Foundations' roles in transforming the mental health care system.

This paper highlights topics explored in a meeting of health grantmakers and mental health experts convened by America's HealthTogether in February 2006. The meeting's aim was to review the evidence on the burden of mental illness, explore the causes and consequences of a poorly functioning mental health care system, and stimulate discussion about philanthropy's role in responding to a national call for transformation of that system. The meeting identified several priorities for foundation work. Examples of current work in these areas, from Grantmakers In Health's Resource Center database, are presented.