Business Wire: March 10, 2021 - The Sozosei Foundation, a U.S.-based, private charitable foundation, awarded a total of $75,000 in grants to three organizations in Texas that are providing local disaster recovery relief. These grants are drawn from Sozosei’s Disaster Relief and Recovery Philanthropy Program in response to the catastrophic winter storm that recently swept through Texas and left millions of people without power or basic necessities.
Associated Press: Jan 8, 2021 - The Sozosei Foundation, a charitable foundation established by Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., recently convened its inaugural summit on decriminalizing mental illness. During the three-day event in December 2020, Sozosei brought together more than 200 multi-disciplinary stakeholders—including advocates, people with lived experience, policy makers, academics, philanthropic leaders, and other experts on mental health and criminal justice—to share knowledge and perspectives focused on creating a future where mental illness is not treated as a crime in the United States.
Philanthropy New York: September 25, 2020 – The Sozosei Foundation, a new philanthropy, has been launched to address the over-incarceration of people with mental illness and is convening an inaugural summit December 14-16 on this topic. Sozosei will also lead corporate social responsibility activities focused on disaster relief and local philanthropy, which will be centered on equity and sustainability. The Foundation will announce additional health-related program areas in 2021. The Sozosei Foundation has received its initial funding from Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Correctional facilities in the US are considered the largest provider of mental health services.1 The Sozosei Foundation is tackling the question—"What can be done to accelerate solutions so that we eliminate the inappropriate use of jails and prisons for mental health care?” But tackling the criminalization of mental illness is complex and there is no single solution or ‘magic bullet’ to eliminate the use of jail or prison for the treatment of people with mental illness. Identifying effective solutions is difficult, in part, due to the limited availability of data needed to evaluate whether solutions work.
To understand the Sozosei Foundation’s approach to impact, a team from the RAND Corporation interviewed grantees, representatives from partner organizations and thought leaders; reviewed scientific and grey literature; and met bi-weekly with the Foundation’s Executive Director. This document summarizes what the RAND team learned about the Foundation’s approach to impact and an evaluation strategy that aligns with this approach.
The Sozosei Foundation launched its Resilient Communities Program (RCP) in the summer of 2020 at the request of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OAPI), with the intent of evolving the company’s longstanding commitment to philanthropy. The goal of the program was to refine the company’s philanthropic commitment by designing guidelines and priorities to support diverse, under-resourced communities where the company has a presence. Over the two years of its grantmaking, the program provided over $1 million in grants and served over 177,000 people across six target communities.
When COVID-19 swept across the United States in the Spring of 2020, Sozosei had just formalized its governance structure and was in the midst of a national search for its inaugural executive director. Simultaneously, Sozosei – with leadership from its Board of Directors — moved swiftly to address the immediate needs of patients, healthcare workers, and families impacted by COVID-19.