Every new year carries with it an invitation to reflect and recommit. At the American Flags Foundation, we're taking that invitation seriously.
2025 was a year of building. We deepened our programs, expanded our content, grew our community, and laid important groundwork — including completing our SAM.gov registration and advancing our Google Ad Grants application. We are proud of that work. And we are just getting started.
Here's where we're headed in 2026.
## Expanding Our Community Presence in Texas
Our roots are in Austin, but our mission reaches across Texas. In 2026, we are committed to expanding our community outreach beyond Central Texas — connecting with communities in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and the rural communities in between where mental health stigma often runs deepest and resources are thinnest.
We're building partnerships with faith communities, schools, veteran service organizations, and local employers to bring honest conversations about mental health into spaces where they've never happened before.
## Launching Our Grant Program
One of AFF's most important 2026 priorities is becoming a grant-funded organization. We've spent the past year building the infrastructure — our 501(c)(3) status, our SAM.gov registration, our program documentation — that funders require.
This year, we begin actively applying for grants from Texas community foundations, mental health-focused national funders, and corporate giving programs. These funds will allow us to hire, to build, and to serve more people.
## Growing Our Digital Presence
Our blog and social media presence are tools for reach. Every article we publish, every post we share, is a chance to meet someone in their moment of struggle — at 2am, on their phone, wondering if what they're feeling is normal.
In 2026, we're committing to consistent, high-quality content that serves our community. More personal stories. More practical resources. More honest conversations.
## Deepening Our Programs
Our six core programs — Shattering Silence, Embracing Empathy, Building Hope, Breaking Barriers, Fostering Resilience, Cultivating Optimism — are the heart of what we do. In 2026, we're investing in making each one more structured, more measurable, and more impactful.
## A Personal Note from Our Founder
"The work of fighting mental health stigma is long work. It doesn't happen in a press release or a viral moment. It happens in conversations — in living rooms, at kitchen tables, in the parking lot after church. That's where we operate. That's where change happens. In 2026, we're going to have more of those conversations than ever before." — Jamie Lewis, Executive Director
## How You Can Be Part of It
Whether you donate, volunteer, share our content, or simply talk openly about mental health in your own community — you are part of this work. Thank you for being here at the beginning of what we know will be a meaningful year.
Here's to 2026.