Ryan Bartel Foundation was selected for a Kindness in Community Fund grant from the Born This Way Foundation. The nonprofit, which develops and operates programs that promote youth mental wellness and prevent suicide, will receive $100,000 over two years.
Selected from more than 4,000 nominations, Ryan Bartel Foundation is one of 55 youth-centered organizations in 11 countries selected to be 2025-2026 Kindness in Community Fund grant recipients. Through funding programs— including direct mental health services as well as services that address housing, food, and safety—these organizations are supporting youth mental health and cultivating a necessary culture of kindness.
This grant fund is supported by Pivotal, Cotton On Foundation, Sephora, Haus Labs, and others.
From nominations to final selection, young people in each region provided input into the decision-making process based on their needs and priorities in mental health.
The Ryan Bartel Foundation is a Loudoun-based nonprofit and community provider of free or low-cost, upstream, suicide prevention programs for youth in Northern Virginia focused on empowers youth with lifelong tools for mental wellness, transforming isolation into community, loneliness into friendship, and despair into hope.
“We are honored and deeply grateful to be included in this cohort of remarkable non-profits around the world, as well as excited to learn more about and share knowledge with them,” stated Founder and President Suzie Bartel. “This funding strengthens our ability to offer more young people the sense of belonging and resilience they deserve.”
Born This Way Foundation, co-founded and led by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Bissett Germanotta, empowers and inspires young people to build a kinder, braver world that supports their mental health and wellbeing. Based on the scientific link between kindness and mental health and built in partnership with young people, the Foundation leverages research, programs, grantmaking, and partnerships to engage young people and connect them with accessible mental health resources.
“It is a testament to each Kindness in Community Fund grant recipient’s work that young people themselves selected them to receive this grant. We are thrilled to announce the 2025-2026 cohort of grant recipients that practice creative, innovative work to meet the needs of youth in their community, supporting their mental health and wellbeing,” stated Rachel Martin, Chief Operating Officer of Born This Way Foundation. “With thanks to generous support from our partners, Born This Way Foundation is able to scale the important work of these grassroots organizations, ensuring they are able to help even more young people in their communities.”
Learn more at ryanbartelfoundation.org and bornthisway.foundation.
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