatives.

At a time when schools, campuses, and communities are urgently seeking scalable solutions to support youth mental health, Active Minds continues to help define the national model for proven youth-led mental health programming, youth advocacy, and community-based culture change. This investment accelerates the organization's ability to expand its proven programs, strengthen youth leadership development, deepen community engagement, and continue building a future where mental health is forever valued and prioritized.

To learn more about Active Minds, visit activeminds.org.

About Active Minds:
Active Minds is the largest nonprofit in the United States mobilizing youth and young adults to transform mental health norms across society. For more than 20 years, we have equipped the next generation of peer mental health advocates through a variety of programs, including the Active Minds Chapter Network, A.S.K., and Send Silence Packing. Our advocacy, initiatives, and campaigns foster lasting change in how youth view and discuss mental health, encouraging them to use their voices to influence broader conversations and inform mental health supports within their communities. Together, we are building a diverse movement of champions committed to improving mental health for all. To learn more about Active Minds, visit activeminds.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Dante Worth ([email protected])

SOURCE Active Minds, Inc.