Introducing Ember Fellowships: Targeted Impact & Storytelling Support

Nov 12, 2025

Introducing Ember Fellowships: Targeted Impact & Storytelling Support

Ember’s global call-out 2024 drew over 1,800 applications, and interviews with 900+ community-based mental health initiatives (CBMHIs) worldwide gave us rich insight into the journeys and challenges of these organisations. 

Among them, we found a distinct group: CBMHIs with strong teams, robust structures, and clear visions for the future. They need focused support in very specific areas, such as capturing their impact or telling their stories in creative and compelling ways. 

SOLUTION

Our answer? Ember Fellowships — six-month, high-touch programmes offering targeted support where it matters most in their organisational journey: impact and storytelling. Each Fellowship provides a stipend, tailored mentorship, and collaboration with Ember’s Creative and Impact teams to co-create tangible outputs. 

This isn’t our full mentorship model. Instead, it’s customised, short-term support designed to strengthen visibility, impact, and confidence, helping CBMHIs unlock their next stage.

This approach reflects Ember’s values — adapting our model to respond directly to the evolving needs of the global mental health landscape. By listening closely to CBMHIs, Ember has designed support that goes beyond one-size-fits-all approach. The Fellowships provide the right push at the right time — helping organisations amplify their voices, evidence their impact, and step confidently into their next stage. 

And as we’ve seen through years of partnership, the ability to capture impact and communicate stories is integral to an organisation’s sustainability. High-quality outputs — whether a photo essay, theory of change, branding package, website, pitch document, or research piece — not only showcase a community-based mental health initiatives work but also strengthen organisational credibility, widen their sphere of influence, and position them stronger for strategic opportunities.

 

IMPACT FELLOWSHIP 

CBMHIs capture and collect data but lack the right resources to measure and communicate their impact. The Impact Fellowship aims to support CBMHIs to capture and articulate their impact: strengthening accountability, credibility, and fundraising potential. The recipients of Ember's 2025 Impact Fellowship are:

DeStigma, Ukraine is a non-governmental organisation providing psychosocial support to people with mental health conditions and their families in the Lviv Region of Ukraine. Through a community-based centre for social rehabilitation and psychotherapy, Destigma’s mission is to fight stigma and promote access to mental healthcare away from institutions, including for individuals and communities affected by war and displacement.  

REDIGE (Red por la Igualdad de Género; Network for Gender Equality), Mexico is a network for promoting mental and emotional wellbeing among women activists, human rights defenders, and survivors of violence in Mexico. Through intensive workshops and support groups, REDIGE aims to promote collective care and provide practical tools for those on the frontlines of efforts to fight for justice and eradicate gender-based violence. 

The Garderenes Initiative, Ghana is a non-governmental organisation committed to safeguarding the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents in Ghana. Founded in 2024, the organisation delivers clinical and community-based programmes through partnerships with hospitals, schools, and professional bodies—providing education, advocacy, screenings, and family support. Its work empowers young people and caregivers through mental health services, mentorship, and capacity-building initiatives. 

STORYTELLING FELLOWSHIP 

CBMHI founders and teams hold powerful narratives, but many lack the resources to capture them. The Storytelling Fellowship aims to support organisations unlock untapped narratives, co-create creative outputs, and showcase their stories to funders and wider audiences. The recipients of Ember's 2025 Storytelling Fellowship are: 

Jan Sahas Social Empowerment Society (JSSES), India is a grassroots organisation in Madhya Pradesh, India, re-imagining mental health care with marginalised communities through a community-led model that integrates systemic change, social support, and community care. Combining barefoot and professional counsellors, JSSES addresses the intersections of caste, gender, livelihood, and migration to build sustainable ecosystems of care. 

Chhahari Nepal for Mental Health, based in Lalitpur, Nepal, is a grassroots organisation committed to supporting individuals and their carers with lived experience of mental illness, many of whom face profound stigma, homelessness, or abandonment. Through sustained outreach, active listening, and the integration of creative and therapeutic modalities, the organisation builds trust and advances person-centred, rights-based recovery. Its work prioritises human rights advocacy, social reintegration, and community empowerment, enabling individuals to restore meaningful connections with their families, peer networks, and broader communities.