What's Good in Tech: Apply to Fast Forward’s Accelerator!

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

Apply to Fast Forward’s Accelerator!

Building a nonprofit powered by tech? The Fast Forward Accelerator was built for you.

Over the last 12 years, we’ve helped 110+ early-stage tech nonprofits grow their reach, raise capital, and scale. 100% of last year’s cohort would highly recommend the Accelerator to other tech nonprofits — because it works. Take it from Nakul Shekhawat, co-founder of Visilant: “We define the time periods of our organization as ‘before Fast Forward’ and ‘after Fast Forward.’ Joining Fast Forward allowed us to dream bigger than we previously thought possible.”

Applications are open now through September 8. Interested orgs can join our Application Workshop on August 6 to learn more and get tips before applying.

P.S. If you’re a nonprofit, refer a candidate for a chance at $500!

Who Gets to Shape the Future of AI?

One in three adults uses AI for emotional support on a weekly basis. Divya Siddarth sees this as just one of the many reasons why the public must help shape the future of AI. As founder of the Collective Intelligence Project, she’s building systems like Alignment Assemblies and Global Dialogues to bring everyday voices into AI development and influence how major labs like Anthropic build their models.

In this month’s Humans of AI for Humanity, our series with the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Divya shares what surprised her most about how people are using AI, how the people’s input is shifting policy, and what it really takes to make AI work for everyone.

Final Call: Fill Out Our 10-Minute Survey

Last month, we shared early findings from our research on how nonprofits are using AI. We’ve re-opened the survey to include more voices. If you still haven’t responded, now’s your chance!

The report will give a clearer picture of how this tech is really showing up in the sector and what nonprofits need next to make it work. Your input could help shape what funders prioritize, what tools get built, and how we all move forward.

The survey takes just 10 minutes. And hey, there’s a chance to win a Visa gift card in the mix too. Just saying.

The Partners Powering Tech for Good

Behind every tech nonprofit is a network of believers, and Bloomberg and Splunk, a Cisco Company, are two of the most committed.

Since 2017, Bloomberg has partnered with Fast Forward to mentor founders, support Demo Day, and back alumni like Develop for Good, which connects underrepresented CS students with nonprofits in need of tech support. With Bloomberg’s continued help, Develop for Good has saved nonprofits an estimated $6M in dev costs while engaging over 2K student volunteers.

Splunk, a Fast Forward partner since 2022, is making sure nonprofits can use data as a true force multiplier. Their team has provided pro bono technical support, product donations, and over $100K in funding to Accelerator teams. One example: Ersilia, which builds open-source AI models for drug discovery in low-resource settings, used Splunk’s help to automate workflows, improve dashboards, and 10x their antimalarial discovery efforts.

Both companies continue to show up: Bloomberg employees are mentoring founders through Fast Forward programming, and a Splunk data expert will help lead our Data Bootcamp this August. This is what it looks like when partners don’t just fund tech for good — they help build it.