Zephyr Impact Announces First Cohort of Youth Wellbeing Grantees
Denver, Colorado
November 20, 2023
Zephyr Impact, a philanthropic collaborative, is thrilled to announce the distinguished recipients of its Spark Cohort grant awards, a group of five trailblazing organizations that are reshaping the landscape of youth mental health. Each awardee is set to receive $20,000 in unrestricted funds to bolster their groundbreaking work in supporting and enhancing youth wellbeing through creative and effective programs.
This year's honorees have been selected for their exceptional leadership, sustainable models of operation, and their suite of innovative services that guide young people through pivotal stages of personal growth amidst the complexities of modern society.
The 2023 Spark Cohort includes:
Guitars Over Guns (based in Miami, FL) provides music education and mentoring by professional musicians to help young people overcome hardship, find their voice, and reach their potential as leaders.
Open Future Institute: The QUESTion Project (based in New York City, NY) empowers students to develop identity, strengthen agency, and pursue a life of purpose—as a foundation for individual wellbeing and for a just and thriving society.
Our Minds Matter (based in Vienna, VA) empowers teens to change school culture around mental health through social connectedness, help-seeking, and coping skills.
Peace In Schools (based in Portland, OR) provides transformative mindfulness education to reverse the teen mental health crisis.
PLUS ME Project (based in Los Angeles, CA) activates the art of personal storytelling to build confidence in youth as they pursue their college, career, and life goals.
“These five organizations and their outstanding leaders have developed highly effective solutions to address the youth mental health crisis in America,” said Zephyr Impact Co-Founder Andrew Smiles. “Zephyr Impact is pooling resources from multiple donors to help organizations like these—ones with strong leadership, an evidence-based track record, and a sustainable path to scale – to achieve the next level of growth and impact.”
Partially as a result of COVID-19 learning loss, an increasing number of educators are thinking about the emotional wellbeing of their students. “The reality is that teachers and counselors simply don’t have the time or funding to meet the growing needs that are showing up every day in the classroom,” said Smiles.
Zephyr Impact’s Youth Wellbeing Portfolio is investing in nonprofits that can augment what teachers and counselors can do. The portfolio focuses on preventative, “upstream” approaches that help students build emotional knowledge and behavioral regulation; empathy and perspective taking; skills at solving problems and resolving conflict; and skills at developing positive relationships with peers and adults. Research demonstrates that when students have access to preventative care of this kind, they perform better in school, exhibit more positive indicators of emotional wellbeing, and have a lower probability of developing mental health challenges that require more-intensive interventions.
Harbourton Foundation has provided foundational support for Zephyr Impact and its Youth Wellbeing Portfolio. “We are very excited for these five leading organizations and the hope and resilience they provide for young people,” says Carrie Lawliss, Harbourton’s board chair. “We hope to inspire other family offices, foundations, and individuals to join us in working to support youth and their wellbeing.”
About Zephyr Impact
The Youth Wellbeing Portfolio is Zephyr Impact’s first dedicated issue fund. The portfolio supports sustainable, high-impact, community-driven organizations leading “upstream solutions” to address the escalating youth mental health crisis in America.
Zephyr Impact, based in Denver, CO, is an initiative of the Harbourton Foundation and StepChange Partners. The mission is to help donors and social change-makers think big, act boldly, and work together to address society’s most pressing challenges. By uniting donors who share common values and vision, Zephyr amplifies impact by creating targeted philanthropy portfolios invested in high-potential leaders and solutions.
CONTACT:
Shyla Banar
Zephyr Impact
720-598-2197
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The mission of Zephyr Impact is to strengthen philanthropy and support breakthrough solutions to address society’s most pressing challenges.