Thomas Scattergood Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Thomas Scattergood Foundation supports behavioral health and addiction treatment. Grants focus on vulnerable people and the greater Philadelphia area.
IP TAKE: The Thomas Scattergood Foundation makes grants and investments for innovation in behavioral health, with many grants supporting small, community-led organizations in underserved areas of Philadelphia. Scattergood is committed to acknowledging systemic inequity and to “sharing power” in the granting process, although reviews suggest that as an organization it is somewhat “culturally insensitive.” This funder is transparent, however, and provides virtual information sessions for each of its grantmaking opportunities. Overall, this is a good foundation to know for mental health nonprofits in Pennsylvania.
PROFILE: Thomas Scattergood was a 19th-century Quaker minister in Philadelphia who suffered from depression in a period when the mentally ill were seen as damaged or "spiritually damned." The Thomas Scattergood Foundation works “to shift the paradigm and practice for behavioral health, and recognize the unique spark and basic dignity in every human.” Across all of its giving programs, the Scattergood Foundation prioritizes “organizations and programs that incorporate principles of diversity, equity and inclusion and trauma-informed practice” and groups “that serve and are led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color.” Grantmaking prioritizes the greater Philadelphia area, but the foundation will consider organizations based in other areas “if the program has national implications.”
Grants for Mental Health and Community Development
The Scattergood Foundation’s giving programs seek to “disrupt our current behavioral health space and create impact at the individual, organizational, and societal levels.” The foundation support is organized into four separate giving vehicles.
Scattergood’s Grants program aims to forge “authentic partnership, collaboration, and systems change to improve emotional health and wellbeing for all.” It names the following priorities for its behavioral health grantmaking:
Building “a stronger, more effective, compassionate, and inclusive society where behavioral health is central”;
Recognizing and challenging systemic injustice and its role in marginalization of individuals and communities;
The responsible sharing of power;
Acknowledging and elevating the voices “of those who are often unheard”;
Working actively to empower “diverse agents of change”; and
Scaling and accelerating improvements in behavioral health “by building skills in the community.”
The foundation accepts letters of inquiry for its grant program though its application portal for two annual grantmaking cycles. Due dates fall in February and November.
Past grantees include the Calm Clarity Peer Mentorship Program at Rowan College, the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation’s Chinese Immigrant Family Wellness Initiative, St. Christopher’s Children’s Hospital and the LiveWell Foundation, which runs psychoeducational programs “for the treatment and prevention of depression.”
Scattergood’s Participatory Funds program runs three separate funds that aim to “alter traditional grantmaking by shifting power to impacted communities to direct resources and make funding decisions.”
The Overdose Prevention and Community Healing Fund employs “national opioid settlement dollars to repair the harms inflicted on communities across Philadelphia as a result of the opioid epidemic and overdose crisis.” Focusing on substance abuse prevention, overdose prevention and family and community healing, the program makes grants for program and organizational support for three applicant pools representing the areas of Kensington, North Philadelpia and “city-wide,” which refers to “any other city of Philadelphia zip code.” Applicants must either attend or watch a virtual information session prior to submitting application materials.
The Community Fund for Immigrant Wellness supports organizations that work with immigrants in the communities of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Grantmaking focuses on organizations that “remove barriers and provide opportunities for individuals to live with dignity and joy.” This program is not currently accepting applications, but prospective grantseekers should check the program page periodically for updates.
The Kensington Community Resilience Fund focuses on the Kensington area of Philadelphia, which suffered “years of disinvestment and lack of economic opportunity” and has been disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis. The program’s main areas of focus are community empowerment, neighborhood investment, and economic opportunity. This participatory program also emphasizes the placement of “the power to make funding decisions in the hands of those who know best – community members.”
This fund accepts applications for general operating support grants in the amount of $10,000. About 20 organizations are chosen for each of two annual grantmaking cycles. The foundation suggests applicants view a virtual information session prior to submitting materials. Due dates are subject to change, so check the program page for updates.
Scattergood’s Special Grant Programs “build public and private partnerships to administer grant dollars toward targeted programs.”
The Policy Meets Practice program support the participation of organizations rooted in most-affected communities in policy discussions on behavioral health. The program is thematically anchored to Think Better Do Good, a series of policy papers conceptualized and produced by Scattergoood beginning in 2016. Each year, grantmaking focuses on the topic of one paper of the series. In a recent year, for example, grantmaking addressed Enhancing the Capacity of the Mental Health and Addiction Workforce.
This program accepts applications from community-serving mental health or addiction service organizations based in Philadelphia with budgets of $5 million or less. Organizational leadership should be representative of the communities served. The program plans to award grants of $50,000 each to four organizations each year.
The Claim Your Money PHL program supports organizations that conduct community outreach that are “geared toward families that are at risk of not receiving the tax refunds they are owed to ensure they benefit from these vital programs.” Grants support nonprofits in Philadelphia County that “serve very low-income communities or groups that are at risk of not receiving the EITC or CTC.”
The Racial Equity Advancement in Communities through Harm Reduction (REACH) program helps community organizations “adopt and grow a harm reduction philosophy and practice.” The specific focus of its grantmaking is reducing substance-related harm and overdose deaths in BIPOC communities throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Examples of harm reduction practices and program expectations may be found on the program’s web page. This program prioritizes BIPOC-led organizations that “show a commitment to addressing the root causes of social/racial injustice at a community level.”
REACH awards grants of up to $50,000 annually. The foundation suggests prospective applicants watch a virtual information session before submitting application materials.
The foundation’s Program Related Investments program makes loans and investments to behavioral and mental health organizations “at below-market interest rates” to “to start, grow, or sustain a program, or when results cannot be achieved with grant dollars alone.”
The foundation is not currently accepting applications for this program. Past recipients include Philadelphia’s Mental Health Partnerships, the Council for Relationship’s Online Therapy Program and the Philadelphia branch of First Step Staffing, a nonprofit that helps homeless and formerly incarcerated people secure employment and thrive.
Important Grant Details:
Scattergood’s grant amounts are set by its individual grantmaking programs. Grants range $5,000 to $50,000.
While the foundation supports organizations throughout the United States, it strongly prioritizes work centering around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Scattergood’s main focus is mental health, but immigrants, refugees, BIPOC communities and other vulnerable groups are prioritized.
Some of Scattergood’s programs accept applications. In most cases, applicants are able to watch a virtual information session prior to submitting materials.
Grantseekers may view past grantees and investment partners on the individual pages for the foundation’s giving initiatives.
Submit general inquiries to the foundation via email at info@scattergoodfoundation.org.
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