Philanthropic Giving
Advancing Adolescent Wellbeing Through Evidence and Impact
BrainWaves is a registered charity and is leading one of the most ambitious programmes of research into adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Through rigorous science, long-term data, and close collaboration with schools and young people, we generate evidence that shapes prevention, education, and support at scale.
Philanthropic giving plays a critical role in enabling this work. Strategic investment allows BrainWaves to pursue long-term insight, innovation, and impact, delivering benefits for young people, educators, and society as a whole.
Why philanthropic support matters
Transformational research requires patience, independence, and sustained commitment. Philanthropic partners provide the stability and vision needed to address complex challenges in adolescent wellbeing.
Your support helps us to:
- Sustain and expand a national longitudinal cohort, generating insight over time rather than snapshots
- Maintain open, trusted data infrastructure, enabling high-quality global research
- Translate evidence into practice by collaborating with schools, educators, and policymakers to turn research findings into practical resources, training, and guidance that inform decision-making and everyday support.
- Develop and evaluate interventions that are ethical, inclusive, and youth-centred, for instance by working in partnership with young people to design, test, and refine approaches that reflect their real-world needs.
With philanthropic backing, BrainWaves will continue to accelerate discovery while remaining guided by evidence, equity, and integrity.
Opportunities for philanthropic partnership
Strategic Giving: Support a defined area of work aligned with your interests, from data infrastructure and cohort expansion to intervention development and knowledge exchange.
Programme & Project Funding: Invest in specific research programmes, pilot studies, or education-focused initiatives, including classroom lessons, teacher resources, webinars, and the annual BrainWaves Teacher Conference, that deliver measurable impact and long-term value.
Endowed or Multi-Year Support: Provide sustained funding that enables continuity and long-range planning across BrainWaves’ research.
Legacy and Named Giving: Create a lasting contribution that supports adolescent wellbeing for future generations.
Current philanthropic priorities include
Expanding cohort recruitment across diverse communities
Following our initial recruitment of 16-18-year-olds, in 2026, we will widen the study to include young people from age 11. To make sure the research truly reflects the experiences of all adolescents, we need additional investment to reach and include young people from communities that are often underrepresented or harder to engage in research.
Scaling evidence-based wellbeing lessons and teacher resources for schools
Our resources include ready-to-use lessons with clear teacher notes, webinars that explain the research behind the wellbeing curriculum, and supporting materials to help teachers confidently bring mental health and wellbeing into the classroom.
Supporting interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, educators, and young people
We bring together experts, teachers, and young people themselves to share ideas and co-create resources. This ensures that the lessons and materials we develop are practical, relevant to the classroom, and grounded in real research evidence that truly meets students’ needs.
Begin a conversation
Philanthropic partners play a vital role in enabling these ambitions and ensuring that evidence leads to action. We welcome confidential, exploratory conversations with individuals, families, trusts, and foundations interested in philanthropic partnership.
To discuss philanthropic giving, strategic investment, or long-term support, please contact: ginny.kearns@brainwaveshub.org