Prevention Matters was a five-year, $13.5 million initiative of the Fairbanks Foundation. Launched in 2018, the initiative aimed to help Marion County schools identify, implement, and sustain proven substance use prevention programs. Programs implemented as part of Prevention Matters were chosen for their demonstrated ability to equip students with skills that not only help them avoid drugs and alcohol, but also help improve their academic achievement, attendance, classroom behavior, and social and emotional well-being. Further, these programs have been shown to reduce bullying and violence.
The Fairbanks Foundation awarded Prevention Matters grants in two stages.
In January 2018, we invited Marion County schools to apply for non-competitive planning grants of up to $40,000 to learn more about evidence-based prevention programs and develop implementation plans. We awarded planning grants to 44 schools in March 2018.
We invited the planning grant recipients to apply for competitive, three-year grants to implement their selected evidence-based prevention programs. Later in 2018, the implementation grant recipients were announced. Ultimately, 27 school districts, charter schools or networks, and individual schools received full implementation grants. A list of the 27 Prevention Matters grantees and the programs they implemented is available here.
Implementation was disrupted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2021, we invited grantees to apply for a one-year grant extension to help them reestablish strong, in-person prevention programming and strengthen their sustainability plans.
At scale, Prevention Matters supported 27 Marion County school districts, charter schools or networks, and accredited private schools in the delivery of proven prevention programs in 159 schools, reaching nearly 84,000 students annually.
To share outcomes and assist educators in planning and implementing similar programs, the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation co-hosted the Youth Emerging Stronger (YES!) Summit in June 2023. More than 325 Indiana school leaders, educators, and philanthropic partners spent the day discussing how best to improve youth mental health and prevent substance use. The YES! Summit was held in partnership with the Indiana Department of Education, the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction, the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte, and North Central Health Services.
Below, you will find a variety of resources used to inform the Prevention Matters initiative, as well as links to evaluations and lessons learned documents for educators and funders interested in replication. For more information on Prevention Matters, contact our program team.