What American Psychiatric Association Foundation does

The American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) is the 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm of the American Psychiatric Association, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit founded in 2005 that operates nationwide with a small staff (1-10 employees). It delivers free mental health literacy programs, training frameworks, and grants across five life domains — Schools, Workplace, Justice, Faith, and Play — plus a portfolio of eight fellowship programs for psychiatric residents and early-career psychiatrists. Core program assets include the Notice. Talk. Act.® at School framework (cited as having trained 82,000+ school staff), the Center for Workplace Mental Health, the Judges & Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative (JPLI), The Stepping Up Initiative diversion work, the Where We Play: Nashville athlete initiative, and the national Mental Health Care Works public awareness campaign. Grant programs include the MOORE Equity in Mental Health Community Grants and Helping Hands Grants.

The foundation does not develop or sell technology products. Its "platform" is a delivery-and-distribution network comprising trained school staff, deployed fellows, grantee nonprofits, faith and justice-system partners, employer alliances, and free digital resources published through apaf.org. Revenue mechanics are philanthropic: individual donations (monthly and legacy giving), corporate alliances (Corporate Alliance program), and foundation grants (notably Mother Cabrini Health Foundation and Alkermes Inspiration Grants in 2023). All programs, fellowships, and resources are offered at no charge to end users, making the foundation a fully grant- and donation-dependent entity rather than a commercial operation.

Recent strategic activity in the 2025-2026 window — a collaboration with Hispanic Access Foundation (February 2026), a Mother Cabrini grant for SMI education in the Bronx (January 2026), and a Mental Health Care Works resource expansion for National Family Caregiver Month (November 2025) — signals active programmatic build-out focused on underserved communities and minority mental health equity. Operationally, APAF is governed by a Board of Directors and operates as a subsidiary of the American Psychiatric Association; it has no subsidiaries, no M&A activity, and no disclosed Form 990 financials in the source data.

Name

American Psychiatric Association Foundation

Legal name

American Psychiatric Association Foundation

Website

https://apafdn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The American Psychiatric Association Foundation is the 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm of the American Psychiatric Association, delivering free mental health literacy programs, training frameworks, and grants across schools, workplaces, justice systems, faith communities, and athletic settings nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Education and Advocacy Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mental Wellness & Resilience Education (Non-clinical) (EDAAAHAK), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGAEAH)

Keywords

• Mental health education
• Mental health literacy
• Psychiatric fellowship training
• Community mental health programs
• Workplace mental health

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation generates revenue through individual donations, monthly giving programs, legacy giving (bequests), and general charitable contributions from supporters.
2. Corporate Alliances and Partnerships: Corporate partnerships including the Corporate Alliance program where companies collaborate with APAF to support mental health initiatives.
3. Grant Funding: APAF receives grant funding from foundations (e.g., Mother Cabrini Health Foundation) to support specific mental health programs and education initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The American Psychiatric Association Foundation is the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of the American Psychiatric Association. It delivers mental health literacy training, community-based programs, psychiatric fellowships, and grant funding across five domains: Schools (Notice. Talk. Act. at School framework), Workplace (Center for Workplace Mental Health), Justice (JPLI), Faith, and Play (athletics). The foundation also runs the Mental Health Care Works national awareness campaign.

Product overview

The American Psychiatric Association Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization promoting mental health literacy and awareness across multiple domains. The foundation administers a platform of interconnected programs organized around five key life domains: Schools (Notice. Talk. Act. at School framework), Workplace (Center for Workplace Mental Health), Justice (Judges & Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative), Faith, and Play (athlete mental health). The portfolio also includes a Fellowships Program offering eight distinct training fellowships for psychiatric professionals, a Grants and Awards Program providing community grants and minority mental health awards, and the Mental Health Care Works national public awareness campaign. Programs are supported by free educational resources, training materials, and library archives. Together, these offerings form a comprehensive ecosystem designed to shift attitudes about mental health and connect underserved communities to care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mental Health Care Works: National public awareness campaign by APA Foundation focused on mental health education and awareness.
• Notice. Talk. Act.
• Center for Workplace Mental Health
• Judges & Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative (JPLI)

Products and services

• Schools Program A mental health education initiative for K-12 schools that delivers the Notice. Talk. Act. at School framework, free resources, and training for school staff to identify and respond to student mental health needs.
• Notice. Talk. Act. at School A structured training framework that teaches school staff to notice mental health concerns, talk with students, and act by connecting them to appropriate resources; includes a College Edition and student resources for middle and high school settings.
• Center for Workplace Mental Health A program that helps employers and organizations promote mental health in the workplace, providing resources and guidance for creating mentally healthy work environments.
• Justice Program A program addressing mental health in the criminal justice system, including the Judges & Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative, expert teams, and the Stepping Up Initiative to divert individuals with mental illness from incarceration.
• Judges & Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative (JPLI) A collaborative initiative bringing together judges and psychiatrists to improve how the justice system responds to individuals with mental illness, including expert teams and advisory groups.
• Faith Program A program that partners with faith communities to promote mental health awareness, reduce stigma, and connect congregants to mental health resources.
• Play Program A program focused on mental health in sports, supporting athletes through resources for coaches, parents, and athletic organizations, including the Where We Play: Nashville initiative.
• Mental Health Care Works A national public awareness campaign promoting mental health literacy and connecting underserved communities to mental health care services.
• Fellowships Program A portfolio of fellowship training programs for psychiatry residents and early-career psychiatrists, including the APA/APAF Leadership Fellowship, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, Community Diversity Fellowship, Diversity Leadership Fellowship, Edwin Valdiserri Correctional Public Psychiatry Fellowship, Jeanne Spurlock Congressional Fellowship, Public Psychiatry Fellowship, and Psychiatric Research Fellowship.
• Grants and Awards Program Grant and award programs supporting mental health initiatives, including the MOORE Equity in Mental Health Community Grants Program, Helping Hands Grants, and Awards for Advancing Minority Mental Health.
• The MOORE Equity in Mental Health Community Grants Program A grant program focused on reducing health disparities and improving mental health equity in minority and underserved communities.
• Library & Archives Historical archives and library services documenting the history of psychiatry, including presidential records, galleries, and archive finding aids.

Quantifiable outcome

• 82,000+ school staff members trained with Notice. Talk. Act.® at School framework

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hispanic Access FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026APAF and Hispanic Access Foundation announced a new collaboration on February 18, 2026, to work together on mental health initiatives serving Hispanic communities. The partnership aims to improve access to mental health resources and care for underserved populations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mental Health America: Mental Health America is one of the oldest community-based mental health nonprofits in the U.S., focused on mental health education, advocacy, screening, and policy — directly comparable to APAF's literacy and community-support mission.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): NAMI is the largest grassroots mental health advocacy organization in the U.S., providing education, support groups, and public awareness — closely aligned with APAF's stigma-reduction and community education work.
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): AFSP is a national nonprofit focused on suicide prevention through research, education, advocacy, and loss support — comparable as a disease/issue-focused mental health nonprofit with similar grantmaking, awareness campaign, and community program models.
• The Jed Foundation (JED): JED protects emotional health and prevents suicide among college students through school programs and partnerships — a close peer given APAF's Notice. Talk. Act.® College Edition and school-channel focus.
• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA): DBSA provides peer-run support groups, education, and advocacy for people living with mood disorders — directly comparable as a national mental health support, education, and advocacy nonprofit.
• Brain & Behavior Research Foundation: BBRF funds cutting-edge research on mental illness through grants and public education — comparable as a psychiatric/mental health grantmaking and education foundation.
• Child Mind Institute: Child Mind Institute is a nonprofit focused on children's mental health through clinical care, research, and education — directly comparable to APAF's youth and family-facing mental health programming.
• Active Minds: Active Minds is a nonprofit supporting mental health awareness and education among young adults and students — a strong peer given APAF's schools and college-channel programming.

Emerging players

• The Steve Fund: The Steve Fund focuses on mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color — closely comparable to APAF's MOORE Equity in Mental Health grants and minority mental health equity work, though narrower in population focus.
• Born This Way Foundation: Born This Way Foundation, co-founded by Lady Gaga, focuses on youth mental health, kindness, and stigma reduction — an adjacent nonprofit with comparable youth mental health awareness and kindness/community-building programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PsychFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/apafdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Psychiatric Association Foundation