Are foundations overlooking mental health?

Over the past decade philanthropic giving for health has increased dramatically, but giving for mental health has not kept pace. Historically, foundations have been key partners in efforts to improve care for people with mental disorders, and foundation funding has influenced the evolution of U.S. mental health services and systems. Although mental health giving grew in the 1990s, the rate of growth was far below that for total foundation giving or giving for health. The authors suggest possible reasons why mental health funding lost ground and describe promising funding approaches and models for increasing both the amount and the impact of philanthropic giving for mental health.