Founders Circle

1. Founders Circle

2. Named in honor of our founding survivor families and scientists, TheFounders Circle has been established to recognize those individuals who make an annual unrestricted, non-event contribution to AFSP of $1,000-$5,000.

3. The Benefits of a Founders Circle Gift • Select from priority program areas identified by AFSP that you would like to see all the Founders Circle gifts support.At the end of the fiscal year, June 30th, the votes will be counted and the Founders Circle gifts will be directed towards the program with the most votes. • Receive a letter stating where the Founders Circle funds will be directed once decided on. • Receive email and mail updates from the Executive Director, providing insights on new program developments within AFSP. • Recognition in AFSP’s Annual Report. • Have an impact at the local level - Founders Circle Gifts made to the local chapter will be shared equally between National and the chapters. • Personal Invitations to events that highlight the program area the Foundations Circle will be supporting.

4. Priority Areas to Vote From Youth Prevention and Education Programs • The Interactive Screening Program is AFSP’s signature prevention program; the ISP is a web-based method for anonymously connecting college students at risk for suicide to a counselor who provides information and support for help-seeking. • More Than Sad: Teen Depression educates high school students about depression, the leading risk factor for suicide in both adults and teens. Presenting vignettes of four teens that were treated for depression, this educational program aims to teach adolescents to recognize depression in themselves or their friends, and to encourage them to seek help. • After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools provides information, tools, and guidance to schools that have been touched by the tragedy of a suicide. The Toolkit covers Crisis Response, Helping Students Cope, Working with the Community, Memorialization, Social Media, Suicide Contagion, and Bringing in Outside Help.

5. Priority Areas to Vote From Research AFSP-funded research has produced ground-breaking new information for the field—identifying alterations in brain structure and function that are associated with suicide, developing treatments to give people at risk tools to combat their troubling thoughts and prevent suicidal behavior, and determining that barriers on bridges can reduce suicide rates from jumping without substantial increases in deaths from nearby bridges. Findings like these have increased our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie suicide and shaped prevention efforts in the U.S. as well as other parts of the world.

6. Priority Areas to Vote From Survivor Programs • International Survivors of Suicide Day is an annual event where survivors of suicide loss gather together in locations around the world to feel a sense of community, to promote healing, and to connect with others that have had similar experiences. • AFSP’s Survivor Outreach Program is for people who have recently lost someone to suicide and often find it helpful to meet and speak with another person who has experienced this kind of loss in the past. AFSP’s local chapters provide the opportunity for a trained survivor to meet with a recently bereaved survivor to give support and comfort during a difficult time. • AFSP provides 8-10 trainings throughout the year nationwide to support group facilitators who then go out and create their own support groups in their local community.