Honest answers to fair questions
The Institute would rather be clear than impressive. Here is what it is, what it is not, and how it fits alongside the app and the Alliance.
What is the Kensora Institute?
An independent Arkansas nonprofit corporation for open, honest research and education in mental-health technology, incorporated July 6, 2026. It will seek federal 501(c)(3) recognition. It is newly incorporated, and its programs are described as intent, not as operations running today.
Is the Institute part of Kensora, the app company?
No. The Institute is a separate legal entity from Kensora, Inc., the Delaware public benefit corporation that makes the Kensora app. It shares the Kensora name under a royalty-free, non-exclusive, revocable trademark license, and the intent is a board with a genuinely independent majority. Governance and transparency describes the relationship honestly, including where the two touch.
Are contributions tax-deductible?
No contributions are solicited here, and none would be tax-deductible today. The Institute is not yet federally tax-exempt; a 501(c)(3) determination will be sought. If that changes, it will be stated plainly here.
What will the Institute actually do?
Four intended programs. The Open Research Commons is the anchor: an open-source mental-health model, independent validation research, and public safety evaluations. The Access & Resources Fund maintains openly verified crisis-line data and works to widen access for people who cannot pay. Open Education offers plain-language public education about mental health and how mental-health technology actually works. Voices of Experience centers people with lived experience of mental illness in how research and tools are built. A governance function called Data Dignity watches over how any contributed data could ever be used. See the programs →
Is anything running today?
No. The Institute was incorporated on July 6, 2026, and nothing described on this site operates yet. Every page distinguishes intent from present operations, and there are no publications yet. That is stated rather than dressed up.
Who runs it?
The Institute is founder-led and new; no board is seated yet. The stated intent, before the Institute seeks 501(c)(3) recognition, is a board with a genuinely independent majority: directors with no financial stake in Kensora the company. Names will be published when directors are actually seated, not before.
Does the Institute give medical advice or diagnose anything?
No. Nothing on this site is a medical claim or a diagnosis. Anything forward-looking is research in development: provisional, honest, and never a diagnosis.
Is this a crisis service?
No. The Institute is not a crisis or emergency service. If you or someone you know may be in danger, contact your local emergency number now. In the US, you can call or text 988. See crisis resources →
How is the Institute different from the Kensora Alliance?
They are separate organizations with separate jobs. The Institute is a research and education nonprofit seeking 501(c)(3) recognition. The Kensora Alliance is an advocacy nonprofit seeking 501(c)(4) recognition, organized around the idea that mental health is a human right. Both were incorporated in Arkansas on July 6, 2026, and both are distinct from Kensora, Inc., the company that makes the app.
How can I help?
There are no-money ways to take part as the Institute stands up: use the app and be honest about it, tell someone who needs it, follow the work, or reach out if you are a researcher, clinician, or a person with lived experience who wants a voice in it. Ways to help →
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