By: Mollye Rhea
Today’s corporate leaders recognize that workplace mental health isn’t just a wellness benefit. It’s a core barometer of employee engagement and business health. As remote work, burnout and post-pandemic challenges persist, companies are actively seeking authentic ways to support their workforce.
Leading brands are now moving beyond one-month awareness campaigns. They are investing in year-round partnerships with mission-driven nonprofits to deliver continuous education, training and support.
Mental Health as a Key Indicator of Employee Engagement
According to the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health, employers increasingly recognize that untreated mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, lead to significant, costly organizational challenges,
- Increased Absenteeism: Employees taking more sick days or struggling to stay present at work.
- Reduced Productivity: Lower engagement, decreased output and strained team collaboration.
- Rising Overhead Costs: Elevated healthcare claims and disability expenses.
By partnering with experts in the nonprofit space, companies gain immediate access to specialized training, stigma-reducing resources and compassionate frameworks that corporate programs often lack.
How Nonprofits and Corporations Win Together
When structured effectively, workplace mental health partnerships create a powerful win-win.
- For Companies: Employees receive trusted, expert-backed resources that foster psychological safety, reduce stigma and boost retention.
- For Nonprofits: Mission awareness expands into high-value corporate environments, securing sustainable funding and deeper corporate alignment.
High-Impact Partnerships in Action
Here are real-world examples of how leading organizations are collaborating to support mental health.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Bechtel: Hard Hat Courage
According to the CDC, the construction industry has the second highest rate of suicide in the U.S. with 53.3 per 100,000 workers. The Hard Hat Courage partnership between The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Bechtel provides educational resources, workplace tools and community events across the country to foster a sense of community among workers on and off the jobsite.
- In 2025, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and Bechtel, a global engineering, construction, and project management company, launched the Hard Hat Courage Supported by a coalition of construction organizations, Hard Hat Courage addresses the high rate of suicide in the construction community and aims to transform the industry into one that prioritizes mental health in addition to physical safety.
- From May to September 2025, Hard Hat Courage reached more than 188,000 craft and construction industry professionals with its suicide prevention education and awareness campaign, including increased activations during Construction Suicide Prevention week in September.
- The initiative’s coalition includes a CEO Advisory Council with executive participation from Clark Construction, DEWAALT, Skanska and Turner.
- Moving forward, Hard Hat Courage has a bold goal to impact 500,000 craft professionals over the next five years.
Active Minds and The Hartford: Send Silence Packing® Tour
The Hartford employee benefits provider is especially concerned with Gen Z mental health. According to their research, nearly half of Gen Z workers (47%) say their mental health affects their productivity, and 37% say stigma prevents them from seeking care, which is higher than other generations in the workplace.
The partnership between The Hartford and Active Minds advances the nonprofit’s mission as well as demonstrating one of the many ways The Hartford commits to mental health and wellbeing in and out of the workplace.
Send Silence Packing® (SSP) is an immersive traveling exhibit that visits universities, community centers and public spaces across the nation, using dynamic story-sharing through mixed media to start conversations, increase mental health awareness and activate young people.
- Since 2008, more than one million people have experienced SSP in 350-plus communities, and 97% of viewers found the exhibit educational. The partnership’s impact earned a finalist spot for the 2026 Halo Awards in the Best Mental or Physical Health Initiative category.
- Trained mental health professionals are onsite at each stop with Active Minds staff and volunteers who distribute national and local mental health resources.
- SSP’s signature partner, The Hartford, recently announced that it will extend its support of the initiative to support student mental health.
Mental Health America and West Fraser: Advancing Mental Health in Rural Communities
Rural communities, home to 60 million Americans, face persistent disparities in access to mental health care and increased stigma when it comes to seeking help. Mental Health America’s National Prevention and Screening Program shows that 78% of individuals who live in rural regions and completed a mental health screen scored at risk for a mental health condition, and 53% reported they had never previously received mental health treatment or support. Mental Health America and wood products company West Fraser forged a multi-year partnership to combat these disparities and foster more resilient rural communities.
- The partners collaborated to create several resources in support of rural communities including a Rural Mental Health Hub with information and tools, downloadable mental health materials and a webinar series focused on the unique psychological and physical pressures agricultural workers experience.
- West Fraser and Mental Health America also launched a Rural Mental Health Innovation Grant fund to support organizations in expanding, adapting and strengthening solutions that address the barriers rural communities face, such as limited access to care and lack of transportation.
Ready to Build Corporate Partnerships That Last?
At For Momentum, we help cause-driven organizations design, pitch and scale strategic corporate partnerships that deliver measurable social impact and sustainable funding.
Whether you’re looking to launch a workplace wellness initiative or elevate your existing corporate partner strategy, our team is here to help you unlock lasting success.
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