Strengthening Schools Initiative

The Strengthening Schools Initiative will expand Sources of Strength’s evidence-based elementary and secondary programming in under resourced communities, meeting rising student mental health needs with upstream, strengths-based prevention. The moment is urgent: anxiety, depression, loneliness, and suicidality are increasing, while many schools lack sustainable prevention programs that build protective factors before students reach crisis.

During the 2026–2027 school year, participating communities will be identified and implementation resources deployed—bringing training, coaching, curriculum, and ongoing technical assistance that help schools build cultures of belonging, connection, resilience, and help-seeking. The initiative will support peer-led programming at the secondary level and developmentally tailored programming at the elementary level.

The campaign plans first-year elementary implementation in approximately 180 classrooms reaching an estimated 4,500 students, and secondary implementation across approximately 20 schools reaching an estimated 22,000 students, with sustaining support over three years. Donor partnership will fund implementation supports—curriculum, training, coaching, educator and student materials, travel, sustainability planning, and technical assistance—with approximately 90% directed to program implementation and approximately 10% supporting accountability, evaluation, and high-quality delivery.

Young people are facing growing mental health challenges—including increasing anxiety, depression, loneliness, and suicidality—while many schools, especially in under resourced communities, lack sufficient access to sustainable, evidence-based prevention programs. This campaign matters now because it responds to rising student need with upstream, strengths-based prevention designed to build protective factors before students reach a point of crisis.

Waiting means more schools remain without the training, coaching, curriculum, and implementation support needed to build cultures of belonging, connection, resilience, and help-seeking. The opportunity in this moment is to expand proven, school-based prevention capacity during the 2026–2027 school year, when participating communities will be identified and implementation resources deployed.

If fully funded, the Strengthening Schools Initiative will expand access to Sources of Strength’s evidence-based elementary and secondary programming in under resourced communities—bringing upstream mental health promotion and suicide prevention to schools with limited resources and growing need.

The campaign will make it possible for more schools to implement and sustain a strengths-based, peer-led (secondary) and developmentally tailored (elementary) approach that strengthens belonging, resilience, healthy coping, peer connection, and help-seeking. Over time, this unlocks school environments where young people feel connected, supported, valued, and equipped with skills and relationships to navigate adversity and thrive—rather than relying on crisis response after harm has already occurred.

The campaign will deliver expanded implementation of Sources of Strength Elementary and Secondary programming, with planned first-year elementary implementation in approximately 180 classrooms reaching an estimated 4,500 students, and secondary implementation across approximately 20 schools reaching an estimated 22,000 students, with sustaining support provided over a three-year period. It will also deliver Elementary Coaches Trainings to strengthen implementation fidelity, educator confidence, and long-term sustainability, along with Train-the-Trainer skills sessions to build local capacity, affordability, and scalable infrastructure.

Progress will be tracked and shared through implementation milestones and ongoing updates, including participating community highlights, educator and student stories, and impact data as the initiative progresses. The programs’ evidence base includes outcomes from rigorous research (including a CDC-funded randomized controlled trial showing a 29% reduction in the probability of a new suicide attempt among students exposed to the secondary program, and mixed methods evaluations showing statistically significant improvements across multiple elementary wellbeing and school-climate measures), providing clear benchmarks for what high-quality implementation is designed to achieve.

Major-donor partnership will be centered on funding the expansion of evidence-based implementation supports—curriculum, training, coaching, educator support, student materials, travel, sustainability planning, and ongoing technical assistance—so participating schools can implement and sustain the model over time. Approximately 90% of campaign funds will directly support program implementation, with approximately 10% supporting the administrative, operational, evaluation, and project management capacity needed for accountability and high-quality delivery.

Specific giving levels and recognition are not detailed in the campaign materials. Donors will be engaged through ongoing campaign updates that share implementation milestones, participating community highlights, and impact data, and the organization welcomes additional questions regarding funding, implementation, research, sustainability, or partnership opportunities.