Listen to the Tide Slowly Turning

Hi Reader,

Well, I was right about the Wisconsin faux-spring. It's now 20 degrees out and feels like 5 degrees. What a difference a day or two make in Madison.

Still, it was another good week for the good guys—lots of exciting developments for the sector that you can use to improve your communities, including:

Three more "What's Most Goods" that provide models that are replicable in NGN subscriber communities.
Two AI prompt resources that will help you avoid AI sycophancy and turn an appraising eye on yourself as a leader.
Notice about a source that I curate for you, but you might be interested in looking at on your own. (You don't have to; I've got you covered.)

Many of you will recognize the song behind the title of this issue: The Moody Blues' The Story of Your Eyes:

Listen to the tide slowly turning,
Wash all our heartaches away.
We are part of the fire that is burning,
And from the ashes we can build another day.

But I'm frightened for your children,
And that the life that we are living is in vain.
And the sunshine we've been waiting for,
Will turn to rain.

Take heart, it says. But don't be delusional. Keep at it. We can make a difference.

Indiana Nonprofit Wins $400K Prize to Expand Foster Youth Credit Program

Indianapolis-based Foster Success earned national recognition – and a $400,000 infusion – to grow its innovative Credit Build Program for teens emerging from foster care. The nonprofit won one of the inaugural Springboard Prizes for Child Welfare, funded by the Aviv Foundation, for its bold approach to help foster youth establish credit and financial stability. Through this program, young people (many lacking family financial support) receive guided, no-risk loans and coaching to build credit histories, enabling them to secure housing, jobs, or education opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach. With the prize funds, Foster Success will scale up to serve at least 60 additional youths in Indiana over two years and develop a toolkit for national replication of the credit-building model. Early results are promising: participants have shown improved financial knowledge and access. This award highlights a creative, cross-sector solution (nonprofit + CDFI partnership) that other communities can adopt to empower high-risk youth with economic tools for independence.

I know many NGN subscribers work with high-risk populations, including some that focus on youth. This seems like a great idea, whether or not you get a Springboard Prize to do it. The next award cycle focuses on 2027, with grants going for two years, so NGN subscribers have an opportunity to think through this and other potential initiatives before having to show any proof of concept.

New Mexico Funds Behavioral Health Expansion for Mothers and At-Risk Youth

Bernalillo County and Albuquerque secured a $2 million state grant to bolster behavioral health services for two vulnerable groups: pregnant/parenting women with substance use disorders and at-risk youth prone to violence. Half the funds will expand the county’s Mariposa Residential Recovery program, allowing mothers recovering from opioid addiction to stay with their children during treatment and receive wraparound support like medical care, relapse prevention, housing assistance and job readiness training.

The other $1 million will sustain the city’s School-Based Violence Intervention Program, which places specialists in schools to spot early warning signs, mediate conflicts, and connect students to help. Schools in the program have reported higher GPAs and graduation rates along with “significant reduction in violence and disruptive behavior.” Local leaders hail this as a win for cross-agency collaboration under New Mexico’s new Health Care Authority, keeping families together and youth on track. For nonprofits, this story underscores how targeted public grants can scale up proven programs addressing substance use and youth violence in tandem. These programs look like something to explore, since they seem replicable in other jurisdictions.

Football Team Aims to Kick Stigma Surrounding Mental Health

The Indianapolis Colts are doubling down on their “Kicking The Stigma” initiative by opening applications for another round of mental health Action Grants to nonprofits. Starting this week, community organizations can apply for grants up to $25,000 to expand grassroots mental health programs, especially those improving access to treatment, supporting youth mental wellness, building the behavioral health workforce, or combating stigma. The Irsay family, which owns the Colts, launched these grants in 2021; since then, over $7.2 million has been donated to more than 65 organizations for mental health causes. The 2026 cycle introduces a two-step application: an initial brief interest form due Feb. 28, followed by invited full applications in April. By structuring all grants at a meaningful level ($150k in a parallel larger grant program) and emphasizing evidence-based approaches, the Colts aim to deepen impact rather than sprinkle many small gifts.

This sports-philanthropy partnership offers a replicable blueprint for engaging new funders (like professional or other teams) in community mental health, while providing immediate funding for nonprofits addressing the youth mental health crisis. Think. What teams (professional and collegiate) are in your area? How do your nonprofits' priorities fit potential areas of importance for the player's sports? There's usually a connection if one thinks, and this model is a great one for building lasting coalitions. Imagine ten nonprofits in the mental health space in Madison approaching any of the UW-Madison teams or the Mallards, and you get the idea. It's potential money for you, plus a potential ongoing source of revenues for your area of focus. NGN subscribers who live near professional teams of any sport have even more opportunities.

De-Sycophantize Your AI

We can't afford sycophants, especially not when we're using AI to improve the lives of people in our communities. For that, we want analysis with a willingness to push back. I'm exploring this by putting these special instructions into my Custom Instructions in ChatGPT: "For research and testing my beliefs, be anti-sycophantic. Don’t fold arguments just because I push back. Stop excessive validation - challenge my reasoning instead. Avoid flattery. Don’t anthropomorphize yourself." I will report back on the results, but I think this will help with AI's tendency to fan-girl me (I don't call her "Chatty Cathy" for nothin'). A prompt like this one was suggested by The Neuron, February 12, 2026.

See Your Blind Spots

I'm a Dan Pink fan. His Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind were instrumental in my transition from a lawyer tool to a person with a mission and agency. Recently he created a video and downloadable set of prompts to help you become more self-aware. As with all thinks Pink, they are extremely valuable. I suggest you take a look. I foresee using these for both personal and organizational reflection. I predict that this self-analysis will help you identify and avoid at least one unforced error and will identify at least one opportunity for growth and effectiveness worth at least $1000. Probably multiples of that. Many of you have heard my call for radical but compassionate candor. That begins with one's self.

Recommendo

Two sources I rely on in finding interesting things for myself and you NGN subscribers are Recommendo (where I learned about the Pink link above) and Recommendo Deals (which list practical items to improve productivity or deal with daily annoyances). Recommendo's editors include Kevin Kelly, the founding editor of Wired Magazine. He and the others do a great job of finding consistently interesting and useful things. I curate these for you, identifying those that are so relevant that a busy nonprofit leader should take time to reflect on them, but I wanted to make sure you were aware in case you wanted to go to that source.

In the most recent Recommendo, they list 26 Useful Concepts for 2026, a post of concepts that are especially relevant in today's tumultuous world. One example is the George Bailey Effect, namely, "Imagining the absence of a blessing increases gratitude more than focusing on the presence of it. Instead of wishing for a Porsche, imagine losing your legs. Suddenly, walking feels like a miracle."

Man, that's an important thought these days.

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I sense that a tide is turning. Cruelty will be called to account, and from the ashes we can build another day. But turn or not, NGN will be there for you.

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I am going to keep the message in orange above for a while, because I want subscribers to suggest issues they are facing so that we can use this newsletter as a solution finder and opportunity knocker, so to speak.

Ted