Since its creation in 1996 as a private endowment, the Mary Black Foundation has become known throughout the Upstate for improving area health and well-being of women and infants, and reducing disparities among early-years schoolchildren.
Now, foundation leaders and frontline workers are expanding this commitment with a $6 million award over the next five years toward an initiative called Vital Spartanburg – a community-wide action plan devoted to improving the mental and behavioral health of people throughout Spartanburg County.
The award came four years after an unexpected, and unrestricted, gift of $8 million to the foundation by U.S. philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
Members from 40 organizations then worked together for 18 months to create a plan for how to use the money to positively “address behavioral and mental health needs together, not in isolation,” said foundation chief strategy officer Rochelle Williams.
The decision led to the creation of Vital Spartanburg, announced this past June.
The plan culminated in three priorities:
• Improve mental well-being of children and families.
• Promote well-being of those struggling with severe mental illness.
• Support individuals and families impacted by substance use disorders.
It also represents a growing concern across the U.S. about the state of people’s mental health.
For example, in 2022, researchers with the National Institute of Mental Health in Washington, D.C., estimated that 59.3 million adults in the U.S. – 23.1% of the population – were living with a mental illness.
And since 1946, when the National Mental Health Act was signed into law by President Harry Truman, many forms of diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and prevention have been developing.
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
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https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/nimh-history
“This kind of endeavor fairly new to us,” Talbot-Metz said. “So when our board of trustees decided the foundation should take on a more intentional role around public policy, we had a lot to learn.”
The biggest part of that learning surrounded public funding and policy changes, at a federal, state, and local level. All three are often needed to create conditions where foundation investments will carry the most sustainable effect.
“This is especially true for the policy issues that are directly aligned with our mission, like access to childcare and healthcare for families with young children,” she said.
So far, the Mary Black Foundation has supplied $74.8 million in grants to support more than 300 charitable health and well-being organizations, such as Bethlehem Center, BirthMatters, Homes of Hope, Hope Center for Children, Faith Initiative to End Child Poverty, and Spartanburg Mental Health America of S.C.
But while grant money is vital, Talbot-Metz pointed out that none of it would matter very much without the people behind the funding to make a real-world difference in the lives of people who need it the most.
“The Mary Black Foundation cannot achieve our vision of health and well-being for all of Spartanburg County without working with our partners, grantees, and others in the community,” she said. “So when we come alongside an organization as a funder, we want to bring all of our resources to bear. And that goes way beyond just grant dollars.”
