Frayed? Not!

Hi Reader,

Our communities are frayed. How can we help? Well by reading what's inside this newsletter:

Two "what's most good" entries focused on repairing the civic fabric of our communities (and thereby improving your nonprofit along the way)
AI prompts that help you improve your decisions, check facts, and uncover ways AI can help your nonprofit; and
Board recommendations involving buddies, buckets, and brainstorms.

Paper Becomes Nonprofit

Salt Lake City–based TechBuzz News—a well-known digital publication covering Utah’s tech economy—filed paperwork to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization as of January 19, 2026. The transition formalizes its mission as a community-owned, independent journalism resource serving tech founders, companies, investors, and students, and helps secure its sustainability free from commercial pressures.

Why it’s innovative: This is more than a legal status change—it reframes journalism as ecosystem infrastructure. Instead of operating for profit, TechBuzz’s nonprofit structure is designed to support long-term knowledge sharing, talent development (e.g., internships), and connective community storytelling. That helps reduce fragmentation in a fast-growing sector and positions the outlet as a replicable model for mission-driven local journalism tied to civic and economic development.

Why it's replicable: I don't know about you, but every newspaper I know of has been struggling since the advent of the internet. Perhaps we should all advocate to move the fourth estate into the nonprofit sector. I would rather see newspapers having boards of directors with diffuse views, rather than the oligarchs who increasingly own and abuse every paper of record.

"Be The People" Project Announced

A major new national initiative called “Be The People” was publicly announced in preparation for a July 4, 2026 launch. It’s designed to mobilize millions of Americans around solving local and national challenges such as poverty, addiction, and economic stagnation. The campaign is backed by over 50 philanthropic foundations and major nonprofit partners (including GivingTuesday and Habitat for Humanity) and will operate with more than $200 million in initial funding aimed at supporting grassroots engagement and collaboration among nonprofits, businesses, and community groups.

Why it’s innovative: This isn’t a single program—it’s a sector-wide catalytic initiative seeking cultural and infrastructural change in how civic engagement and problem-solving are framed nationally. By providing coordinated support, storytelling, data measurement, and a shared narrative framework, the campaign aims to strengthen nonprofit collaboration across issues and sectors and expand public participation in sustained community impact.

What would happen if every subscriber to this newsletter spent part of your next all-staff meeting exploring how your nonprofit can play a role in this initiative? Let's do that, and then share the ideas with me. Then follow up. By doing so, you will connect not only with nonprofits that do things that you don't, but also with civic activists and community organizers. You will be part of something much larger and more important than yourselves. The fabric of our democracy is so frayed right now that every hour we spend patching and mending it will redound to each of our organizations, and all of our communities.

Improve Your Decision-making

PROMPT: Act in the role of an expert coach. Help me improve my decision-making skills with practical exercises and mental models. Provide a step-by-step framework for making better choices in high-stakes situations. Include real-world scenarios where I can apply models like first principles thinking, second-order consequences, or probabilistic reasoning. Also, suggest fun decision-making games or thought experiments (e.g., the Monty Hall problem or paradoxes) to sharpen my critical thinking. Bonus: Give me a way to track and analyze my past decisions to identify patterns and improve future choices!

Adapted from Superhuman Newsletter (March 31, 2025).

Make Sure It's True

PROMPT: Fact check each fact in the following output against the original sources to confirm they are accurate. Assume there are mistakes, so don't stop until you've checked every fact and found all mistakes. For each mistake, explain and provide sources from which I can learn the truth.

Adapted from The Neuron (April 4, 2025).

Hidden AI Opportunity for Business Growth

PROMPT: Act in the role of an expert on AI and applying its tools to U.S. nonprofit organizations. Perform deep research on [Your Nonprofit's URL] to uncover three underutilized or overlooked ways AI could add value within its [Key Area]. Think beyond common use cases and suggest a creative yet realistic AI application that could help the company innovate, save costs, meet its mission more effectively, or gain a competitive edge. Force-rank your suggestions based on ease of implementation and lower cost. Briefly explain why each opportunity is often missed and what first step the company should take to explore it further. Focus on providing fresh, practical insight that decision-makers can act on.

Adapted from Neatprompts (July 8, 2025)

Three B's today from the Board (Not Bored) Corner:

Buddies

When new board members join, pair them with a veteran board member as a “buddy” or mentor who can help acclimate them in their first few meetings. During meetings, you can acknowledge the buddies and encourage the new member to lean on their mentor if any clarifications are needed. This practice has been widely used to ensure newcomers get up to speed faster and feel comfortable speaking up. For example, the buddy might reach out before the newbie’s first meeting to explain the agenda, or quietly clarify acronyms during the meeting. Announcing or formalizing these pairings in the meeting signals that your board is intentional about onboarding—which increases early engagement of new directors.

Buckets

Another quick engagement exercise is asking each board member to share one item from their “bucket list” (a personal or professional goal/aspiration). This informal round-robin helps colleagues glimpse each other’s motivations and dreams. It humanizes the boardroom by moving beyond titles and roles. When members articulate a dream—like visiting a certain country or writing a book—it builds mutual understanding and sometimes even uncovers shared interests. Boards that are a bit reserved can use this to open up and create a sense of shared purpose and camaraderie.

Brainstorms

Pose one big question (“What external trend could most reshape us?”) and require each member’s answer in 20 seconds. This democratizes generative thinking, broadens input, and avoids domination by a few vocal members.
Setup & steps: Timer visible.
Rapid responses around table.
If in-person, pass a talking object. If virtual, sequentially unmute, then speaker calls on the next.
To avoid shallow answers, send the prompt ahead of the board meeting.
Success measure: ≥80% participation rate.

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Let me know the results of your brainstorming about the Be the People initiative. Also let me know what else you're focusing on so that I can give you the biggest bang for your buck by tailoring my research to your issues!

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Ted