Meet the 2026 Accelerator Cohort
We need tech for good more than ever, and the 10 tech nonprofits in Fast Forward’s 13th annual Accelerator have risen to the challenge. These nonprofits are building solutions critical to our future, from combating digital harms to advancing education for low-income students to tackling climate change.
Last week, the cohort convened in San Francisco to kick off the 2026 Accelerator. Founders hit the ground running, acquiring essential tools, refining their strategies, and building connections to prepare them for the journey ahead.
Some cool facts about our cohort:
- 70% of the cohort is AI-powered nonprofits. They leverage AI to tackle the world’s most pressing issues in innovative and inspiring ways.
- Problems are best solved by those who’ve lived through them. 80% of this year’s cohort has a leader with lived experience.
- In addition, 70% of the cohort is led by a person of color, and 80% is led by a woman.
What do all these nonprofits have in common? The foresight to build responsible, thoughtful solutions and an unwavering dedication to the communities they serve.
About the 2026 Cohort
Meet the nonprofits charting a path to a brighter, more equitable world.
Ambition Angels: Virtual internship app building professional skills and career pathways for low-income teens. Founded by Remi Sobomehin, whose own exposure to opportunity as a kid drove him to spend 20 years opening that same door for others.
Bright Saver: Affordable plug-in solar panels reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions at scale in the U.S. Co-founded by Kevin Chou, Rupert Mayer, and Cora Stryker, a powerhouse founding team with deep nonprofit and climate expertise and a zeal for clean, accessible energy.
Culturally Relevant Science: Culturally relevant STEM resources improving student learning outcomes. Founded by Meagan Naraine, a former science teacher and instructional coach who has seen how inclusive curricula and digital programming can change the game for underrepresented students.
Health Access Innovation: Machine learning systems enabling patients to challenge wrongful insurance denials. Founded by Mike Gartner, a ML engineer spurred by his passion for increasing access to care for those who need it most.
Muevetex: Mobility data platform mapping the informal networks that move the majority of the world. Founded by Regina Paredes Gorostieta, who translates her lifelong enthusiasm for public transit into a powerful vision for expanding transit access across all of Mexico.
MyCapitol: AI-powered policy intelligence platform revealing legislative insights and influence for civil society advocates. Founded by Julie Lin and Candace Moix, whose time working in Congress alerted them to the need for lobbying tools not just for lobbyists, but for everyone else.
Pyronear: Open-source early wildfire detection protecting communities and ecosystems. Co-founded by a team of French engineers whose deep understanding of computer vision encouraged them to tackle this daunting technical challenge.
SimPPL: Cross-platform AI copilot combating digital harms to rebuild trust on the internet. Co-founded by Swapneel Mehta and Dhara Mungra, whose fervor for transparency crystallized into the belief that everyone should be the arbiter of their own truth.
Student Basic Needs Coalition: AI-powered benefits navigation platform helping college students access public benefits. Founded by Paige Swanstein, whose lived experience has led her on a mission to ensure students don’t have to choose between their education and their next meal.
SubjectToClimate: Digital platform supporting teachers in integrating climate education into all subjects and grade levels. Co-founded by Margaret Wang-Aghania and David Jaffe, who believe that giving students hope for the future starts with equipping them with the tools they need to build it.
Kickoff Week
Kickoff Week is integral to setting the tone for the Accelerator. The cohort met with tech and philanthropic leaders, consulted with experts across various functions, and identified potential collaborators to strengthen their own offerings. We also made sure the teams got plenty of time to have fun, explore the city, and make new friends!
Day 1
The cohort arrived bright and early at the Fast Forward office. After diving right into Accelerator 101 and enjoying lunch by the water, members learned more about each other and their work through personal stories and product demos. Becca and Daniel Nall, co-founders of ineedana.com and members of the ‘24 Accelerator, also joined to share their own experiences and wisdom on making the most out of the program.
Day 2
We ventured over to Cisco’s waterfront office, where we geared up for a full day of programming. Alis Patterson, the Cisco Foundation’s Project Specialist, gave a warm welcome to the cohort before the teams spent the morning refining their impact frameworks. The cohort also received a comprehensive overview of tech nonprofit essentials, rotating through sessions on fundraising, AI integration, storytelling, and more.
Day 3
The last day of Kickoff Week took place at Bloomberg’s downtown office. Malia Simonds (Corporate Philanthropy for the Americas, Bloomberg) emphasized the importance of collaboration, spotlighting Bloomberg’s partnerships with Fast Forward and its alums. Nick Turner, Senior Technology Editor at Bloomberg News, followed up with a session on PR and storytelling, providing insider knowledge on crafting and pitching impactful stories to the media.
Teams continued to learn about strategic planning, marketing and comms, and other topics critical to a tech nonprofit’s well-being. The day capped off with happy hour, where the cohort got to meet Accelerator alums and celebrate their newfound progress and camaraderie.
“For nearly a decade, Bloomberg has proudly supported Fast Forward’s Accelerator organizations from kick-off through Demo Day and beyond. We have seen founders turn bold ideas into scalable solutions that deliver real results for people and families, and the 2026 Accelerator cohort reflects that same creativity and drive. By investing in leaders who are harnessing technology and AI for good, we can help accelerate solutions that expand opportunity and strengthen communities around the world.”- Malia Simonds, Corporate Philanthropy for the Americas, Bloomberg
The teams have since bid adieu and headed home, but don’t worry. We (and you!) will see them plenty over the next few months as the Accelerator continues. The cohort will connect with Fast Forward alums and industry leaders, engage with expert advisors from our partner companies, and prepare for Fast Forward Demo Day.
What’s Demo Day? Think of it as the cohort’s BIG moment: everything they’ve learned and worked on throughout the Accelerator, all condensed into on-stage pitches. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter, What’s Good in Tech, for an invite!
Thank you to our 2026 Accelerator partners: Google.org; Bloomberg; Okta; Twilio.org; Lemnis; Arrow Impact; Splunk, a Cisco Company; The Solid Foundation; and more.
