New York – ICONIQ Impact, the collaborative philanthropy platform of ICONIQ Capital, has announced the launch of its Youth Mental Wellbeing Co-Lab, a philanthropic fund aiming to mobilize $200 million to support organizations tackling youth anxiety and depression worldwide. The Co-Lab kicks off with a substantial $112 million in donations from eight philanthropic donors and will offer unrestricted funding over five years to 25 grantee organizations dedicated to addressing these growing concerns.
A Critical Focus on Youth Mental Health
Youth mental health has seen a global decline over the past two decades. As anxiety and depression rates continue to rise, approximately 20% of youth globally struggle with anxiety, and nearly one in four exhibit symptoms of depression. With pressures such as climate change, social media influence, financial inequality, and more, young people today are facing a future fraught with uncertainty.
The Global South faces even more severe challenges, with compounded crises like extreme poverty, conflict, and forced migration exacerbating mental health issues among youth. Despite the evident need, only 2% of global health funding is directed toward mental health, leaving millions of young people without proper support. Yet, studies suggest that for every dollar spent on youth mental health, there is a fourfold return in terms of improved health and productivity.
Empowering Young People: The Three Pillars of the Co-Lab
The Youth Mental Wellbeing Co-Lab aims to address this critical issue by focusing on three key strategies:
Giving Youth Agency: Many young people today feel powerless due to economic inequity, climate anxiety, and political unrest. By supporting organizations that empower youth to make meaningful changes in their own lives and communities, the Co-Lab seeks to reverse this sense of helplessness.
One example is Force of Nature, a Co-Lab grantee that helps young people channel their eco-anxiety into climate change activism. Youth in their flagship training program develop leadership skills, learning how to advocate for climate action and lead peer training sessions on climate change.
Building a Sense of Community and Belonging: Despite being more digitally connected than ever, young people today experience profound loneliness and isolation. The Co-Lab will support organizations that help youth forge meaningful relationships, create a sense of community, and foster a purposeful life.
For instance, OurHerd, a storytelling app powered by batyr, helps young people connect with peers experiencing similar mental health challenges in a safe and supportive environment. The app’s peer-to-peer storytelling model not only helps build a community but also shares data with policymakers to ensure youth voices are heard in decision-making processes.
Building Resilience: Young people often face societal-scale issues like poverty, violence, and family conflict, which can overwhelm them and hinder their mental well-being. The Co-Lab will fund organizations that provide the tools and support necessary for building resilience, enabling youth to overcome adversity and reduce the likelihood of long-term mental health struggles.
Roca, Inc., a grantee that helps young people escape cycles of incarceration and poverty, provides mental health support and trains institutions such as police forces and child protective services on how to better support youth in crisis situations.
The Co-Lab’s Global Reach
The Youth Mental Wellbeing Co-Lab is unique in its commitment to global inclusivity. While it will provide support to organizations across the United States, roughly 60% of the funding will go to organizations in the Global South, where the need for youth mental health services is often the most urgent.
Advisory Input from Young People
In designing the Co-Lab’s focus and selecting the 25 grantee organizations, ICONIQ Impact sought input from a youth advisory group. The group consisted of youth representatives from around the world, ensuring that the voices and perspectives of young people directly informed the decisions about which organizations would receive funding.
The Co-Lab also aims to leverage evidence-based approaches by supporting programs grounded in research and data, ensuring long-term success and sustainability for the organizations it supports.
The Future of Youth Mental Health
According to Matti Navellou, head of ICONIQ Impact, “Building up an individual’s agency, resilience, and sense of belonging from a young age is foundational to their mental well-being over the course of their life.” The Co-Lab is poised to create new pathways for young people, helping them to shape their own futures while providing critical support to reduce youth mental health challenges on a global scale.
With contributions from philanthropic donors and a diverse array of organizations, the Youth Mental Wellbeing Co-Lab marks a pivotal step in addressing one of the most pressing issues facing young people today—mental health.
