Hey Family,
As we look toward 2026, I have to pause and reflect on 2025. And to be honest, calling it a challenging year for The Collective Identity would be an understatement.
For the first time since founding TCI, we had to turn away girls who wanted mentorship simply because we did not have the capacity or funding to support them. That was hard. And it stayed with me.
This year was heavy in ways many of us felt both personally and collectively. By April alone, Black women lost 300,000 jobs, the most of any other demographic. Closer to home, here in Los Angeles, we started the year on fire, literally. Fires ravaged our city, and many members of our community lost their homes, their stability, and their sense of safety all at once. Bringing even more uncertainty to 2025.
Within that reality, TCI stayed focused on what mattered most. In 2025, our work centered on wellness. We listened closely to what our girls needed and when they needed it. We adjusted in real time and created solutions as new needs surfaced. At the same time, we were forced to be more strategic than ever, navigating DEI rollbacks and a funding landscape that continues to shift in ways that disproportionately affect organizations created to support women and people of any color. That led us to a question we asked ourselves often this year: How do you quantify what we do?
It’s a fair question. And it’s not an easy one to answer, because so much of our work is grounded in culture, and culture does not always fit neatly into metrics.
How do you quantify understanding the cultural differences and expectations between African, Afro-LatinX, and Foundational Black American girls and their families, while still showing up in ways that honor all of them? How do you measure late-night phone calls? How do you capture being present through breakups, friendship betrayals, identity shifts, and moments of deep uncertainty?
Yes, we support things that can be measured, such as goal setting, professional development, and academic success. But our work goes far beyond that. We walk alongside our girls as they learn how to set boundaries, find their voices, process disappointment, and navigate a world that asks far too much of them far too early. We don’t want the next generation of Black women to be successful; we want them to be healthy as well, and it starts with the Black girl. As we close out this year, we do so with clarity. The work is not always easy to explain, but it is deeply necessary.
If you’ve been following TCI for a while and have ever considered supporting our work, you should know that many of our supporters began with a small first gift, and every contribution, no matter the size, helps us say yes to one more girl seeking guidance, care, and community. Your support helps fund mentorship, meals, resources, transportation, and the culturally rooted care that allows our girls to thrive. It allows us to keep showing up in the ways that matter most.
As we move into 2026, we are grounded, resilient, and committed to continuing this work. The story is still being written, and I would love for you to be part of what comes next.
Happy New Year!
With gratitude,
Ms. Nicole Lynn
