Billion Minds Institute
Billion Minds Institute is a non-profit policy and research institute that integrates psychological resilience and mental health into climate action, partnering with universities, health systems, governments, and NGOs to build community-led social capacity for climate adaptation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Billion Minds Institute does
Billion Minds Institute (BMI, also operating as "A Billion Minds") is a non-profit policy and research institute founded in 2020 and headquartered at abillion.org. The organization operates at the intersection of psychological resilience, mental health, and climate action, aiming to address what it characterizes as the "social climate crisis" of climate change by integrating social, emotional, and psychological capacities into climate mitigation, adaptation, and sustainability work. It serves "anchor institutions" — universities, health systems, governments, corporations, philanthropies, and NGOs — helping them build collective efficacy, social trust, and psychological well-being required for community-led climate stewardship.
BMI's portfolio is organized as a set of program areas and initiatives rather than as a unified software product. Key offerings include the Roadmap for Care and Change (a strategic framework authored with the UNFCCC Champions Team and spanning COP27 to COP28, targeting 4 billion people for climate resilience), the Care of People x Planet (COP²) global network, the Early Adopters Program, the Global Resilience Observatory (a partnership with Climate Cares Centre launched in 2022 with regional hubs), Human Sciences and Action, Deliberative Decision-Making, Youth Climate Resilience (including a landmark US study on youth climate anxiety published in PNAS), Policy Design for Resilience, and the Community Anchors for Mental Health program. A demonstration project, Friendship Bench–Brooklyn, embeds community-led mental health care across Brooklyn's primary care network in partnership with Friendship Bench and Maimonides Health.
BMI operates as an accelerator of policies, science, partnerships, and innovations rather than as a commercial entity. It has no disclosed pricing, no commercial revenue model, and no venture or institutional investors disclosed in the available materials. The institute is led by Dr. Gary Belkin (Chair of the Board and Director; former NYC Deputy Health Commissioner) and a board that includes faculty, founders, filmmakers, and clinical experts. Strategic partners include the UNFCCC Champions Team, Climate Cares Centre, World Bank, ICLEI, UN Youth Office, Iswe, The Assembly Project (TAP), Community Mediation Services, Friendship Bench, and Maimonides Health. The organization has roughly 5 employees and does not disclose revenue or operating budget.
Billion Minds Institute firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Billion Minds Institute
- Legal name
- Billion Minds Institute
- Website
- https://abillion.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Billion Minds Institute is a non-profit policy and research institute that integrates psychological resilience and mental health into climate action, partnering with universities, health systems, governments, and NGOs to build community-led social capacity for climate adaptation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Billion Minds Institute industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Climate Resilience Research
- NAICS
- Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Climate Resilience & Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) (BPAGABAK), Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA), Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO)
Keywords
Billion Minds Institute business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Billion Minds Institute product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Billion Minds Institute is a non-profit policy and research institute that develops frameworks, partnerships, and programs integrating psychological resilience and social climate capabilities into climate action. It produces strategic publications such as the Roadmap for Care and Change, runs the Global Resilience Observatory in partnership with the Climate Cares Centre, and operates the COP² (Care of People x Planet) network alongside the Friendship Bench–Brooklyn community mental health demonstration project. BMI works directly with anchor institutions—universities, health systems, governments, corporations, philanthropies, and NGOs—to accelerate the policies, science, tools, partners, and innovations needed for community-led climate resilience.
Product overview
Billion Minds Institute (BMI) is a policy and research institute focused on the social, psychological, and emotional dimensions of climate change. Rather than a unified software platform, BMI offers a portfolio of programs, frameworks, and initiatives including: the Roadmap for Care and Change (strategic framework), the Early Adopters Program (implementation support), Care of People x Planet (COP²) network, and the Global Resilience Observatory (monitoring platform in partnership with Climate Cares Centre). These offerings are organized around program areas including Human Sciences and Action, Deliberative Decision-Making, Policy Design for Resilience, Youth Climate Resilience, and Community Anchors for Mental Health. BMI functions as an accelerator of policies, science, partnerships, and innovations rather than a product company.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Roadmap for Care and Change A strategic framework authored by BMI that outlines a path to make 4 billion people more climate-resilient by integrating psychological resilience and social climate capabilities into climate action.
- Global Resilience Observatory A partnership between Billion Minds Institute and the Climate Cares Centre advancing mental health and community resilience at the heart of climate action through regional hubs around the world, sharing tools, skills, and insights to connect frontline innovators.
- Early Adopters Program An initiative advancing the design and launch of the Global Resilience Observatory, supporting early adopter communities in implementing social climate and resilience methodologies.
- Care of People x Planet (COP²) A global network initiated and resourced by BMI that focuses on integrating care and change frameworks into climate resilience efforts, with the goal of reaching billions of people.
- Friendship Bench–Brooklyn A demonstration project connecting BMI, Friendship Bench, and Maimonides Health to embed community-led mental health care across Brooklyn's primary care network, showing how neighborhood-originating psychological resilience can become mainstream in health system design.
Quantifiable outcome
- COP² Roadmap aims to make 4 billion people more climate-resilient through Early Adopter initiatives advancing the Global Resilience Observatory
Companies that use Billion Minds Institute
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Billion Minds Institute technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Billion Minds Institute partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Climate Cares CentrecorePartnership with Climate Cares Centre to launch the Global Resilience Observatory, an effort to put mental health and community resilience at the heart of climate action through regional hubs around the world.
- IswecoreCollaboration to develop participatory and deliberative methods to strengthen social trust, agency, and community mental health, including developing accessible formats for global use ahead of COP30.
- The Assembly Project (TAP)coreCollaboration to normalize participatory and deliberative methods in New York City policymaking, advancing human sciences and action approaches.
- Community Mediation ServicescoreWorking with this NYC CBO to layer trauma-informed counseling skills with youth conflict mediators in public housing, and advising on citizens' assemblies and participatory methods to strengthen communal social trust, agency, and mental health.
- ICLEIcorePartnership with ICLEI to advance ways to operationally and financially integrate psychological resilience into climate responses in highly-impacted areas.
- World BankcorePartnership to advance ways to operationally and financially integrate psychological resilience into climate responses in highly-impacted areas including SIDS and cities.
- Friendship BenchcorePartnership in the Friendship Bench-Brooklyn program connecting BMI, Friendship Bench, and Maimonides Health to embed community-led mental health care across Brooklyn's primary care network.
- Maimonides HealthcorePartner in the Friendship Bench-Brooklyn program demonstrating how collective, neighborhood-originating forms of psychological resilience can become a mainstream ballast of health system design and funding.
- UNFCCC Champions TeamflagshipBMI authored the Roadmap for Care and Change with the UNFCCC Champions Team, announced at COP27 and completed by COP28, outlining a path to make 4 billion people more climate-resilient.
- UN Youth OfficecoreCollaboration to develop open source technical support for youth-led climate and mental health organizations globally, building on insights from a landmark US study on youth climate anxiety.
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights5 records
Billion Minds Institute competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Good Grief Network: A nonprofit building peer-support programs and a 10-step framework for processing ecological grief and climate emotions. Closely aligned with BMI's social-climate and psychological-resilience thesis at the community level.
- Friendship Bench: A Zimbabwe-originated community-led mental health program that is BMI's partner in the Friendship Bench–Brooklyn demonstration. Comparable as a community-anchored mental health model seeking to embed within primary care systems.
- Climate Cares Centre (Imperial College London): A research and convening center focused on the mental health and psychosocial impacts of climate change. Co-launches the Global Resilience Observatory with BMI, and is the closest organizational analogue in the climate–mental health niche.
- Climate Mental Health Network: A US-based network of mental health professionals and climate advocates building resources, training, and policy positions on climate-related psychological distress. Direct peer in mission and constituency to BMI's psychological-resilience frame.
- SustyVibes: A youth-led African climate and mental health organization whose founder (Jennifer Uchendu) sits on BMI's board. Operates in an adjacent climate-mental-health niche with strong youth focus and global ambition.
Emerging players
- Inner Development Goals: A global initiative building frameworks for the inner skills (mindfulness, collaboration, purpose) needed to address sustainability challenges. Highly comparable to BMI's psychological-resilience and human-sciences framing, with broader global uptake.
- All We Can Save Project: A nonprofit mobilizing climate leadership and emotional engagement, especially among women and non-binary people, through circles, stories, and curricula. Partial overlap with BMI's social-climate and human sciences work.
Broad incumbents
- ecoAmerica (Climate for Health): An established environmental nonprofit running the Climate for Health program, which convenes health professionals on climate. A broader incumbent in the climate-and-health space, with deeper funding and institutional reach than BMI.
- American Psychological Association (Climate Change Program): APA runs a dedicated climate-change program, including the Climate for Health–adjacent task force on the mental health impacts of climate. A much larger incumbent that lends the field academic credibility BMI can leverage.
- ICLEI Resilient Cities Network: A global network of 2,500+ local and regional governments working on sustainable urban development. BMI partners with ICLEI on integrating psychological resilience into city-level climate responses, making ICLEI a key institutional peer-channel.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Billion Minds Institute social profiles
Digital presenceBillion Minds Institute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Billion Minds Institute leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Billion Minds Institute funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Billion Minds Institute M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Billion Minds Institute
What does Billion Minds Institute do?
Billion Minds Institute is a non-profit policy and research institute that develops frameworks, partnerships, and programs integrating psychological resilience and social climate capabilities into climate action. It produces strategic publications such as the Roadmap for Care and Change, runs the Global Resilience Observatory in partnership with the Climate Cares Centre, and operates the COP² (Care of People x Planet) network alongside the Friendship Bench–Brooklyn community mental health demonstration project. BMI works directly with anchor institutions—universities, health systems, governments, corporations, philanthropies, and NGOs—to accelerate the policies, science, tools, partners, and innovations needed for community-led climate resilience.
Is Billion Minds Institute a public or private company?
Billion Minds Institute is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Billion Minds Institute founded?
Billion Minds Institute was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Who are Billion Minds Institute's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Good Grief Network, Friendship Bench, Climate Cares Centre (Imperial College London), Climate Mental Health Network and SustyVibes. Emerging players are Inner Development Goals and All We Can Save Project. Broad incumbents are ecoAmerica (Climate for Health), American Psychological Association (Climate Change Program) and ICLEI Resilient Cities Network.
Does Billion Minds Institute have an API?
No public API is recorded for Billion Minds Institute.
What industry is Billion Minds Institute in?
Billion Minds Institute's product category is Climate Resilience Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAGAF, Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation, with a secondary code of BPAGABAK, Climate Resilience & Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Its NAICS code is 8133 and its SIC code is 8300.