Choosing a youth mental health nonprofit to give to or sponsor: what to check first

What to look for, in brief

Confirm the organization is a registered 501(c)(3) on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, read its Candid profile and financial filings, and make sure you understand exactly which young people its programs reach and how. Then ask how your gift will be used and how results are measured, and choose the form of support that fits you, whether that is a one-time gift, a sponsorship, a stock gift, employer matching or volunteering. A nonprofit that welcomes those questions is usually one worth supporting.

I lead development at Grant Halliburton Foundation, which means I spend my days with the people who ask these questions: business owners, families, foundations and employee groups across Dallas. I would rather a donor check us carefully and give with confidence than give quickly and wonder later. What follows is the same process I would suggest for evaluating any youth mental health organization, including ours.

Start with the records anyone can check

The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search lets anyone check an organization's eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions and review information about its tax-exempt status and filings. Search by the legal name or by the tax ID number. Grant Halliburton Foundation is a federally recognized 501(c)(3), Tax ID 20-5643050, and you are welcome to look us up.

Next, look at the organization's profile on Candid, formerly GuideStar. Candid awards Seals of Transparency in four levels, and each level reflects what the nonprofit has chosen to share. According to Candid, Bronze makes sure donors can find the organization, Silver describes its programs, Gold adds financials and leadership demographics, and Platinum adds goals, strategies and impact metrics. A seal tells you how open an organization is about its work; it is a starting point for your own judgment, not a substitute for it. Our profile carries Candid's Platinum Seal.

If the organization files a Form 990, read the parts that describe its programs, where its revenue comes from and who leads it. You do not need to be an accountant to notice whether the programs described there match what the organization tells you in person, or whether nearly all its money comes from a single source.

Finally, read the most recent annual or impact report if one is published. It should tell you, in plain language, what the organization did last year and for whom.

Look at what the programs actually do

Youth mental health is a broad field. Some organizations fund research, some provide clinical treatment, some advocate for policy, and some focus on education, navigation and support. None of these is better than the others, but they are different, and you should know which one you are funding.

Ask for specifics. Who is served, at what ages, in which communities, and through what kind of contact? At Grant Halliburton Foundation the answer is education, resources and support for children, teens and young adults and the adults around them. That includes 60-minute Building Blocks of Mental Health presentations for students in third through 12th grade, a companion series for educators, parents and professionals, the Peer Helpers PLUS peer-to-peer suicide prevention program, the free Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line, and free monthly support groups for moms and female caregivers. Since 2006 we have provided education, training and support to more than 375,000 students, educators, parents and professionals.

A clear answer like that lets you picture where your money goes. A vague answer is worth a follow-up question.

Also ask what the organization does that nobody else in the area does. Our Navigation Line is a good example: a family that does not know where to start can call 972-525-8181 and leave with specific local options, at no cost to them. Our guide on the free mental health help available to North Texas families shows what that looks like from the family's side.

Questions worth asking before you commit

Whether you are writing a personal check or deciding where a company's giving budget goes, these questions separate a good conversation from a sales pitch. Any well-run nonprofit should be able to answer them without hesitation.

• What specific program would my gift or sponsorship support?
• Who does that program reach, and how many people last year?
• How do you measure whether it is working?
• How is the organization funded overall, and how diverse are those sources?
• Can I see your most recent financial filing and annual report?
• Can our employees be involved beyond the gift, as volunteers or as an audience for a program?
• How and how often will you report back to us?

Matching the cause to what your company cares about

The strongest partnerships I see are the ones where a company's support connects to something its people already care about. Many employees are parents. Many have watched a child, a sibling or a friend struggle. A youth mental health cause tends to matter to a workforce in a personal way, and that is worth building on rather than keeping the gift at arm's length.

There are several ways to do that. A company can sponsor an event such as the Beacon of Hope Luncheon, The Hope Party or the Eric Nadel Birthday Benefit. It can bring one of our adult presentations to its own staff, since those programs are built for teachers, parents and professionals, including the adult staff of any organization; the topics include recognizing signs of depression in young people, stress and burnout, and the teenage brain. Employees who want to give time can apply to train as volunteer Mental Health Navigators, and a company can fund programs in the schools near its offices or where its employees' children attend. If schools are your focus, our guide on what makes a school mental health program work explains what you would be funding.

Volunteering as a navigator is a real commitment, and it is worth knowing the requirements before you promote it internally. Our navigator page asks that volunteers be at least 18, live in North Texas, attend all five virtual training sessions, pass a background check and then serve at least six hours a month for at least six months. No professional mental health background is required, but personal or professional experience with mental health is.

More ways to give than a single donation

Once you have chosen an organization, the next decision is how to support it. Our ways-to-give page lists the options below. Some have tax implications, so talk with your own CPA or financial advisor before choosing one; a Dallas CPA such as Joe Hockaday can explain how a particular gift fits your situation.

• A one-time donation, or monthly giving as a sustaining Friend of the Foundation.
• A gift of stock, bonds or other assets, which our page describes as tax-smart and which may reduce capital gains tax.
• Planned giving, by including the Foundation in an estate plan.
• Employer matching, which at some companies extends to retirees and family members.
• Hosting a fundraiser, such as a birthday campaign, a charity golf tournament or a community event.
• Linking a Kroger or Tom Thumb rewards card so a portion of purchases supports the Foundation.

Signs a nonprofit is not ready for your money

Most organizations are run by people doing their best, but a few warning signs deserve attention. Be cautious if you cannot find the organization on the IRS search or under the name it gives you, if it cannot tell you who its programs serve, or if it will not share a financial filing. Be cautious of pressure to give immediately, of unsolicited calls asking for payment details, and of claims that cannot be checked anywhere.

In mental health specifically, be wary of any group that promises to treat or cure conditions without licensed clinicians involved, or that discourages people from seeking professional care. Good youth mental health organizations point families toward licensed providers and crisis resources such as 988, and they say plainly what they do not do. Our Navigation Line, for example, connects people to resources but is not a crisis line, and we say so every time.

One caution in the other direction: do not judge an organization on a single overhead percentage. Staff who train presenters, supervise volunteers and answer the phone are part of how programs get delivered. A better question is whether the organization can show you what its spending produced.

What a first conversation with us looks like

If you are considering Grant Halliburton Foundation, the first step is a conversation, not a commitment. I will ask what you care about, whether that is schools, parents, a particular community or your own employees, and what kind of involvement you have in mind. Then I will tell you honestly which of our programs fits and which does not, and share our most recent impact report so you can see the work for yourself. If your company has a giving committee, I am happy to meet with the whole group so everyone hears the same answers and can ask their own questions.

From there, some donors give once, some sponsor an event each year, and some bring a program to their staff first and decide on giving later. Every one of those is a real contribution. The free Navigation Line and support groups in Dallas exist because people asked these questions, liked the answers and decided to help. If you are ready to ask yours, I would be glad to hear from you.

Questions people ask me