Mission
Fast Forward improves the world by accelerating technology nonprofits.
Ruling year
2014
Executive Director
Ms. Shannon Farley
President
Mr. Kevin Barenblat
Main address
1004A O'Reilly Ave
San Francisco, CA 94129 USA
EIN
46-4626500
NTEE code
Management & Technical Assistance (W02)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2019, 2018 and 2017.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The biggest problems, from healthcare to education to human rights, deserve the best technology solutions. Fast Forward is bridging the gap between social impact and technology to create outsized impact.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Accelerator
The Fast Forward Startup Accelerator is designed to bridge the tech and nonprofit worlds, providing training and resources applicable to the challenges only a tech nonprofit entrepreneur faces. Entrepreneurs receive a $25,000 philanthropic grant to support early growth, mentorship with experts and sector leaders, and connections to like-minded entrepreneurs and 400+ investors at our Demo Days. Learn more here - http://ffwd.org/accelerator
Accelerate Good Global
Accelerate Good Global is a sector-defining event, uniting tech nonprofit entrepreneurs, technology leaders, and philanthropists who believe in leveraging tech for good. AGG sparks meaningful conversations both on stage and off, with a laser focus on how we can apply the best technology to our biggest social problems.
Past speakers include: David Plouffe (President, Policy & Advocacy at CZI), Mike Krieger (Co-Founder of Instagram), Jen Pahlka (Founder of Code for America), Megan Smith, Bill Draper (Co-Chair of Draper Richards Kaplan), DeRay McKesson (Host of Pod Save the People), and Nancy Lublin (Founder of Crisis Text Line).
Learn more here - accelerategood.org
Digital Volunteer Board
The Digital Volunteer Board curates the best volunteer opportunities to fit anyone's skills and schedule. With opportunities to sign up to digitally volunteer with a tech nonprofit, anyone can turn a morning commute, or idle time before a next meeting, into big impact in minutes.
Fast Forward also provides a directory of opportunities to explore technical volunteer opportunities and tech nonprofit board service.
Find it here - http://ffwd.org/volunteer/
Global Tech Nonprofit Community
The Global Tech Nonprofit Community is a Facebook community for anyone who believes tech has the power to solve big social problems.
We unite the tech nonprofit entrepreneurs and employees, the tech people who want to use their skills and expertise for good, and anyone else who wants to contribute to this movement.
Find it here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/technonprofits/
Tech Nonprofit Directory
Fast Forward manages the world's most comprehensive database of the world’s tech nonprofits.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of tech nonprofits accelerated
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Fast Forward's goal is to connect tech nonprofits with the capital, connections, and community they need to be successful. In doing so, we aim to increase the capacity for technology to solve social issues.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
To achieve these goals, Fast Forward builds products and programs to grow the tech nonprofit sector by enabling tech nonprofits to maximize their impact, and inspiring other entrepreneurs to start their own tech nonprofits. These strategies are employed under a framework of providing content, connections, and capital:
Content: We publish useful content via our blog and partner publications to educate tech nonprofit entrepreneurs, produce a monthly roundup with the most important sector news [What's Good in Tech?], and organize an annual sector-defining Summit [Accelerate Good Global].
Connections: Facilitate meaningful sector relationships via our Accelerator, Volunteer Board, Directory, Online Global Tech Nonprofit Community, and Mentorship connections.
Capital: Provide grants to Accelerator cohort and connect tech nonprofits with follow-on funding.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Operationally, Fast Forward is powered by a team of nine full time staff, including co-founders from tech and nonprofit startups, and a PR/marketing leader. Our operations are supplemented by the support of tech nonprofit entrepreneurs, funder, and tech for good enthusiasts globally. Our capabilities lie in our expertise in the areas of nonprofits, fundraising, startups, and technology. Fast Forward acts boldly in our pursuit to grow the tech nonprofit ecosystem.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 2014, Fast Forward has been successful in growing the tech nonprofit sector. We've accelerated 79 tech nonprofits, impacting over 105 million lives, and leading to over $357M in follow on funding,
We've also produced the first and only job and volunteer board focused on tech nonprofits, the first and only comprehensive directory of the tech nonprofit sector, the first and only data report examining the state of diversity and funding in the tech nonprofit sector, and organized an annual social impact summit, Accelerate Good Global.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Tech nonprofits
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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FFWD
Board of directorsas of 08/24/2022
Kevin Barenblat
Aston Motes
Assorted Bits
Rekha Pai Kamath
Cresta Ventures
James Slavet
Greylock Partners
Shannon Farley
Fast Forward
Ime Archibong
Meta
Oliver Hurst-Hiller
DonorsChoose
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/24/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
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