The Fast Forward accelerator bridges the worlds of technology and non-profit organisations, providing training and resources applicable to the challenges that only a non-profit technology entrepreneur knows. Through the Accelerator, you'll receive a philanthropic grant of US$ 25,000, build a community among your cohort, meet dozens of mentors from the social tech sector and make connections with people who can help you scale. If you're a non-profit tech startup, you're in the right place.

Fast Forward's programme is designed to meet the unique needs of non-profit technology organisations:

• Capital. Fundraising strategies (including tactics and sources of capital) are different for technology nonprofits at each stage of the fundraising process compared to their for-profit peers. There are also unique challenges and opportunities available to tech nonprofits in particular, which we'll help you navigate.
• Content. The curriculum is different. Yes, tech nonprofits should focus on product, scaling and growth. However, tech nonprofits also need to learn about board development, governance, leveraging volunteers and other issues specific to nonprofits. The knowledge base they have assembled for tech nonprofits differs substantially from what for-profits would find valuable.
• Client. Because of their focus on the impact on profit, non-profit organisations generally chase the least profitable customer, which affects the market entry strategy and the customer lifecycle in a different way to for-profits.
• Cohort. Entrepreneurship is lonely. Non-profit tech entrepreneurship is even more so. Leaders of non-profit tech organisations say that because of their non-profit focus, they don't fit well into for-profit accelerators, and because of their tech/product focus, they don't fit well into non-profit fellowships. They share a set of challenges unique to this intersection and are excited to go through a programme with others like them, as well as provide ongoing support to each other as their organisations grow.
• Community. The key to Fast Forward's mission is to build closer ties between the non-profit and for-profit technology community. The tech world has the opportunity to have a huge impact on these organisations and therefore on the world. Its focus on collaborative philanthropy is quite different from for-profit accelerators, which don't need to invest heavily in community building due to the nature of venture investment.

Eligibility

• They accept non-profit technology organisations from all over the world (previous cohorts have included teams from India, Spain and Switzerland!). They require at least one member of your team to be present (virtually) at all sessions and present (in person) at any real-life events.
• Your organisation must be registered as a non-profit organisation in your country. They do not accept B-corps or for-profit social enterprises.

Selection criteria

• Leadership. Non-profit technology organisations face everything that is difficult in a technology start-up and everything that is difficult in a non-profit organisation. For this, leaders must have a firm vision and an incredible vision.
• Technological talent. The technological vision must be the driving force of the organisation and not an auxiliary programme. To successfully execute this vision, the technological talent must be in a leadership role.
• Impact Potential. Impact is a thorny issue. To get to the heart of an organisation's potential, they ask questions like: Who is the organisation primarily serving? If successful, how many lives will be positively influenced? How deeply will the organisation impact these lives?
• Scalability. Software scales incredibly well. They support organisations with a vision of change that is matched only by the potential for scale.
• Lived experience of the problem. People solve problems in front of them. They want to empower people to solve the problems they see and experience.
• Alignment. Fast Forward is a small organisation. As such, they choose the organisations that we are best equipped to help scale.

The Accelerator is a very robust programme. The programme will take place every Tuesday and Thursday from the end of February to the beginning of June 2024, from 9am to 12pm PT, with 1 to 3 hours of additional meetings throughout the week. At least one co-founder must attend all sessions from February to June. The co-founder who will pitch at Demo Day must attend all pitch sessions from March to June 2024.

The programme will run from mid-February to early June 2024. Demo Days will probably take place at the end of May and beginning of June 2024.

Deadline: 30 September 2023

Click HERE to sign up