HIKE FOR MENTAL HEALTH INC

HIKE for Mental Health is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization born of a single vision: a world in which everyone, including those who suffer from mental illness, can find the simple joy of living.

The kind of simple joy its founders re-discover with each backcountry hike.

Sharing the joy of hiking, while helping those who battle mental illness – that is what motivates us.

Our approach is simple

We organize and promote responsible wilderness hikes.
Hiker-volunteers collect sponsorships to participate in the hikes.
We distribute 100% of the net proceeds to our mission causes.

We also encourage hikers to register their own hikes with HIKE for Mental Health. There is no cost. We ask them to personalize a sponsorship page which we create and to tell others about their hike and about how to support HIKE for Mental Health.

Where the money goes

Eighty percent of the hike donations provide grants that enable scientific research and fund programs aimed at alleviating suffering from mental illness. Every week, science yields a better understanding of and better treatments for mental illnesses. So much progress has been made. And yet, the work is not done while so many people and families still battle the diseases and the stigma. We work through the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation and their outstanding NARSAD grants program as well as through our own programs to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Twenty percent of the hike donations support preservation of wilderness trails. It is our way of giving back to the people and organizations that make it possible for all of us to enjoy our time on wilderness trails. We partner with well-established trail maintenance organizations to ensure the funds are spent in a responsible and impactful way.

How can 100% of hike donations go to our mission causes?

While we hope to find some business sponsors to help defray the administrative costs of the organization, the bulk of those costs are now covered by on-going founder donations, partially offset by receipts from HIKE for Mental Health shirts, affiliate contributions and other donations marked for our operations.