A Front-Row Seat to Youth Transformation: A Conversation with Tony Doye

What inspired you to join NextGen Thriving’s Board of Directors?
I was there at the initiation, having been part of the founding team at the Foundation. What motivated me was my recent experiences in the nonprofit world, which led me to believe that the for-profit world could do better. This was the perfect combination of my career background in technology consulting and services with the nonprofit work for youth that has been my passion.

How does the mission of NextGen Thriving align with your personal values?
Whether it is my personal values or my personal feelings – because feelings and values do not always align and we do not always live up to our values. But our feelings do drive us. I certainly assume that everybody is born equal and should have the same opportunities – having been fortunate enough to have second chances myself. I am very aligned to the fact that the foundation gives to those that either need a second chance or never have a particularly good first chance.

Can you share a personal story or experience that influenced your decision to get involved?
During my tenure as the Chief Operating Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA, I had the opportunity to meet children and youth around the country from vastly different circumstances, with vastly different surroundings. It really opened my eyes to the disparities and the general lack of opportunity for all. NextGen Thriving strives to offer greater opportunities for those that need it.

What do you see as the biggest impact NextGen Thriving has on the communities served through its Grantees?
I think the biggest impact I have seen is with our long-time grantee Code for Life. They provide sustainable education for youth that would otherwise not get that opportunity. Code for Life has given them a springboard to greater career opportunities. I have seen this impact with my own eyes – it is real, visible impact, and it is sustainable.

In what ways have you contributed to the foundation’s mission during your time on the Board, and what are you most proud of?
In addition to serving as Treasurer, I took an active role as Board Sponsor for the first two grantees: Year Up and JUMA Ventures. Subsequently, I was the main interface with Code for Life for a long time. In this capacity, I attended events in New York, met organizers and participants. It was extremely rewarding to witness and what I am most proud of – identifying, soliciting, choosing organizations like Code for Life that do have a lasting, sustainable tech impact. Then actually seeing them in action, seeing those outcomes improve for youth. Everything else is just a support function. The real joy comes from seeing the results.

Can you tell me a little bit more about what those events were like?
When I visited Code for Life in New York City, I saw the Brooklyn, Harlem, and The Bronx classes in the same day – different age groups in various settings. I also noticed the college students serving as the educators in those classrooms. It was incredible seeing how they could impart such technical education across a diverse group of young people in an after-school setting. I was struck by the enthusiasm for the task at hand by both educators and students. They did all show up after school, they did all engage. They did all of them listen and do the tasks. It showed me there is something quite rewarding on offer to these youngsters. But I was much impressed with the college students who were doing the teaching and earning credits for their degree.

How has being part of NextGen Thriving impacted your life personally or professionally?
Being part of NextGen Thriving has really been a positive continuation of my work at the Girl Scouts. It enabled me to continue my support of youth and given me comfort that I am still involved in some small way supporting underrepresented youth.

What lessons have you learned from serving on the Board?
What I learned early on was setting up clarity of mission, and guard rails around the process of determining who we will and will not support. How we communicate that process of selection is critical. Scope creep can happen in nonprofits, just like it can happen in for-profits, and it is potentially disastrous for those people applying for grants. It can be very disruptive in the selection process and choosing who we support.

The singular lesson is no different in business than it is in nonprofits: the clarity of who you serve, why you serve them, how you choose who you serve and how you manage the process of serving them – is critical. There is a good degree of parallel between business and nonprofits in this way.

Where do you see NextGen Thriving in the next three to five years?
I see NextGen Thriving continuing to thrive and grow. The key to that is funding, which will continue from Silver Tree Consulting & Services as it expands, as well as individual donors. Hopefully, we will attract additional corporate donors as well. It can only thrive – as the name suggests.

What do you hope to achieve in your time as a Board Member?
It is simple – that we maintain our focus, ensure that we choose organizations that are outcomes-focused and can clearly demonstrate their impact.

How can others, whether individuals or businesses, support NextGen Thriving’s mission?
Well in addition to the obvious – supporting us financially! (Donate Here) The key for me and what I want people to understand is, the value that NextGen Thriving adds as grantmaker to the organizations we fund who are delivering programming through effective processes and KPIs. We are not only bringing funds to worthy organizations. Our added value is in ensuring the effective stewardship of the money with an exceptionally low cost of overhead. Too often nonprofit organizations are so mission-focused that it comes at the cost of sustainable infrastructure, proper measurement and evaluation of outcomes, etc. NextGen Thriving supports those critical functions so that nonprofit organizations can focus on what they do best – delivering outcomes.

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Why Fund NextGen Thriving?

• 100% of donations are allocated to our Grants Program thanks to our corporate sponsor, Silver Tree Consulting & Services and the generosity of our Founder, Richard C. Ricks
• An investment in NextGen Thriving is strengthening an ecosystem of high-impact nonprofits, driving sustainable, scalable change for historically marginalized youth
• Our Board of Directors is deeply engaged and 100% invested in the mission
• Demonstrated operational excellence through legal compliance, monthly financial reconciliation and expense tracking, Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statements submitted annually by the Board, and Standard Operating Procedures

Our Grants Program does more than fund organizations aligned with our mission—we invest in their long-term success. We have already made a measurable difference since our founding in 2020:

• $550,000 total funds disbursed to 4 nonprofit organizations
• 1,953 total youth (ages 16-24) engaged through our programming
• How We’re Preparing Youth for the Future
  • Vocational training in baking and coding languages, including Web Basics (HTML, CSS), JavaScript, React, Node.js, Mongo dB, Python and Machine Learning
  • Job placements and career training on financial capability, education and career support services
• Geographic Communities Served – Harlem, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Staten Island, New York; Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas