OUR IMPACT
Born This Way Foundation has worked for 10+ years with and for young people to build the kinder, braver world we know is possible. Keep scrolling to learn more about the impact of our work.
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Snapshots of Kindness
80K+
trained in teen Mental Health First Aid
10K+
completed the Be There Certificate
291M+
acts of kindness pledged
48K+
surveyed for research
1,630+
Mental Health-focused projects for classrooms funded
600+
nonprofits supported
$3M+
donated to nonprofit partners
200+
service events organized
2022
January
Released findings from the survey “Peer Counseling in College Mental Health” in partnership with The Mary Christie Institute.
May
Released findings from the survey “Kindness in the Workplace in partnership with Indeed.
July
Fully funded 232 classroom projects in 209 schools reaching students from majority low-income households through our partnership with DonorsChoose.
August
Expanded the Kindness in Community Fund, investing in nonprofit, youth mental health organizations across the country in conjunction with The Chromatica Ball Summer Stadium Tour.
2021
January
Launched billboards with #PleaseStayPledge messaging, sharing urgent suicide prevention tools.
May
Released 'Kindness Is Action' survey identifying how young people define kindness and its impact on mental wellness.
May
Fully funded 1,238 classroom projects focused on mental health in 793 schools through partnership with DonorsChoose.
May
Welcomed a new Advisory Board cohort of 29 young people from across the globe to inform the work of the Foundation and serve as ambassadors.
June
Further supported LGBTQIA+ youth by contributing to and amplifying organizations that serve them and creating live-event activations.
September
Launched fourth annual #BeKind21 campaign, recruiting over 400 partners, 6.8 million participants, and 143 million pledged acts of kindness.
November
Released 'Youth Mental Health in Las Vegas,' a survey noting changes in prioritization, access, and preference of resources among young people.
December
Updated ChannelKindness.org to include action steps and resources with stories, a 'For Educators' page, and an interactive map of kind acts and stories.
December
Teamed up with corporate partners to meet unmet needs of nonprofits across the country for second annual Channel Kindness Holiday campaign.
2020
February
Kicked off the Channel Kindness Awards to support youth-led projects.
April
Established the Kindness in Community Fund to support local nonprofits and Black-led organizations.
April
Created #TeaWithMrsG video series to provide online resources and encouragement during the pandemic.
May
Produced #BTWFTalks to promote mental health awareness across communities, generations, and sectors.
May
Launched #BeKindBeThere with Jack.org to support youth mental health education.
July
Initiated the #KindlyMask campaign to raise awareness on the importance of wearing a mask as an act of kindness.
September
Organized the third annual #BeKind21 campaign.
September
Published CHANNEL KINDNESS: Stories of Kindness and Community.
October
Developed the #PleaseStayPledge with Find Your Anchor to offer support and resources.
2019
January
Las Vegas Youth Mental Health survey results helped explore youth perception of mental health and access to key mental health services in Las Vegas.
January
Launched an in-venue presence at the Park MGM, coinciding with Lady Gaga’s residency, to invite concertgoers to engage with interactive kindness experiences.
March
Published “Youth Mental Health in America: Understanding Resource Availability and Preferences” survey.
March
teen Mental Health First Aid expanded to eight additional schools across the United States.
April
Presented at Milken Institute’s 2019 Global Conference focused on evidence-based approaches that help build mental and emotional resilience in youth.
May
Together with California’s Mental Health Services Oversight + Accountability Commission, we surveyed over 400 young people in California on mental health and access to resources.
May
Cynthia appointed World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Mental Health.
June
teen Mental Health First Aid expanded to 20 additional high schools around the country.
June
With The Starbucks Foundation, we launched our #BornThisWayFoundationxStarbucks campaign, raising over $200K to support mental health programs and LGBTQ+ youth wellness.
August
Funded more than 160 DonorsChoose.org classroom projects in response to the shootings in California, Ohio, and Texas.
August
For our second annual #BeKind21 campaign, we partnered with over 130 organizations and generated over 41M pledged acts of kindness and over 300M social media impressions.
September
teen Mental Health First Aid expanded to 35 additional high schools around the country.
October
Presented at the Nevada Suicide Prevention Conference and led a “Youth Voice on Mental Health” panel focused on suicide prevention.
2018
January
Released “Digital Communities: Youth Mental Health and Online Behavior” survey.
March
Through DonorsChoose.org, fully funded 673 mental and emotional wellness projects at 405 schools.
May
Generated over 1,000 sign-ups for the National Council for Behavioral Health’s Mental Health First Aid training through the #BeKindBeTheDifference campaign.
August
Kicked off our inaugural #BeKind21 campaign, generating over 8M pledged acts of kindness and over 17M social impressions.
September
Presented at United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
October
Together with United For Global Mental Health, launched the #Someone2Turn2 campaign to promote healthy conversations about mental wellness, reaching over 5M social media impressions.
November
Teamed up with Starbucks to support and amplify the work of local nonprofit organizations for World Kindness Day.
December
Launched the #MultiplyYourGood campaign by offering to match every kind act and generating over 150M social media impressions.
2017
January
Coinciding with Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Half Time performance, launched the #KickOffForKindness campaign, inviting individuals to host kick-off parties focused on engaging in acts of kindness.
July
Released “Kind Communities: A Bridge To Youth Wellness” survey to better understand the perception of mental health among young people.
August
Launched the #KindFor30 campaign to encourage our community to perform an act of kindness each day.
August
December: Engaged with over 40k community members in 30 cities during Lady Gaga’s Joanne World Tour, including 8 youth-led service projects and over 150k people trained in Mental Health First Aid.
2016
January
Launched Hack Harassment to provide safer, more inclusive online experiences in partnership with Intel, Vox Media, and Re/code.
February
Announced #KindMonsters, launching a year-long campaign to promote kindness and acceptance with Mattel’s Monster High.
July
Announced the #CityofKindness movement, asking 300 mayors to join us in creating a kinder, braver world. Lady Gaga joined the Dalai Lama and the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation to discuss the power of kindness and compassion.
August
Launched a Research Advisory Board led by Dr. Sue Swearer of the University of Nebraska.
September
Launched Channel Kindness.
November
Hosted the #KindMonstersEDU event and worked with hundreds of Los Angeles middle school students and teachers.
December
Partnered with TODAY and NBC Universal’s to curate the #ShareKindness Experience at 30 Rockefeller Center - a curated journey of kind acts supporting the campaign’s goal of inspiring one million acts of kindness throughout that month.
2015
April
Partnered with Tony Bennett’s foundation, Exploring The Arts, to highlight the work of exceptional local youth-oriented nonprofits across the country.
August
Welcomed the 2nd Youth Advisory Board.
September
Hosted a conversation on ending campus assault alongside the release of Lady Gaga’s song ‘Til It Happens To You.
October
Hosted the Emotion Revolution Summit at Yale University, welcoming teens from across the country to discuss the importance of emotions, unveiling the results of an online survey of 22,000 high school students, and starting the #IAmNotJust campaign, which received 1 billion impressions.
2014
April
Partnered with Mental Health Creating Community Solutions on the #TextTalkAct campaign.
August
Invited 50 young people to the Born Brave Retreat to uplift youth voices, support youth activism, and inspire leadership skills.
August
Born Brave Study findings presented at #APA2014, the largest annual gathering of school psychologists to improve student success.
2013
February
Born Brave Research study launched, in partnership with University of Nebraska, Lincoln
June
Partnered with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's Empowerment Initiative to encourage “a national conversation to increase understanding and awareness about mental health.”
2012
February
Born This Way Foundation launches at Harvard University.
July
Inaugural Advisory Board announced, composed of 26 young people from across the country.