Hi Reader,
The number 13 gets a bad rap. There's nothing wrong with that number. So let's go with Lucky 13 this week! Here's what's inside:
- A One Big Win that reminds us that the crises we are now experiencing are the basis for transformational change;
- Two What's Most Goods that show nonprofits are beginning to take steps to meaningfully (and safely) apply AI; and
- AI prompts for creating white board illustrations and putting a little fun in your life.
From Crisis to Creativity to Impact
Last December, one of America’s most critical lifelines for LGBTQ+ young people received a moment it will long remember: a $45 million gift—the largest single donation in its 27-year history—from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
For several years, The Trevor Project has stood on the frontlines of a worsening youth mental health crisis. Its 24/7 hotlines and online crisis services respond to hundreds of thousands of desperate calls, chats, and texts each year from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning young people facing depression, rejection, or thoughts of suicide. But 2025 brought a perfect storm of challenges. The federal government cut $25 million in dedicated funding by ending specialized LGBTQ+ services within the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. That loss came on top of internal upheaval, layoffs, and leadership changes that stretched the organization’s capacity just as demand for support spiked.
Rather than retreat, The Trevor Project launched an emergency fundraising campaign that gathered $20 million in community support—a striking achievement in its own right—and signaled to major donors that the organization was resilient and mission-critical.
That’s when MacKenzie Scott’s team stepped in. Her $45 million gift, made at the end of 2025 but announced early in 2026, didn’t just plug a budget hole—it fundamentally strengthened the nonprofit’s future. This unrestricted gift gives the organization flexibility to bolster core crisis services, invest in long-term sustainability, and innovate in digital and in-person outreach on its own terms.
The impact goes beyond dollars. In an era when mental health crises among marginalized youth are escalating and public health funding is unstable, this gift is a clear signal: support for LGBTQ+ youth belongs to the whole community, and there are investors who still believe in long-term change. For the volunteers who answer 988 calls, for the counselors who chat with teens at risk in the middle of the night, and for the young people who dare to hope, this is more than funding—it is validation of their lives, their challenges, and their right to care.
Playbook
How Other Nonprofits Can Turn Crisis into Generational Support
I consider this "one big win" because every nonprofit can act on this sort of moonshot, and the actions you take now will inevitably pay off with multiples of revenue, even if you don't attract Ms. Scott's attention. When a nonprofit faces upheaval—budget cuts, staffing changes, or rising demand for services—it can feel like survival is the only goal. But The Trevor Project’s recent success teaches a different lesson: transforming crisis into catalytic investment is possible with clear mission alignment, community partnership, and strategic positioning.
1. Lean Into Your Core Purpose
When funding dries up—especially public funding—a nonprofit’s identity must shine brightly. The Trevor Project reaffirmed its foundational mission (suicide prevention and crisis support for LGBTQ+ youth) at every turn, reminding donors and supporters exactly what it does and why it matters. By anchoring communication in urgent, mission-related language, they reinforced that their services were indispensable.
Lesson: Never dilute your core impact story. Clarify what you do and why it matters—especially in crisis—and integrate that narrative into fundraising appeals and public conversation. The Trevor Project could have curled up in a ball and tried to avoid controversy. It did the opposite.
2. Respond with Purposeful Fundraising
Rather than simply lamenting a $25 million government cut, the organization launched an emergency fundraising campaign. This approach didn’t just ask for money—it invited people to stand with the mission in a moment of need. That urgency translated into $20 million in community-backed funds before the major gift arrived.
Lesson: A well-structured emergency campaign can mobilize support quickly. Focus on tangible outcomes and real stories instead of abstract appeals.
3. Use Data to Build a Case
High-net-worth donors and institutional funders need confidence in your effectiveness and stability. The Trevor Project backed its ask with clear evidence of demand—including thousands of crisis interactions and mental health trends—and outlined how unrestricted support would accelerate impact.
Lesson: Use rigorous internal data (service volume, outcomes, demographic reach) to tell a donor exactly why their support matters and how it will be used.
4. Keep "Unrestriction" at the Forefront
Unrestricted funding is a rare but powerful resource. Rather than restricting Scott’s gift to one program, The Trevor Project embraced its unrestricted nature, allowing flexibility to invest where needed most—staff, tech, and future innovations.
Lesson: Cultivate unrestricted support early. Make it clear that flexibility leads to sustainability and innovation.
5. Maintain Transparency and Trust
Amid internal changes, layoffs, and public funding cuts, transparency became a strength, not a vulnerability. The organization communicated openly about challenges, setbacks, and progress—building trust with supporters and amplifying credibility.
Lesson: Honest updates build credibility. Funders respect organizations that share challenges as openly as successes.
6. Align Equity with Impact
The Trevor Project’s work centers a populations most at risk, inherently linking equity to purpose. Articulating the disproportionate mental health challenges LGBTQ+ youth face helped paint a compelling equity narrative that donors could support.
Lesson: When possible, frame your impact within a broader equity context. Donors increasingly recognize that equitable outcomes are essential to lasting change.
7. Plan Beyond the Gift
Finally, a transformational gift is not an endpoint but a beginning. The nonprofit is now focused on thoughtful investment strategies that strengthen core services and ensure long-term sustainability and growth.
Lesson: After receiving major support, shift quickly to strategic planning—align resources with long-term goals and institutional resilience.
Red Cross Starts "Clara AI"
The American Red Cross announced it received an AWS grant to prototype an aid platform using generative AI, including “Clara AI,” a multi-agent platform intended to respond with empathy and support across multiple Red Cross service lines (disaster relief, blood services, military family needs, training). This is not fluff, but instead a specific prototype with a defined use case and funding source (grant-backed), not just “we’re exploring AI.” It’s aimed at a high-volume, high-stakes service environment (where better triage and routing can matter). Crisis response and routing is one of the most important ways AI can help nonprofits. People get tired. AI doesn't.
Social Finance Creates AI Sandbox
Social Finance, a US-based impact finance and advisory nonprofit that designs and manages investments and funding models to measurably improve social outcomes, is running an AI Learning and Innovation Hub described as a sandbox environment where governments can securely explore AI applications, positioned explicitly as a way to test tools and reduce risk before procurement/scale. This is a new operating model (a shared “test-before-you-buy” sandbox + learning structure), not a one-off pilot inside a single agency. Furthermore, it squarely addresses a real blocker: public sector AI experimentation is risky and procurement-heavy, so lowering the cost of experimentation is a meaningful innovation in itself. Let's see this expanded to permit nonprofits to do the same, right?
White Boards
I'm having fun using this prompt to create pictures that say a thousand words:
PROMPT: Transform this PDF into a professor-style whiteboard image, include diagrams, arrows, boxes, and short captions that explain the core ideas visually. Use color highlights to make concepts easy to follow.
(From Superhuman, January 30, 2026.)
Here's an example of an image showing the idea of System 1 and System 2 thinking, as described by Daniel Kahneman in his masterful Thinking, Fast and Slow:
Pretty snazzy.
All Work and No Play?
If you do not mind aspects of your life besides your work, you will be a lopsided person. Here's a prompt to address this.
PROMPT: Propose 12 small experiments I can try this year (one per month) focused on fun, learning, creativity, or relationships. Each experiment must cost under $50 and take under 2 hours to start. Include a clear starting step and what success looks like. Then ask me which to keep, tweak or drop before we finalize the list.
(The Neuron Jan. 1, 2026.)
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As always, let me know what you are working on. I really do adjust the content of this newsletter to the suggestions of you, the reader.
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Ted
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Founder and CEO Risk Alternatives, LLC 202.758.7572 (cell) 608.709.0793 (office) Website
Author of Managing Your Nonprofit for Resilience
We help nonprofits thrive by providing practical tools and support to address uncertainty and improve risk management.
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