(11-18-25) Tis the season for charitable giving so emails asking for donations are starting to appear in my inbox. Before writing checks, I like to check on the finances of mental health non-profits.
Here are snippets from four national mental health organizations: the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health America, the Treatment Advocacy Center and the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance.
Guidestar (now called Candid) posts federal Form 990 tax reports.
It lists NAMI’s gross revenues on its 2024 tax report at $35 million with assets worth a minimum of $62.7 million. That is tremendous growth since I first became a lifelong member of NAMI in 2006. Back then, it only reported $5.8 million in net assets and often struggled to raise funds.
Some of the reasons for NAMI’s growth can be attributed to covid, which raised public awareness about mental health crises. NAMI expanded its membership through its “big tent” approach – welcoming all mental health diagnoses under its umbrella rather than limiting itself to the so-called serious mental illnesses. (Sczhophrenia, bipolar, and persistent and severe depression.) NAMI’s management successfully secured relationships with several high profile organizations such as the National Football League. These factors helped NAMI reach its self-proclaimed goal of becoming the nation’s voice about mental health issues.
NAMI’s salary packages also topped other grassroots groups.
Chief Executive Officer Daniel Gillison Jr. received $568,383 in salary during 2024 with an additional $34,660 in non-salary compensation according to its Form 990, making him the highest paid executive of the four nonprofits. Overall, salaries paid to the national NAMI staff surpassed $2 million per year. This includes payments to Gillison.
According to Candid, executive compensation packages at nonprofits with higher budgets (e.g., in the $25 million to $50 million range) pay significantly more than smaller ones and those in Washington D.C. pay more than in many other cities. A review by Chatgpt of Washington nonprofit salaries found:
“Based on NAMI’s real-world pay, a director CEO salary for a nonprofit in Washington DC with $35 million in gross revenues could reasonably be in the $400,000 to $600,00 range.”
This is how NAMI describes itself on its website:
What started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 has blossomed into the nation’s leading voice on mental health. Today, we are an alliance of more than 650 local affiliates who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need.
NAMI affiliates in every state file separate Form 990 tax reports listing revenue and assets specific to their state. Check Candid to find your local affiliate’s revenue and salary figures.
Candid does not have a 2024 tax form available for Mental Health America, although the nonprofit organization does list is 2024 financials on its website. It reported a minimum of $14.6 million in net assets. The most recent Form 990 posted at Candid was for 2023. It listed total yearly revenue at $12 million.
Then-CEO Elizabeth Stribling received at yearly salary in 2023 of $345,061 with $50,105 additional non-salary compensation. Salary.com’s DC benchmark for an executive of a nonprofit with $12 million yearly revenues in DC was $244,000 to $323,000. Overall, MHA paid $2.3 million in salaries to its national staff or slightly more than NAMI despite their revenue differences. This includes Stribling’s pay.
Stribling is no longer at MHA. It is currently being directed by Mary Giliberti who previously was CEO of NAMI. In 2023, her salary as MHA’s chief public policy officer was $227,163 plus $61,695 in additional compensation.
This is how MHA describes itself on its website:
Mental Health America was established by a person with lived experience Clifford W. Beers. During his stays in public and private institutions, Beers witnessed and was subjected to horrible abuse. From these experiences, Beers set into motion a reform movement that took shape as Mental Health America. Read about the Mental Health Bell—The Symbol of Our Movement
Our work has resulted in positive change. We have educated millions about mental illnesses and reduced barriers to treatment and services. As a result of Mental Health America’s efforts, many Americans with mental disorders have sought care and now enjoy fulfilling, productive lives in their communities.
The Treatment Advocacy Center listed total revenues of $3.5 million in 2023, the most recent Form 990 listed on Candid. Its net assets were $2.8 million. Its CEO, Lisa Dailey, received $189,330 in salary and $14,794 in other compensation that year. Salary.com lists a range of $110,444 to $200,000 in compensation for a CEO running a nonprofit TAC’s size. Overall, it listed total salaries at TAC of $904,241.
From TAC’s website:
Since 1998, TAC has led a nationwide movement to eliminate barriers to the treatment of severe mental illness. TAC was founded in 1998 by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey. After working for 15 years at a Washington, D.C. clinic serving unhoused people with severe mental illness, Dr. Torrey authored the book “Out of the Shadows: Confronting America’s Mental Illness Crisis,” detailing failed policies that have led to suffering, lost chances for recovery, and the widespread criminalization of mental illness in the U.S.
Dr. Torrey was contacted by Vada Stanley, who expressed an interest in funding efforts to help this vulnerable population. After consulting with other experts in policy and legal fields, Dr. Torrey concluded that treatment alone could not correct this disastrous course. Advocacy to reform state laws was necessary to make it possible to treat people before illness caused them to fall into homelessness or incarceration, or to become dangerous to themselves or to others. With the generous support of the Stanley Family Foundation, TAC was founded to meet this challenge.
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, which is based in Chicago, Illinois, filed a 2024 Form 990 that listed total gross revenues of $4 million, with net assets of $3.4 million. CEO Michael Pollock received $282,750 in salary and $26,356 in other compensation and was listed as the only paid employee. Candid lists the average compensation for a CEO with a $1.7 million budget at $172,487.
DBSA describes itself on its website as:
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) is the leading national organization focusing on mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder, which affect over 21 million Americans, account for over 50% of the nation’s suicides every year, and cost $23 billion in lost workdays and other workplace losses.
DBSA offers peer-based, wellness-oriented support and empowering services and resources available when people need them, where they need them, and how they need to receive them—online, in local support groups, in audio and video casts, or in printed materials distributed by DBSA, our chapters, and mental health care facilities across America.
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