Jody Alise Foundation

The purpose of the Jody Alise Foundation (JAF) is to support mental health services in rural Montana. The foundation will provide paid interns at clinics and other organizations to develop printed materials and social media platforms to promote mental health awareness and let people in need know where they can find help, which is often hard to find in rural settings; and to work with schools and other nonprofit organizations to enhance delivery of mental health services in rural Montana.The initial seed funding for JAF came from its founder, but the goal of the foundation is to operate as a public charity supported by diverse individuals, grantors, and institutions. The foundation was funded in December. Operations are underway in 2023, and we look forward to reporting our program service accomplishments on our next return.The foundation exists for educational and charitable purposes and specifically to make grants to individuals and organizations operating in the State of Montana seeking to improve mental health and/or treat mental illness and to develop and publish materials and webinars for use by professionals and schools to improve mental health and/or treat mental illness. The foundation presently carries out its purposes by (a) locating and funding experts who can educate regarding identification of trauma and the provision of ongoing trauma care (Trauma Experts), (b) locating and funding speakers who can educate regarding mental and emotional health (Health Speakers), (c) hiring student ambassadors to advocate for mental health and addiction awareness (Student Ambassadors), (d) hiring a mental health disorder and addiction specialist to operateeducation and prevention programs (Health Specialist), and (e) paying counseling or professional mental health provider services for individuals unable to pay (Treatment Assistance). The foundation plans to expand its grantmaking program to other organizations with tax exempt purposes of improving mental health and treatment of mental illness, hiring additional counselors and addiction specialists and creating a widelyaccessible online community to foster sharing of professional materials and curriculum designed to improve mental health and treat mental illness.The Trauma Expert and Health Speaker programs are conducted directly by the foundation. The foundation identifies appropriate experts and funds all expenses related to the expert speaking and educating in the State of Montana. The activity has been conducted at schools or other community centers in Roundup, Montana. The activity is approximately 5 percent of the foundation's time and expense.The Student Ambassador program is conducted directly by part time student employees of the foundation. The foundation accepts applications from students and employes three to four students who are employed to educate students regarding mental health awareness and mental health treatment resources. The activity has been conducted primarily at Roundup public schools. The activity is also approximately 5 percentof the foundation's time and expense.The Health Specialist is conducted directly by a full time employee of the foundation. The specialist is primarily responsible for providing awareness of and connecting community members with different existing organizations providing mental health awareness and treatment resources. As this activity is a new program, it is approximately 4 percent of the foundation's time and expense.The Treatment Assistance program is conducted by the foundation assisting individuals who are unable to pay for counseling or treatmentservices by paying third party providers of those services. The activity is also approximately 1 percent of the foundation's time and expense.The foundation will increasingly conduct activities by grantmaking to other organized that are recognized as Section 501(c)(3) organizations and which operate in the State of Montana. The foundation will conduct the grantmaking by receiving applications, primarily through its website, but the mental health awareness and treatment services will be conducted by other public charities using grants received from the foundation. The activity is estimated to be approximately 85 percent of the foundation's time and expense.2023 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: httpswwwrounduprecordcomstory2023...