The Forward Fund connects those seeking healing with financial support, through a confidential process that preserves privacy and dignity.
Forward Fund for Psychedelic Healing
Like so many doing this work, we believe that cost should never be the prohibitive factor in accessing psychedelic therapy. Yet, done most effectively, a trained facilitator must devote a significant amount of time and emotional energy to each of their clients. They need and deserve to be compensated for their work.
We created and contribute to the Forward Fund to increase accessibility to this transformative healing modality, while also paying facilitators fairly. And for clients who have the means, we give them the chance to contribute what they can to pay it forward, replacing the concept of sliding scale pricing.
How it works
Apply for Sponsorship
We’ve designed an application process that removes human biases in awarding sponsorship. We trust applicants to self-identify need and their ability to pay. This contributes to a weighted lottery system that determines who will be granted sponsorship and how much will be awarded.
Get Matched
Sponsored participants will have the opportunity to choose a facilitator based on their preferences. Facilitators are not informed that participants have been supported by the Forward Fund, removing any financial considerations from the healing container.
Find Healing
Facilitators work with participants through preparation, administration, and integration in the regulated setting in Oregon or Colorado. Outcomes are measured and participants are also given the opportunity to pay it forward. Fund contributors are informed of their impact, while keeping participant identity confidential.
Individuals & Corporations Can Pay it Forward
Those who have the means, and who want to help others access this path to healing, are encouraged to join this collaborative.
Founding Partners
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The leading psychedelic care navigation platform, connecting seekers with licensed service providers. Althea is a Public Benefit Corporation.
Introducing the Forward Fund for Psychedelic Healing
Healing is a human right. That’s why it’s so difficult for me to see a price tag put on it–especially one that many cannot afford…
Frequently Asked Questions
What is psilocybin therapy and how does it work?
Psilocybin therapy is a healing modality that uses the psychedelic compound psilocybin to explore consciousness or treat mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and others. The therapy is guided by licensed facilitators in a controlled setting. Clients often experience altered states of consciousness, promoting deep emotional insights and neuroplasticity.
Where are these services legally available?
Currently, psilocybin therapy is legal, under a state-regulated programs in Oregon and Colorado.
How do you select and vet facilitators?
All state licensed facilitators are vetted through a structured process that includes education, supervised experience, consultation, and background checks. Licensed facilitators use Althea’s platform to operate within the states regulations, conduct proper medical screening, record adverse events, and measure outcomes. Some of these facilitators apply to be matched with clients through our platform. Althea is able to utilize quality data to ensure only the most effective facilitators are being matched with clients.
What makes the Forward Fund different from other financial assistance programs?
The Forward Fund is not alone in improving accessibility through lowering the costs of psychedelic therapy. There are other great organizations doing this work like the Sheri Eckert Foundation and Thank You Life. These organizations raise charitable, tax deductible, donations and allocate them to psychedelic therapy.
Meanwhile, the Forward Fund for Psilocybin Therapy focuses on allowing participants to pay it forward through contributing a bit more if they can afford it. These are not tax deductible donations and will likely be smaller contributions that go directly to paying for psilocybin therapy.
If financial contributors, individuals or corporations, are looking to make larger contributions to improving accessibility, and require tax deductions, we would recommend working with a 501c3 in the space. We would be happy to put you in touch with some of these organizations.
For Applicants
Who is eligible to apply for Forward Fund sponsorship?
If financial burden is preventing you from seeking psilocybin therapy, we encourage you to apply for assistance. The fund will work with anyone 21 years and older and is eligible to participate in Oregon or Colorado state psilocybin programs.
How much financial support can I receive?
The Forward Fund will pay facilitator fees directly. This is the largest proportion, often around 75%, of direct expense in psilocybin therapy. Recipients will be awarded a full or partial waiver of facilitator fees, based on their stated financial need. Recipients will not receive funding directly or reimbursements.
Award recipients will still have out-of-pocket expenses that the Forward Fund is not able to cover at the moment. These include Service Center/Healing Center fees and paying for the medicine itself.
Will my facilitator know I'm receiving financial support?
No. Facilitators will not know that you have received financial support from the Forward Fund. This is a key feature of this model that removes any financial consideration from the client/facilitator relationship.
Facilitators who receive client referrals from Althea get paid a standard fee that they set. This fee will be paid to them consistently and in full, regardless of what proportion is paid by the client or the Forward Fund.
What information do I need to provide in my application?
Your application information will remain private. It will not be shared with your prospective facilitator(s) or Forward Fund contributors.
In the application process we will ask you to answer questions to assess your needs. This will help us determine how to best allocate funds to the many applicants. We use standardized questionnaires in assessing financial need (FSS) and well-being (WHO-5). Beyond these, we ask you about what you hope to achieve as well as your contact information.
How will you select who receives sponsorship?
Ultimately, this is a lottery. But it’s not entirely random. We wanted to design a system that wouldn’t require us to make the decision on how to allocate the limited funding to the many people who could benefit. It would be incredibly difficult for any person or group of people to make these types of decisions. So we designed a weighted lottery system.
Every applicant is entered into the lottery at least once. Applicants are asked to self-report financial need and personal well-being using standardized instruments. The scores of these assessments determine if applicants will have more entries into the lottery, thus improving their chances to be chosen. The financial assessment also determines what proportion of facilitator fees will be covered by the fund.
We plan to award applicants once per month, and inform every applicant of their status. Applicants will remain in the lottery pool until they are awarded or inform us they would no longer like to be considered.
If I receive support, am I expected to "pay it forward" later?
Recipients are not obligated to pay it forward but always have the opportunity to contribute what they are able and willing to.
For Contributors
How are my contributions used?
We are committed to ensuring that 100% of your contributions are used to reduce the out-of-pocket expense of psilocybin therapy for people who express financial need. (Althea will even cover transaction fees imposed by payment processors.) To start, these contributions will pay facilitator fees, which are the largest proportion of costs and most directly tied to the quality of the service.
Can I specify how my contribution is used?
In order to simplify distributions, it is difficult for us to manage restricted contributions and ensure funds are allocated based on contributor preferences. While we commit to transparently allocating 100% of contributions to reducing the costs of psilocybin therapy, we are not accepting contributions that further specify how this happens.
How will I know my contribution is making an impact?
Althea is committed to publishing a quarterly report to all contributors that will specify the financials of the fund, including contributions accepted and allocated. Additionally, with permission from recipients, we will report on outcomes and share narratives.
Is my contribution tax-deductible?
Contributions to the Forward Fund are not tax deductible. In order for donations to be tax deductible in the U.S., these charitable donations must be made to a tax exempt, qualified 501(c)(3). While 100% of contributions to the Forward Fund go towards paying for psilocybin therapy, we chose not to be a 501(c)(3) as there are limitations to how these charities can spend contributions. Specifically, since psilocybin is a Schedule 1 substance, it would make it much more difficult for us to pay for psilocybin therapy. Instead, we focus on allowing participants to pay it forward through contributing a bit more if they can afford it. These will likely be smaller contributions where tax deductions aren’t as important.
If you’re looking to make larger donations and claim a deduction, we would be happy to introduce you to the Sheri Eckert Foundation and Thank You Life. These are great organizations who raise charitable, tax deductible, donations and allocate them to psychedelic therapy.
