Building the Philanthropic Engine of the Recovery Movement

Founded over 20 years ago, the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) originally started as the Sobriety High Foundation, which established the country’s first recovery high schools based in Minnesota. The success of the schools inspired the growth of collegiate recovery programs, which are today operating on more than 300 college campuses across the country.

The Sobriety High Foundation became the National Youth Recovery Foundation, which engaged young people in taking on a leadership role on behalf of their peers in the recovery movement. The Foundation launched Young People in Recovery (YPR) , which is now its own successful, national organization.

NYRF began a collaboration with Christopher Kennedy Lawford, a leading recovery advocate, and merged his vision of a national and international effort to bring together public and private initiatives with the support of pop culture leaders, to build a philanthropic focused recovery foundation that would fuel hope through by engaging those in long term recovery and their family and friends in contributing their time, talents and treasure to assure those in early recovery access to the support they need to sustain their new lives.

Every other medical condition has a philanthropic arm that engages those impacted with vehicles to contribute and fill the gaps that are not covered by public funded programs, workplace benefits and insurance. With 23 million people in recovery and 26 million struggling with SUD it is time for philanthropy to fully engage to advance sustained recovery.

To advance Christopher Kennedy Lawford’s vision of those in recovery and those impacted engage in supporting this effort we became the  Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation.