NBCC FOUNDATION INC
Bridging the gap in access to quality mental health services.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Millions of people around the globe and across the street have little or no access to mental health services. The NBCC Foundation is bridging this gap. NBCC Foundation is a charitable affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC). Since 2005, the Foundation has enabled donors to meet the mental health needs of underserved communities through leveraging the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Rural Scholarship Program
The NBCC Foundation scholarship program is designed to increase the availability of counselors in underserved areas. The rural scholarship increases access to needed counseling services in remote areas. It provides financial support to students who are currently enrolled in a master's-level CACREP-accredited counseling program and who commit to serving in rural areas after graduation. Since 2010, the rural scholarship program has awarded 79 scholarships to rural students in support of their counseling education.
Military Scholarship Program
The NBCC Foundation scholarship program is designed to increase the availability of counselors in underserved areas. The military scholarship encourages counselors with military experience or spouses of those with military experience to continue serving this population. It provides financial support to service members and veterans, or their spouses, who are currently enrolled in a master's-level CACREP-accredited counseling program and who commit to serving military personnel after graduation. Since 2010, the military scholarship program has awarded 76 scholarships to counseling students in recognition of their commitment to serving military veterans, active duty, and their families and to support their counseling education.
Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) Training Program
The Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) program is designed to improve access to mental health care within a given community by educating and training professionals, paraprofessionals and lay people in the basics of mental health. The intent is not to create a new mental health profession, but rather to provide individuals with the tools and skills necessary to identify mental health needs, make referrals, and work with and support those in need of mental health care. The MHF program is only introduced at the request of local mental health experts. NBCC's International Capacity Building Department provides a 30-hour core curriculum, which includes a basic structure for teaching helping skills, working with integrity, diversity awareness, suicide prevention, trauma response, and referral and consultation techniques. To ensure cultural appropriateness, the training program is evaluated and modified as needed to fit cultural norms prior to being presented and has also been translated to other languages as needed.
The MHF program has been implemented in Bhutan, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda, Mexico, Tanzania, Uganda, and Haiti, as well as the United States.
Doctoral Minority Fellowship Program
The NBCC Foundation fellowship program is designed to increase the availability of counselors in underserved areas. The Doctoral Minority Fellowship increases access to needed counseling services to underserved populations. It provides financial support to students who are currently enrolled in a doctoral-level CACREP-accredited counseling program and who commit to serving underserved populations after graduation. Since 2013 the Doctoral Minority Fellowship Program has provided 198 students with $20,000 scholarships to support their counseling education.
Master's Mental Health Minority Fellowship Program
The NBCC Foundation Mental Health Minority Fellowship program is designed to increase the availability of counselors in underserved areas. It increases access to needed counseling services for underserved populations. It provides financial support to students who are currently enrolled in a master's-level CACREP-accredited counseling program and who commit to serving underserved populations after graduation. Since 2015, the master's-level MFP for mental health counselors has provided 221 students with up to $10,000 to support their counseling education.
Master's Addictions Minority Fellowship Program
The NBCC Foundation Addictions Counselors Minority Fellowship Program is designed to increase the availability of addictions counselors in underserved areas. It increases access to needed addictions counseling services for underserved populations. It provides financial support to students who are currently enrolled in a master's-level addictions counseling program and who commit to providing addictions counseling services to underserved populations after graduation. Since 2015, the master's-level MFP for addictions counselors has provided 260 students with up to $15,000 to support their counseling education.
NBCC Foundation Webinars
In its efforts to enhance care for underserved communities and to provide ongoing training to National Certified Counselors (NCCs) and Foundation scholars and fellows, the NBCC Foundation proudly offers the Innovations in Counseling webinar series and the Building Professional Excellence webinar series. NBCCF offers live webinars, many of which are recorded and made available via the CCE Academy platform a few weeks after the live session.
NBCC Foundation Bridging the Gap Symposium
NBCC Foundation hosts the Bridging the Gap Symposium: Eliminating Mental Health Disparities for board certified counselors (NCCs), counseling students, NBCC Foundation fellows and scholars, and other mental health professionals and counselor educators. The conference focuses on topics such as trauma, addictions, and other counseling focuses that inform and benefit those working with populations such as transition-age youth, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other underserved and underrepresented communities and communities that lack essential mental health care resources. The conference also focuses on professional development of counselors including networking, supervision, research and publishing, and advocacy.
Community Capacity Building Program
NBCC Foundation supports efforts to build communities' capacity to provide mental health care appropriate to the local culture and resources.
The Foundation has supported regional capacity-building approaches in Jacksonville, Florida; Colorado Springs, Colorado; DeKalb County, Georgia; and Montgomery, Alabama. The approach consists of community identification of gaps, targeted fund development and implementation of the following initiatives:
The Veterans Initiative in Jacksonville: Increasing access to mental health services for veterans.
The Mental Health in Schools Initiative: Increasing mental health support in schools through implementation of the MHF program.
The Colorado Veterans Health and Wellness Agency: Increasing access to mental health services for veterans in Colorado Springs
The Foundation also implements the Mental Health Facilitator Program (MFF) domestically and internationally to increase mental health support tailored for each community.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
NBCC Foundation Webinars
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Starting October 2013, NBCC Foundation provides up to two webinars per month to NCCs, CCE credential holders, and Foundation scholars and fellows. Number of events per month/year varies.
Number of entrance scholarships and awards and exit scholarships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
NBCC Foundation has been awarding scholarships since 2010. In 2013, NBCCF introduced the MFP Doctoral Fellowship to increase recipients and in 2015 expanded to include the MFP Master's Fellowships.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
To improve the mental health of the underserved and never served throughout the world, the NBCC Foundation leverages the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change. Its primary objectives are to increase the number of counselors and Mental Health Facilitators working with high-priority populations and to engage them in becoming innovators of counseling practices that benefit the underserved.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Scholarships, capacity-building grants, and innovative training are the primary tools for accomplishing the objectives of increasing the number of National Certified Counselors; ensuring that they work in high priority areas; and engaging them in the innovation of counseling practices for underserved military, rural, and minority communities.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Some accomplishments
• NBCC Foundation Scholars and Fellows (scholarship awardees) serve military, rural, and underserved minority communities in 38 of the 50 United States and three additional countries.
• NBCC Foundation Volunteers mentor, supervise, or otherwise support beginning counselors and counselors-in-training in 37 of the 50 United States and two additional countries.
• Capacity building initiatives have given expanded access to mental health care for veterans in Colorado Springs, CO and Jacksonville, FL, and enabled key staff throughout the school system to develop mental health facilitation skills including early identification of needs, crisis intervention and referral skills to support students in DeKalb County, GA.
• The NBCC Mental Health Facilitation program has been implemented in communities throughout Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Central America, bringing peer-based helping skills to communities where professional services are scarce.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Some accomplishments
• NBCC Foundation Scholars and Fellows serve military, rural, and underserved minority communities in 38 of the 50 United States and three additional countries.
• NBCC Foundation Volunteers mentor, supervise, or otherwise support beginning counselors and counselors-in-training in 37 of the 50 United States and two additional countries.
• Capacity building initiatives have given expanded access to mental health care for veterans in Colorado Springs, CO and Jacksonville, FL, and developed mental health facilitation resources to support students in DeKalb County, GA.
• The NBCC Mental Health Facilitation program has been implemented in communities throughout Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Central America, bringing peer-based helping skills to communities where professional services are scarce.
NBCCF aims to have scholars and fellows increasing mental health access in all 50 states, and MHF resources in as many under served communities as possible.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
NBCC FOUNDATION INC
Board of directorsas of 09/27/2022
Rhonda Bryant
Strategic Resource Development
Tahani Dari
The University of Toledo
Kylie Dotson-Blake
NBCC and Affiliates
Rhonda M. Bryant
University of the Pacific
Amy DeGroot-Hammer
Buena Vista University
Tahani Dari
University of Toledo
Robert Horne
North Carolina Central University
John Jewett
Christopher Townsend
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data