ADAMH Board of Franklin County
Bridging Sectors to Build a
First-of-Its-Kind Crisis Care Center
“She believed with all her heart that when you are experiencing a mental health crisis the community shouldn’t ask you to figure out the system, what door to knock on, at what time, and with what insurance.”
These are the words of a daughter whose mother — Nancy Jeffrey — was not only tireless in her advocacy for mental health, but also far ahead of her time.
Decades ago, Nancy was calling for increased awareness of and investment in mental health services. She envisioned what has been created all these years later, and her daughters made a transformational philanthropic gift in their parents’ memory that helped to complete the campaign goal.
Led by Erika Clark Jones, the Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (ADAMH) fulfilled this long-held vision by opening the Franklin County Crisis Care Center.
ADAMH partners with more than 30 behavioral health providers to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services across Franklin County, and planning effectively for future needs is one of their strengths.
But as a publicly funded government agency, they focus on keeping their complex operations running smoothly — not raising philanthropic support or stewarding donor relationships.
When ADAMH approached us, they had been carrying out comprehensive community planning for several years. They were well into an ambitious $60 million capital campaign to create a state-of-the-art crisis care center, the first facility of its kind in the nation dedicated to comprehensive, immediate support for individuals in mental health or substance use crisis.
Based on their exceptional impact and deep government relationships, they had secured substantial public funding. However, a gap remained to reach their campaign goal.
We recognized the moment as the perfect time for Mollard Consulting to join the effort.
Drawing on years of previous experiences, we built a compelling case for cross-sector partnership that framed a meaningful value proposition for private funders.
Our campaign counsel helped ADAMH leverage its existing public-sector and hospital commitments to unlock significant private-sector investment — raising nearly $11 million in private philanthropy.
Yet it was about so much more than money.
Our invitation to private donors brought forth more personal stories than we’ve ever encountered in a campaign. The response was almost visceral, as if donors were waiting to see a seed of public support that they could cultivate into reality to meet the need they knew so well. Over and over, donors began our conversations with the words “let me tell you about…” and concluded them with meaningful gifts.
The result was a fully funded campaign — and, in turn, a transformative project that will soon offer immediate, coordinated care to individuals and families in their time of greatest need. The center is expected to open this summer and will provide a no-wrong-door approach to ensure any adult arriving at the facility receives services.
Public/private philanthropic partnerships are a specialty of Mollard Consulting, and our work with ADAMH is a particularly moving example.
We’ll always be proud to have played a role in accelerating ADAMH’s mission and bringing to life the type of center that Nancy Jeffrey knew would have a profound impact on the people and community that she was so committed to serving.
“The Franklin County Crisis Care Center is more than a building — it’s a promise to our community that those in crisis will be met with dignity, care, and hope. We are grateful for the incredible generosity of our philanthropic partners who stepped forward to ensure this vision for enhanced crisis care became a reality.”
Anne Jeffrey Wright (at right) with her sisters, Betsy Balderson (left) and Sally O’Neill (center).
Photo by Ian Alexander