Hey everyone,
As some of you know, I was planning on raising enough money to make On The Borderline an official (501(c)(3)) non-profit organization. However, I’m too busy at this point to make that happen. We have had several donations from people and have made a couple hundred dollars. Since I won’t be using that money for this organization anymore, I thought that I could donate the money to another cause– but I want your input! Here are the options:
- www.tara4bpd.org : “The Treatment and Research Advancements Association for Personality Disorder, TARA APD, is a 501 C3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster education and research in the field of personality disorder, specifically but not exclusively Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD); to support research into the causes, psychobiology and treatment of personality disorders; to support and I encourage educational programs and endeavors targeting mental health professionals, consumers of mental health services, families and/or the community at large in order to reduce stigma and increase awareness of personality disorder, to disseminate available information on etiology and treatment and to lawfully advocate for accomplishments of these goals.”
- www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.com : “Formed in 2001, the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA-BPD), is a non-profit organization staffed by volunteering consumers, family members, and professionals. NEA-BPD seeks to “Advance the BPD Agenda” by raising public awareness of BPD, providing education, and promoting research about borderline personality disorder through a variety of programs. For example, with partial funding from a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), NEA-BPD has hosted over 30 conferences worldwide, featuring internationally recognized BPD researchers and scientists. All NEA-BPD conferences encourage attendance by professionals, family members and consumers alike.”
- www.buddhaandborderline.com : “The Buddha and the Borderline is the first ever memoir to describe the recovery process utilizing these new, cutting edge treatments and Buddhism. Kiera Van Gelder’s finely-honed literary talent offers us a stunning and intimate look into a life-threatening condition that has been a shameful secret even among those with mental illness.”
The next option is not a BPD organization, but I think it’s a great cause to donate to. I know they’re trying to raise money to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and I’d love to help them out:
- www.facebook.com/defeatdepression (new website, ddepression.org coming soon!) : “Helping teens and young adults with mental illness since 2007. Defeat Depression was started to help teens and young adults who struggle with depression/mental illness overcome the everyday obstacles.”
Which organization would you like to see the money donated to? Please take our survey here.
“Voting” will be open until Friday, May 13th, 2011.
Filed under: update | Tagged: borderline, borderline personality, borderline personality disorder, bpd, cause, charity, mental health, mental illness, nonprofit, nonprofit organization, on the borderline |
On The Borderline's Blog 
NEA-BPD is an amazing organization. I have attended a few of their conferences and read up on their programs. They are a wonderful organization to donate too.
I recently asked Dr. Hoffman if there was anyway I could help get them going with a Social Media presence on twitter or facebook.
What is your goal? If it’s to help the world understand BPD from the consumer point of view, I would give it to kiera Van Gelder who is promoting her memoir and has been working basically for free for years as an advocate. She is leaving this soon because she can’t affort to give her time away, but she may do this one last thing.
Donating the money to Kiera Van Gelder is a great idea! I’ll add her to the list.
Also, for what it’s worth, NEABPD and TARA are large organizations and have funding sources already. That is one option. But giving to a smaller org. or person could have a bigger impact. Florida will be no longer active as of the end of this month.