MoneyStack, a financial counseling platform built for behavioral healthcare, has raised US$1 million in new funding led by Cistern Capital. The round included participation from the American Heart Association's Social Impact Funds, O'Shaughnessy Ventures, Sidecut Ventures, Gaingels, and angel investors. This brings the company's total funding to date to nearly US$2 million and supports its effort to integrate financial counselors into behavioral health treatment, beginning with gambling addiction.
Addressing a Critical Gap
MoneyStack addresses a gap between financial support people need and what they are often offered. Founder and CEO Alex De Marco said that gap becomes more consequential when a financial crisis is tied to a behavioral health condition such as gambling addiction. Clinical teams treat the disorder, but debt, tax issues, and a strained relationship with money often remain unaddressed.
The Health Impacts of Financial Distress
Financial distress and mental health can fuel each other. Research shows 86% of people with lived experience of mental health problems said finances worsened their mental health, while 72% said mental health problems worsened their finances. A 2025 study of more than 280,000 adults also found financial strain and food insecurity were among the strongest social determinants tied to accelerated cardiac aging.
The need extends across mental health conditions, substance use, addictions, and impulse-control disorders. In gambling disorder, money is part of the behavior itself, and financial struggles were cited in 73% of conversations with the National Problem Gambling Helpline in 2025. An estimated 2.5 million U.S. adults have a severe gambling problem, with another 5 to 8 million experiencing mild or moderate problems.
Funding Purpose and Investor Support
MoneyStack will use the funding to continue building technology purpose-built for financial counseling within behavioral healthcare, including GamFin for gambling addiction. The company also plans to translate counseling experience and client data into tools that use financial transaction data to identify early signs of financial harm. This can help counselors and clients plan ahead rather than respond after a crisis.
Lisa Suennen, managing partner of American Heart Association Ventures, noted that rising gambling rates and mobile betting can increase financial stress, depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular risk. She said MoneyStack's approach aligns with the Social Impact Funds' focus on moving upstream to improve health and opportunity. This investor support highlights the growing recognition of financial health as part of overall wellbeing.
A Preventive and Holistic Model
Nate Kline, founder and managing general partner of Cistern Capital, said MoneyStack was the first investment in Cistern Wellness Ventures II because it attacks a root cause that the healthcare system largely ignores. He noted that treating gambling addiction is incomplete if someone remains burdened by debt, tax problems, and financial instability. He described the model as bringing financial care directly into recovery and addressing financial and emotional wellness together.
Integrated Care in Practice
MoneyStack contracts with behavioral health providers, state agencies, and other third-party payers to integrate specialized financial counseling into existing care programs. The company is a member of the Techstars Economic Mobility Accelerator class of 2023, and its investor base also includes the Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Fintech Fund, and Techstars. By embedding financial counseling in treatment settings, MoneyStack seeks to lower overall healthcare costs and risks for payers while improving client recovery.
MoneyStack's new funding arrives as gambling expansion and mobile betting increase demand for integrated financial and behavioral health support. The company's model places financial counselors within clinical programs to help individuals stabilize acute distress, reduce relapse risk, and improve long-term recovery outcomes. By treating financial health as part of behavioral healthcare, MoneyStack aims to close a critical gap that affects millions of Americans.