About
Fountain House is a New York City-based national mental health nonprofit working to transform mental illness recovery through community and advocacy, so people most impacted by serious mental illness (SMI) can live with purpose, belonging, and dignity. For more than 70 years, Fountain House has proven that people living with serious mental illness can reach their goals and aspirations for a better life, pioneering the clubhouse model of recovery that has been replicated around the world.
Mission
To create the community, innovation, and social change needed for people most impacted by mental illness to lead connected and healthy lives — and to transform the way the world sees and treats people most impacted by mental illness. Fountain House believes every person is capable of great things, deserves just and equitable treatment, and has the right to self-determination and community.
What they do
- Clubhouses in Manhattan, the Bronx, Harlem, and Hollywood, where members participate in a voluntary, work-ordered day organized into units (such as culinary, communications, and wellness) that build skills, dignity, and belonging — membership is free and without time limits
- Health and wellness programming, including the Sidney R. Baer Jr. Center, described by the organization as the first integrated health home model in the U.S. for people living with mental illness, in partnership with Sun River Health
- Community Oriented Recovery and Empowerment (CORE) services and care management coordinating medical, behavioral, and social needs
- Housing support to help members find and remain in safe, stable, affordable long-term housing
- The Silver Center (opened 2018) supporting older members, and the Fountain House Farm in Montague, New Jersey
- National policy and advocacy shaping how the U.S. responds to mental health emergencies and systemic barriers facing people with SMI
History
Fountain House traces its roots to We Are Not Alone (WANA), a self-help group formally named in 1944 by former patients of Rockland State Hospital, which held its first formal meeting on March 15, 1944. Volunteer Elizabeth Schermerhorn, who later became Fountain House's first president of the Board of Directors, was instrumental in finding and purchasing the original Fountain House building in New York City.
Scale and impact
Fountain House reports that its members are hospitalized and experience crisis significantly less than others with serious mental illness, resulting in 21% lower Medicaid costs. About 38% of members experience homelessness or unstable housing when they arrive, 26% come with a history of incarceration, and 31% join with a substance use disorder. Fountain House is part of a coalition of more than 200 accredited clubhouse programs in nearly 40 U.S. states, and another 100 across more than 30 countries, that are modeled after Fountain House.
Financials
Fountain House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Federal Tax ID 13-1624009, and publishes its audited financial statements, annual reports, and Forms 990 on its website. According to IRS Form 990 data on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, for fiscal year 2023 Fountain House reported total revenue of about $33.7 million, total expenses of about $36.1 million, and total assets of about $68.1 million.
Governance
Fountain House meets the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability, holds Platinum standing with GuideStar/Candid, and is registered in good standing with charity regulators in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.