Institute for Advancements in Mental Health is a 3-star charity that is financially transparent and has a below average results reporting grade. The charity's overhead costs are high and are outside Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending. Its funding reserves can cover program costs for under 11 months. 

Founded in 1979, Institute for Advancements in Mental Health (IAM) aims to support people living with mental illness and create innovative solutions for mental health. Formerly known as Schizophrenia Society of Ontario, the charity rebranded to support anyone in society impacted by mental health issues. Institute for Advancements in Mental Health funds in-house patient services, resources, and research projects to improve mental health. IAM’s main office is in Toronto. 

Institute for Advancements in Mental Health offers various programs to support patients and train caregivers. IAM offers Ask Expert, a service that assists people living with schizophrenia through online, over the phone, or in person services. The charity also runs a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis (CBT-p) program to help reduce symptoms of schizophrenia and other conditions. The program includes not only individual therapy, but also workshops for caregivers and family members to increase their ability to support loved ones. In F2021, IAM reached 3,842 people through its support line and educational presentations/groups and community events. 

IAM states that it operates Canada’s first independent mental health Innovation Platform. The platform brings together innovators and people living with mental illness to build new services and solutions to mental health challenges. IAM works with many community partners in the mental health space. At the time of writing this report, the charity has three active innovation projects. These are: supporting individuals with their physician appointments, a mental health prize challenge to help prevent youth suicide, and CBT & RIA (Recovery in Action) evaluations.  

IAM runs advocacy programs to push for mental health policy reform. It advocates for more mental health services, research funding, and caregiver support. The charity states that in F2021, its new website saw over 57,000 page views. In F2021, over 30 Canadian influencers shared their IAM message.  

Institute for Advancements in Mental Health received $1.3m in donations and special events revenue in F2021. It also received $886k in government funding, representing 38% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 14% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 27% of donations and special events revenue. This results in total overhead spending of 41%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 59 cents go to the cause. This falls outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending, which has been the case for the past three years. 

IAM has $1.0m in total funding reserves. Using its existing reserves, the charity can cover just under 11 months of annual program costs. 

In F2021, IAM paid external fundraisers $91k to raise $174k, for a cost of $0.52 per dollar raised. 

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Institute for Advancements in Mental Health for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 11, 2022 by Emma Saganowich.