Jed Foundation

What Jed Foundation does

The Jed Foundation (JED) is a New York-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2000 by Phil and Donna Satow after the loss of their son Jed to suicide. The organization works to protect emotional health and prevent suicide among teens and young adults, operating across three integrated pillars: equipping individuals, strengthening schools, and mobilizing communities. Its evidence-based core is the Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention — a framework of seven thematic domains adapted from the U.S. Air Force's suicide prevention strategy.

JED's portfolio spans multiple flagship programs. JED Campus partners with 550+ colleges representing 6 million students through a four-year strategic planning and implementation model. JED High School and the JED and AASA District Mental Health Initiative serve 150+ high schools and 20 districts covering 400+ schools. The Mental Health Resource Center, a web-based digital hub with 250,000+ monthly visitors, delivers self-help content and crisis navigation. Supporting programs include JED Workshops (You Can Help, Brave Talk, Set To Go, Championing Mental Health) delivered to 100,000+ individuals, the Center for Storytelling and Culture Change (Seize the Awkward campaign with 65M+ video views), postvention consulting, community-based organization support, and youth advocacy programs. Technology infrastructure includes Salesforce CRM, online courses, digital storytelling tools, and partnerships with YouTube for a global teen mental health content section.

JED operates as a donation-funded nonprofit providing all programs and resources free of charge. Revenue streams include individual donations (one-time, monthly, planned giving), corporate partnerships with employee matching and workplace giving, foundation grants (including a $1.1 million Centene Foundation/Fidelis Care grant in September 2024), donor-advised funds, and stock donations. Go-to-market is dual-mode: direct enterprise partnerships with educational institutions for programs (JED Campus, JED High School, district initiatives, CBO consulting), and community-led digital engagement reaching teens, young adults, parents, and educators through social media, celebrity partnerships, and public awareness campaigns. The organization is led by CEO John MacPhee and a team of approximately 25-30 staff, with a Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and Leadership Council governance structure.

Name

Jed Foundation

Legal name

The Jed Foundation

Website

https://jedfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Jed Foundation (JED) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2000 that protects emotional health and prevents suicide among teens and young adults through evidence-based school partnership programs (JED Campus, JED High School, District Initiative), digital mental health resources, youth advocacy, and public awareness campaigns reaching 8 million+ youth.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mental Health Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Wellness & Prevention Programs (Substance Use, Sexual Health, Bullying) (EDAJAIAG), Wraparound Student Support & Case Management Services (At-Risk K–12) (EDAJAEAJ), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Youth mental health programs
• Suicide prevention services
• Campus mental health partnerships
• School mental health consulting
• Mental health education

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time gifts, monthly giving programs, annual gifts, and DIY fundraising by individual supporters. Donors can give through the website, mail checks, or create personalized fundraising pages.
2. Planned Giving and Legacy Donations: Bequests, charitable remainder trusts, and other planned giving vehicles that allow donors to fulfill financial goals while leaving a legacy through JED.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate giving programs including employee matching, workplace giving campaigns, and featured corporate partnerships that support JED's mission.
4. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations such as Centene Foundation ($1.1M grant with Fidelis Care) to support specific programs and geographic expansion.
5. Donor-Advised Funds and Stock Donations: Acceptance of grants from donor-advised funds, stock donations, and IRA qualified charitable distributions for tax-advantaged giving.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Jed Foundation is a nonprofit organization that delivers evidence-based mental health promotion and suicide prevention programs for teens and young adults. Its core offerings include multi-year institutional partnerships with colleges (JED Campus), high schools (JED High School), and school districts (District Mental Health Initiative), a publicly accessible Mental Health Resource Center with 250,000+ monthly visitors, signature training workshops, postvention consulting for schools responding to traumatic events, and large-scale public awareness campaigns such as Seize the Awkward. All programs and resources are provided free of charge to beneficiaries and funded through donations, corporate partnerships, and foundation grants.

Product overview

The Jed Foundation (JED) operates as a nonprofit platform organization with multiple interconnected programs rather than a single unified product. At its core is the Mental Health Resource Center (MHRC), a widely visited digital hub offering educational content and crisis resources for teens and young adults. This core resource is reinforced by JED's flagship school partnership programs: JED Campus (for colleges/universities), JED High School, and the JED and AASA District Mental Health Initiative — all built on JED's evidence-based Comprehensive Approach framework. Supporting these are mental health workshops (You Can Help, Set To Go, Brave Talk, Championing Mental Health), the Center for Storytelling and Culture Change (including Seize the Awkward), postvention consulting, CBO support services, advocacy and policy programs, and student engagement initiatives including the YAC internships and Neon Nights events. The portfolio also includes the Student Voice of Mental Health Awards recognizing youth advocates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JED Campus: A four-year program designed to help colleges build upon existing student mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention efforts.
• JED High School
• Seize the Awkward
• JED Workshops
• Set to Go
• Student Voice of Mental Health Awards
• JED Voices

Products and services

• Mental Health Resource Center (MHRC)

Quantifiable outcome

• Students at JED Campus schools were 25% less likely to attempt suicide, 13% less likely to make a suicide plan, and 10% less likely to experience suicidal ideation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, major and core.

• American Psychological AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Mental health and AI safety experts from JED, APA, Spring Health, and Flourish Science organized webinar on evaluating AI mental health tools.
• Spring HealthminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Developed VERA-MH framework for evaluating AI mental health tools; general-purpose AI chatbots score 44% vs 86% for purpose-built platforms.
• Flourish ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Partner on AI mental health tool evaluation; their platform Sunnie scored 86/100 on VERA-MH framework.
• Surgo HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026Surgo Health partnered with Young Futures and JED to publish nationally representative research on AI's impact on youth mental health, surveying over 1,300 youth.
• Young FuturesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026Partnered with Surgo Health and JED to produce research on how AI engagement patterns affect youth mental health outcomes.
• YouTubemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025YouTube launched mental health content section for teenagers with JED providing expertise and curated content on depression, anxiety, ADHD, and eating disorders.
• National Alliance for Eating DisorderscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025Partnered with YouTube and JED to provide mental health content on eating disorders for the platform's teen mental health section.
• Child Mind InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025Collaborated with YouTube and JED to create mental health content for teens on the platform's dedicated mental health section.
• American Foundation for Suicide PreventioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership on the Seize the Awkward campaign with Ad Council, encouraging teens to start conversations about mental health with friends.
• Ad CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with AFSP and JED on Seize the Awkward campaign featuring videos, GIFs, and conversation starters.
• SpotifyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Spotify and The Black List providing $10,000 grants for five unpublished fiction writers whose manuscripts address mental health themes.
• UNINTERRUPTEDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJED partnered with UNINTERRUPTED on INVISIBLE GAME series featuring athletes like Trae Young, Master P, and Iman Shumpert discussing mental health.
• MTV EntertainmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with showrunners and MTV to develop new playbook for mental health storytelling in teen dramas.
• DIVE Studios/MindsetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with DIVE Studios/Mindset and K-Pop superstar WONWOO of SEVENTEEN on campaign leveraging K-pop fandom for mental health awareness among Asian-American youth.
• Room 1041minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouTube, Room 1041, and JED collaborated on Mind Matters digital series with evidence-based tips for teen emotional well-being.
• Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJED is a partner in HEMHA, contributing to postvention guides and campus mental health resources for higher education.
• The Steve FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped Equity in Mental Health Framework for Students of Color with expert recommendations and implementation strategies.
• Council of Graduate SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on report supporting graduate student mental health through evidence-based policies and programs.
• Ascend at the Aspen InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReport on improving mental health of student parents with recommendations for campuses serving the 20% of undergraduates who are parents.
• AASA, The School Superintendents AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJED and AASA partnered on District Mental Health Initiative to implement districtwide systems supporting emotional well-being of pre-K-12 students.
• The Choose Kindness ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJED collaborated on Educator & Coach Toolkits featuring over 75 resources for bullying prevention and family partnership.
• Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children's Mental HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on three research-backed strategies to promote help-seeking in teens for parent guidance.
• Positive Coaching AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created Coaches' Guide to Supporting High School Athlete Mental Health with tools for athletic departments.
• CommonLitminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSix online lesson plans created by JED for CommonLit teaching about emotions, self-image, self-care, help-giving, and resilience.
• State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed Student Mental Health and Wellness Learning Community to identify best practices for state- and systems-wide approach to student mental health.
• Mental Health Liaison GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJED participates in Mental Health Liaison Group coalition for advocacy and policy work.
• InseparablecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJED is part of Inseparable coalition working to transform mental health care.
• National Action Alliance for Suicide PreventioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJED participates in Action Alliance coalition for suicide prevention efforts.
• Headspace (Headstream Innovation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJED collaborated with Headstream Innovation and The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute on K-12 Mental Health Tech Navigator.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): AFSP is the largest suicide prevention nonprofit in the U.S. and JED's longest-standing campaign partner (Seize the Awkward with Ad Council). Both organizations target youth/young adult suicide prevention, lobby for policy, and run school/campus programs — direct overlap in mission and audience.
• Active Minds: Active Minds is the leading student-led mental health advocacy organization on college campuses. Like JED, it focuses on young adult mental health, runs campus programming, and partners with higher education institutions — directly overlapping JED Campus's audience and approach.
• Child Mind Institute: Child Mind Institute provides clinical care, research, and family resources for children and adolescents with mental health and learning disorders. It is a JED partner on YouTube's teen mental health section and serves overlapping youth/family audiences with educational content and clinical expertise.
• Mental Health America (MHA): MHA is one of the oldest U.S. mental health nonprofits, focused on advocacy, screening tools, and education. It overlaps with JED's awareness/advocacy role, screening tool delivery, and school-based mental health promotion, though it spans a broader age range.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): NAMI is the largest grassroots mental health advocacy organization in the U.S., running education programs, support groups, and public awareness campaigns. It shares JED's emphasis on youth-focused education (NAMI on Campus, Ending the Silence) and policy advocacy for mental health access.
• The Steve Fund: The Steve Fund is dedicated to the mental health of young people of color and a JED partner on the Equity in Mental Health Framework. Both organizations target college students, produce campus-facing resources, and focus on youth mental health — strong mission and audience overlap.
• Born This Way Foundation: Founded by Lady Gaga, Born This Way Foundation focuses on youth mental wellness and kindness, running school-based programs and youth peer support initiatives. It overlaps with JED in targeting teens/young adults, school programming, and storytelling/culture change campaigns.

Emerging players

• National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA): NEDA focuses on eating disorder prevention and treatment, an area explicitly covered in JED's YouTube teen mental health partnership and its Mental Health Resource Center content. Both target youth, run awareness campaigns, and partner with schools.
• CommonLit: CommonLit is an edtech nonprofit serving K-12 schools with literacy and SEL content; JED created six SEL lesson plans for its platform. Both operate at the intersection of K-12 education and youth mental/emotional learning, making CommonLit a comparable school-distribution channel.

Broad incumbents

• Headspace Health: Headspace (via Headstream Innovation) is a JED partner on K-12 mental health technology navigation and operates one of the largest commercial mental health platforms. It serves similar student/young adult audiences through schools, employers, and consumers, representing a scaled commercial counterpart to JED's free nonprofit model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jedfoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/jedfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/jeddotorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/jedfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-jed-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Jed Foundation