Deadline: July 24, 2026
Applications are open for the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health Innovation Awards 2027. The Innovation Awards program helps fill the funding gap in the under-resourced children’s mental health sector by providing runway for game-changing ideas. They seed fund selected nonprofits and elevate their work to other funders to help unlock additional capital for innovative projects in the children’s mental health field. They also offer leadership learning opportunities to help build capacity for nonprofits.
There are two award categories: the Innovation Awards which are open to all, and the Next Gen Innovation Awards which are open to nonprofits founded and/or led by leaders under 32 years old, with more than two years in operation.
Benefits
- Winners will receive grants to pilot or scale their innovative work. In addition, they will receive leadership training from industry experts, build powerful connections and raise their profile.
- Grants of $100,000 will be awarded to each Innovation Award winner and grants of $25,000 – $50,000 will be awarded to each Next Gen Innovation Award winner.
Eligibility
- All registered 501(c)(3) public charities based in the U.S. with an annual total revenue under $5 million are eligible to apply to the program.
- Nonprofits with an annual total revenue over $5 million are not eligible.
- For the Next Gen category, the organization must have a founder or leader under 32 years old and more than two years in operation.
Selection Criteria
Applications are reviewed by a panel of experts in the mental health and grantmaking fields and are evaluated based on the equally weighted criteria below:
- Innovation: Applications must present an inventive solution for addressing unmet needs in children’s mental healthcare, especially among disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.
- Expertise: Applications should outline executable services informed and/or delivered by mental health professionals, highlighting any related mental health expertise and evidence-based models.
- Impact: Applications should offer measurable deliverables aimed at improving the state of children’s mental wellbeing, with a clear evaluation model and measurable outcomes.
- Potential: Applications will also be judged on the feasibility of replicating or scaling the proposed service to benefit children in broader communities.
Application
For more information, visit Children’s Mental Health Innovation Awards.
