Civis Foundation identifies and supports work that echoes the Civis thesis: Awareness of the implicit other reveals the interdependence already binding us to the future we hold in common. We provide grants to organizations and initiatives intersecting with our mission and focus areas — Arts & Letters, Community Building, Reflective History, and Civic Responsibility.
We continue to fund causes historically supported by the H. van Ameringen Foundation.
Our support for Fountain House reflects this commitment in practice — one example of the mission-aligned work we continue to sustain.
Fountain House exemplifies community-centered, evidence-based work that reflects the transformative potential of cross-boundary connections and growth through community building.
Founded in New York City in 1948, Fountain House pioneered the clubhouse model of community mental health. The clubhouse model recognizes that members, people living with serious mental illness (SMI), are capable of agency and purpose. Fountain House provides structures and services that create the conditions for flourishing. While receiving services, members contribute and share responsibilities within their community. The clubhouse model has since been replicated in more than 300 clubhouses across the country and abroad.
Fountain House is expanding its direct services across New York City and Los Angeles, growing its national network, and working to establish the clubhouse model as a replicable, publicly funded standard of care.
