The UK has some of the world's most respected mental health charities. Three of them — Mind, Samaritans, and Heads Together — are the charity partners for Commandify. Here's what each one does and why we chose them.
Mind: information, support, and advocacy
Founded in 1946 as the National Association for Mental Health, Mind has spent nearly eight decades fighting for better mental health care in England and Wales. Their approach is three-pronged: information, direct support, and systemic advocacy.
On the information side, Mind's website is one of the most comprehensive mental health resources in the world, accessed 25.3 million times in 2023–24 alone. Their helplines answered 122,000 queries in the same period. But Mind doesn't just provide support — they campaign for change. Their "Fund the Hubs" and "Raise the Standard" campaigns push for better funding and better care at a systemic level.
What makes Mind particularly effective is their efficiency: 83p of every £1 donated goes directly to services. That's an exceptionally high ratio for a charity of their size.
Samaritans: the lifeline
Samaritans was founded in 1953 by the Rev. Chad Varah, a Church of England vicar who was moved to act after conducting the funeral of a 14-year-old girl who had died by suicide because she had no one to talk to. His response was to set up a phone line — one that anyone could call, at any time, for free.
Seventy years later, Samaritans answers a call for help every 10 seconds. Their 23,000 volunteers are trained in active listening, not advice-giving — the goal is to help callers feel heard, not to tell them what to do. This approach is backed by decades of research into what actually helps people in crisis.
Beyond the helpline, Samaritans works in schools, prisons, and with the military — reaching people in the environments where crisis is most likely to occur.
Heads Together: changing the conversation
Heads Together is different from the other two in an important way: it's primarily a campaign, not a service provider. Spearheaded by The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, its goal is to change the cultural conversation around mental health — to make it as normal to talk about your mental health as it is to talk about your physical health.
The campaign gained enormous momentum when it was chosen as the 2017 London Marathon Charity of the Year. But its most lasting contribution may be the programmes it has funded: Mentally Healthy Schools (600+ free lesson plans for primary teachers), Mental Health at Work (free employer resources), and Shout 85258 (a free 24/7 crisis text service).
Why these three?
We chose Mind, Samaritans, and Heads Together because together they cover the full spectrum of mental health support: information and advocacy (Mind), crisis intervention (Samaritans), and cultural change (Heads Together). Whatever aspect of mental health matters most to you, one of these organisations is working on it.
When you choose your charity partner on Commandify, you're not just picking a recipient for forfeited funds — you're aligning your personal accountability practice with a cause that reflects your values.