What's Good in Tech: Yesterday’s Tools Won’t Solve Today’s Crises

[Originally delivered to inboxes on December 16, 2025. Subscribe here to read it first.]

A 21st-Century Mandate for the Social Sector

Nonprofits are on the front lines of today’s biggest challenges — but too often with yesterday’s tools.

In a powerful new piece in Fortune, Maggie Johnson (Google.org) and Shannon Farley (Fast Forward) show how AI-powered nonprofits are changing that. From job seekers using AI for career navigation to rural workers in India training better language models, one truth stands out: when communities help build the technology, the results are more relevant, more responsible, and more impactful.

This is one of those moments that demands a shift in how we fund the future.

Sleigh Your Holiday Giving

Looking for something more meaningful than another scented candle? In this year’s AI for Humanity Gift Guide, our co-founder Kevin rounds up joyful, high-impact ways to spread some cheer: mental health support for a teen in crisis, math tutoring for a student halfway around the world, a path back to stable work for someone starting over. It’s a sure way to check “make an impact” off your list.

Feeding Families When the System Falls Short

The recent disruptions to SNAP benefits were a stark reminder of just how fragile food security is for millions of families. In our latest Humans of AI for Humanity profile, a joint series with the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, we meet Kasumi Quinlan, co-founder of Lemontree. Lemontree helps families find food, fast, by simplifying the food pantry system, which is often fragmented. They helped more than 21K families access food in a single day as need surged this fall. It’s a story about what happens when urgency meets compassion, and when technology helps relief reach people right on time.

What Five Years of Partnership Can Spark

For the past five years, Fast Forward has partnered with The UPS Foundation to support six incredible tech nonprofits expanding access to healthcare, opportunity, and essential services around the world — like HERA Digital Health, which guides refugees through unfamiliar health systems, and Nexleaf Analytics, which protects the vaccine supply for 1 in 7 babies born each year.

Meet them all in this video and see the impact in action.

Come Build With Us

Fast Forward is growing, and we’re opening roles across the teams that power our work. If these sound like you, apply today!

• Development Operations Associate: The systems-minded organizer who keeps our fundraising engine running.
• Partnerships Associate: The relationship builder who helps us steward corporate and foundation partners.
• Philanthropy & Development Manager: The connector who opens new doors.
• Visual Storyteller: The creative who brings the tech for good movement to life.