Children’s Mental Health Innovation Awards

Our program aims to seed fund transformative mental healthcare solutions for children across the U.S. It helps address the lack of investment in youth mental health, connect innovative ideas with capital, and build capacity for nonprofits. 
The Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health was created to address a serious and growing problem for the next generation. With the Innovation Awards, we hope to further this goal by identifying and advancing new, impactful ways to help address mental illness in children and young adults.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley and Chair, Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health Advisory Board

Announcing 2025 Winners

Learn more about the game-changing work being done to support children's mental health.

View Past Winners here
2025 Winner

00:01 - 00:03

TITLES: Morgan Stanley

Alliance for Children’s Mental Health

BRING CHANGE TO MIND

00:04 - 00:12

GIORGIO SILVESTRE

I think a lot of teens tend to suffer in silence. For me, personally, comparing myself to others has definitely made me fall victim to low self-esteem and impacting my mental health.

TITLE: New York, New York

00:14 - 00:20

It is so important to end the stigma, to really show people that there is support if you need it.

 

L3 TITLE: Giorgio Silvestre

TEEN ADVOCACY BOARD MEMBER

BRING CHANGE TO MIND

00:21 - 00:35

ABIGAEL

Bring Change to Mind is a community where all teens come together. With the help of mentors, we are able to open a safe space for teens to be able to just talk about mental health and so they don't feel alone and they don't get judged for it.

 

L3 TITLE: Abigael Wangui

TEEN ADVOCACY BOARD MEMBER

BRING CHANGE TO MIND

00:36 - 00:43

PAMELA HARRINGTON

Bring Change to Mind was founded with the goal and mission to end the stigma and discrimination around mental illness.

 

L3 TITLE: Pamela Harrington

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

BRING CHANGE TO MIND

00:44 - 00:52

Along with our scientists, we established an evidence-based high school program establishing peer-led clubs on campuses across the country.

00:54 - 01:01

ASHLEY SAULA

So we meet every single Tuesday. Essentially what we do is we have lesson plans with staff, bring up an issue within mental health.

 

L3 TITLE: Ashley Saula

HIGH SCHOOL CLUB LEADER

BRING CHANGE TO MIND

01:02 - 01:10

And we basically give the members a sense of ways that they can combat this issue and we put these skills to practice.

01:11 - 01:22

PAMELA

With our partners at CUNY, we have been working on a program that would adapt our model addressing the particular cultural stigma that the students often encounter at home.

 

TITLE: CUNY

School of Medicine Research Team

01:24 - 01:37

Each school that we work with in every community faces different sorts of stigma, so it's really, really important to build these communities of care and empathy and more empathetic young leaders that are going to change this next generation.

01:39 - 01:45

We have worked with over 100,000 students and over the last ten years we are now in 42 states across the country.

01:47 - 01:53

Our hope for Bring Change Mind is that any high school in the United States that wants a Bring Change to Mind club will have access to one.

2025 Winner

00:00 - 00:03

TITLES: Morgan Stanley

Alliance for Children’s Mental Health

DOC WAYNE

00:02 - 00:05

DAVID COHEN

We're all impacted by our own mental health challenges.

 

TITLE: Boston, Massachusetts

00:06 - 00:16

We have thousands of children that we work with, and everyone has their own story. But getting them to show up to talk about themselves and talk about challenges is so difficult.

00:17 - 00:23

We found a way through sport to break those barriers and to open up conversations.

 

L3 TITLE: David S. Cohen

CEO

DOC WAYNE

00:25 - 00:45

Doc Wayne is a provider of mental health services as well as a sport for social change organization. We provide group therapy, individual therapy through our clinic, which is here based in the Boston area. And then we have our Champions Network, which is a global training program for adults that work with kids in over 30 countries around the world.

00:47 - 01:00

It's really coaches looking to be stronger, trusted adults that have experienced some challenges and want to be there for their players. So they're looking for some guidance so that they can be the best coach they possibly can.

01:01 - 01:10

REBEKAH ROULIER

A coach can change lives, and coaches really need the skillset to be able to help those young people with challenges around their mental health.

 

L3 TITLE: Rebekah Roulier, LMHC

MANAGING DIRECTOR

DOC WAYNE

01:11 - 01:22

What can happen when this is done well through options like the Champions Network, is that kids can learn self-regulation, they can learn communication, teamwork, resilience, confidence.

01:24 - 01:41

Our hope and dream for the Champions Network is to be able to offer young people the opportunity to experience sport-based therapy, to combine evidence-based therapy with joy, happiness and the opportunity to move your body.

01:42 - 01:56

DAVID

Since our inception, we've reached over a million kids. Our goal is to meet kids where they’re at, impacting their lives through a ball and through play. Being a champion of change for our community and beyond.

2025 Winner

00:00 - 00:03

TITLES:

Morgan Stanley

Alliance for Children’s Mental Health

KOKO

00:04 - 00:13

ROB MORRIS

Young people today are facing record levels of loneliness, hopelessness and anxiety. Many feel like there's nowhere safe they can turn.

 

L3 TITLE: Rob Morris, Ph.D.

CO-FOUNDER & CEO

KOKO

00:15 - 00:26

I've had my own history with mental health struggles and I really wanted to build something that worked for myself. And it's really something I wish I had when I was a young person.

 

TITLE: Carmel Valley, California

00:26 - 00:36

Koko's philosophy is to reach young people where they are and bring free digital mental health interventions into the spaces where young people spend their time.

00:37 - 00:49

We want to help find people at risk who are searching for dangerous content, and then we want to compassionately and safely redirect them to services that work.

00:50 - 01:11

We use AI to help identify individuals who might need helplines or self-help courses or peer support. And now we've started to build a course that they can use to learn how to best support their friends in need. We want to have a safe space where young people can access our service immediately.

01:13 - 01:26

( DIalogue )

-This is our Mental Health First Aid Program and it’s something any young person can use anywhere they are online. So when you join a server, Koko will message you and it will reach out if you need help.

01:27 - 01:40

Koko has reached over 4 million people and we are really passionate about empowering young people to help each other. If one person goes on to help two more people, who then go on to help two more, the impact is exponential.

2025 Winner

00:00 - 00:03

TITLES: Morgan Stanley

Alliance for Children’s Mental Health

TREK MEDICS

00:04 - 00:10

JASON FRIESEN

Youth and children have a lot more challenges growing up than they used to. Higher rate of suicide, higher rates of depression.

TITLE: San Diego, California

00:11 - 00:19

When you're dealing with acute situations where de    escalation and counseling is needed rapidly, the longer they don't get care, the worse problems can get.

00:20 - 00:27

That's really a big part of what we're involved in these days, is making sure that youth have access to mental health services when and where they need them.

L3 TITLE: Jason Friesen

FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

TREK MEDICS

00:28 - 00:38

I'm a former San Diego County paramedic and also volunteered with the Tijuana Red Cross. I was working in areas where they didn't have a lot of resources but they had the same needs that we do.

00:39 - 00:45

Here in the United States, we're working to help increase access to mental health crisis care for youth and children.

00:46 - 00:52

Trek Medics is a nonprofit technology organization that builds software for local community response networks.

00:52 - 01:05

We developed the Beacon Crisis Dispatch platform. It’s a simple technology that allows local communities and response agencies to coordinate and track teams so that they can get where they're needed, when they're needed.

01:07 - 01:13

(Dialogue)

-Okay. Perfect.

-There you go. Alert.

-Has it been created over here?

-No, it’s just gonna be here. If you click right there…

01:14 - 01:27

Our focus is on response agencies that don't need or can't afford the complex technologies that 911 uses. We're using very common, readily available technologies that are inexpensive and very easy to use.

01:28 - 01:42

Predominantly in rural areas with limited resources, we're working to ensure that they can get their mental health crisis counselors to youth and children as quickly as possible, as a supplement to the school, the public health and the public safety system.

01:43 - 01:50

Our real hope is that communities across the country and across the globe are able to manage emergencies on their own, with the resources they have.

2025 Winner

00:01 - 00:03

TITLES: Morgan Stanley

Alliance for Children’s Mental Health

WE RISE INTERNATIONAL

TITLE: Lancaster, Pennsylvania

00:04 - 00:09

JANELLE BITIKOFER

A lot of isolation, changes in the school environment. The needs of youth related to mental health have really increased.

00:10 - 00:18

I think stigma is a big factor. A lot of youth are now more able to talk about mental health, but finding opportunities to talk about it in a way that works for youth is a challenge.

L3 TITLE: Janelle Bitikofer

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

WE RISE INTERNATIONAL

00:20 - 00:24

(Dialogue)

-Thank you for coming. The first thing I wanted to do is just to find out how everybody’s day was.

00:25 - 00:35

At We Rise International our programs target bringing hope and bringing health through community involvement and increasing the knowledge and the support that's available for mental health.

00:36 - 00:50

The Mental Health Seeds Program is based here in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We've been very intentional about hosting our support groups all over the city in various locations, whether that's in schools, churches, community centers, so that they will be more accessible to youth.

00:51 - 01:05

We provide the mental health support groups, and then we are at the same time training future mental health providers. The people who lead the groups are graduate and undergraduate university students providing that service, so they get practice and experience really impacting their communities.

01:06 - 01:09

ESTHER SMITH

I have to do a practicum for both years of my master's degree.

L3 TITLE: Esther Smith

SOCIAL WORK PRACTICUM STUDENT

WE RISE INTERNATIONAL

01:10 - 01:21

I've been able to teach them different techniques related to breathing and meditation and things that can help you when you're really at a high level of stress, which I know affects a lot of young people.

01:21 - 01:25

JANELLE

The goal of the groups is to help the youth move forward in their lives in a new and positive way.

01:26 - 01:35

The education for the community and the support are really expanding the number of people who can be understanding of and helpful when they're experiencing mental health needs.

01:36 - 01:44

We've been excited to see that students are graduating out of our program and they’re going on into mental health jobs, addressing the needs and helping to fill the exact gaps that we're trying to address.

About the Program

This initiative invites U.S.-based 501(c)(3) public charities with an annual total revenue under $5 million to submit innovative ideas for advancing children’s mental health.

There are two award categories: the Innovation Awards ($100,000 each) which are open to all, and the Next Gen Innovation Awards ($25,000 - $50,000 each) which are open to nonprofits founded and/or led by leaders under 32 years old, with more than two years in operation.

Up to $550,000 in grants are provided and select applicants are invited to join the Leadership Learning Series. View FAQs for more information.

  1. Funding

    Winners receive seeding funding

  2. Recognition

    Winners raise their profile and showcase their program

  3. Networking

    Winners learn from peers and build powerful connections

  4. Learning

    Select applicants receive expert-led leadership training

Interested in Applying?

Read FAQs and join the briefing session on May 27, 2025.

Apply to the 2026 Cohort

Submit your application on or before July 7, 2025.