First Things First Porter County (FTFPC) is a collaborative backbone organization dedicated to ensuring that every child in Porter County, Indiana, thrives from the very beginning of life. Every action and initiative is driven by the question, “How do we make this the best place to be a baby?”

FTFPC does not provide direct services. Instead, it serves as a convener and catalyst—bringing together parents, community members, health systems, early childhood providers, and business and civic leaders to strengthen the prenatal-to-school ecosystem. By aligning community vision, fostering collaboration, and elevating local voices, FTFPC creates the conditions for healthier families and measurable, long-term improvements in child and family well-being.

The Nurturing Project is a storytelling and collective impact initiative launched by First Things First to strengthen the prenatal-to-school ecosystem in Porter County. Designed to support professionals and organizations working with children and families from pregnancy through school age, the project amplifies and equips Collaborative Challenge grant recipients to serve as field catalysts—providing the tools, skills, and support needed to develop their own ecosystem shifts while fostering a broader culture of care across the county. In partnership with City Rising, selected as the lead partner to support, design, guide, and evaluate the project, The Nurturing Project works to unlock and leverage systems imagination, integrate collective impact, and tell the stories of what Porter County ought to be—along with the roadmaps and strategies to achieve this relational vision. At its core, the work is guided by the principle of conspiracy—“to breathe together”—as a practice of cultivating shared vision and activating both individuals and communities toward long-term, population-level change.