About Zephyr Impact
Strengthen philanthropy by guiding families and donors to build collaborative, high-impact funding portfolios that support breakthrough solutions to society’s most pressing challenges, beginning with youth wellbeing and the youth mental health crisis.
Focus Areas
youth mental healthsocial and emotional learning (SEL)mindfulness in schoolsPK-12 education partnershipscapacity-building for community-based organizations
Who They Fund
K-12 studentsteachers and school staffentire school communities / school districts
Funding Style
school-wide transformationcapacity building (teacher & staff training)program implementation / scaling
About Zephyr Impact
A pair of large unrestricted investments in Mindful Life Project anchor Zephyr Impact’s recent giving: $380,000 in 2023 and $320,000 in 2024, both aimed at transforming schools through mindfulness-based social emotional learning. That pattern fits a funder built around youth wellbeing rather than one-off program sponsorships. Zephyr Impact supports nonprofits working with PK-12 students, teachers, and school communities, with a strong emphasis on social and emotional learning, school climate, and student mental health. The foundation also backs collaborative efforts that combine grant funding with capacity-building support and peer learning. Recent grants show two clear layers of activity. At one level, Zephyr Impact makes larger, flexible commitments to organizations advancing school-based wellbeing work. At another, it uses cohort-style starter grants to help community-based nonprofits strengthen their work in and around schools. The result is a portfolio that pairs deeper partnerships with smaller entry points, all tied to youth mental health, SEL, and whole-school approaches. Zephyr Impact’s giving is national, and its recent grants have all gone to U.S. recipients.
What Zephyr Impact Funds
Zephyr Impact’s topic areas cluster around youth mental health and school-based wellbeing. In 2024, it gave $20,000 to PLUS ME Project in Los Angeles for the same school-transformation purpose used across its recent grants, showing support for community organizations working with students through SEL and mental wellness. The foundation also funds school-climate work outside traditional counseling models. It awarded $20,000 to Open Future Institute in New York and $20,000 to Peace in Schools in Portland, both tied to the same mindfulness-based social emotional learning theme. Its portfolio also includes educator and school-community partnerships, reflected in grants to Our Minds Matter in Vienna and Guitars Over Guns in Miami. Across these awards, the recurring thread is comprehensive support for PK-12 wellbeing programs rather than isolated interventions.
How Zephyr Impact Gives
Zephyr Impact’s recent grant sizes are bimodal: the typical grant size is $20,000 at the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile, while a separate pair of awards to Mindful Life Project was much larger at $380,000 and $320,000. That mix suggests a structure that combines cohort-style starter grants with larger collaborative commitments. The foundation is classified as a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. The 2023 Spark Cohort was open to unsolicited applications, while other described initiatives were invitation-based or selected-partner models.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$5M
Total Assets
$3.7M
Total Revenue
$667K
Total Expenses
$5.8M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $20K and $170K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$170K
Geographic Reach
National5 states funded
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Andrew Smiles
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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