- Fast Forward announced over a $3 million funding round for its 10th Startup Accelerator. These are the details.
Fast Forward – which is the only organization exclusively supporting tech nonprofits solving the biggest social problems – announced over a $3 million funding round for its 10th Startup Accelerator. And with support from leading companies, Fast Forward will equip 10 early-stage tech nonprofits with capital and resources to grow their impact.
This round was supported by Google.org, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation, Bloomberg, Okta, Twilio.org, ServiceNow, Dell Technologies, PwC, Salesforce, Fidelity Charitable Trustees’ Initiative, Endless Network, HubSpot, Splunk, Pinterest, DigitalOcean, and NewRelic.org. And Beyond financial support, Fast Forward’s partnerships provide tech nonprofits with skilled tech advisors, product donations, and cross-sector relationship building.
This global cohort is making a timely impact. With the pandemic’s lasting effects on mental health, 3 organizations are supporting youth well-being. Plus climate tech is another theme: the cohort is tackling this crisis through food waste reduction and nature restoration. Based across 4 continents, 100% of organizations have a founder with lived experience with the problem, 70% have a founder who is a person of color, and 60% have a founder who is a woman.
Since 2014, Fast Forward’s 79 alumni have impacted 139 million lives and raised $519 million in follow-on funding. This year’s cohort includes:
— Closegap – Daily mental health check-ins for K-12 students and it give educators real-time insights into student well-being
— Dollar For – Discovery tool helping low income patients apply for financial assistance to eliminate medical debt
— Joy Education – One-to-one and online literacy tutoring for students struggling to read at grade level
— Karya – Employment platform for low-income Indians to improve AI and ML models through bite-sized tasks
— Koko – API for social media platforms that connects young people with peer support in moments of crisis
— Mobile Pathways – SMS solutions empowering nonprofits and attorneys to equip immigrants with legal resources
— Restor – Global network supercharging nature restoration projects that reverse climate change
— Road To Uni – Interactive playbook that is guiding first-generation high schoolers through the college application process
— SameSame – Chatbot providing queer youth with safe and identity-affirming resources in countries where support is dangerous to access
— Solar Freeze – Solar-powered refrigerators that reduce food waste while increasing income for smallholder farmers
