About Ffwd
Accelerate good. Fast Forward empowers nonprofits building technology to tackle major social problems by providing funding, resources, mentorship, and an accelerator program.
Focus Areas
tech nonprofitsAI for social impacteducationhealthclimatehuman rights
Funding Style
unrestricted/general operating supportflexible funding for core operationsnon-project-specific funding
About Ffwd
Ffwd backs technology nonprofits with unrestricted general support, and its recent grants show that approach at scale: million-dollar commitments to organizations building tools for education, climate, and public service. FreeWorld received $5,200,000 in 2024 and another $4,786,422 in 2025, both marked general support, while Climate Cabinet Education was awarded $2,457,688 in 2024. The pattern is not limited to a few large awards. Ffwd also funded CommonLit Inc with $1,635,391 in 2024, and made repeated general-support grants to TalkingPoints, ReMake, Sirum, Rocket Learning Foundation, and other tech-enabled nonprofits. The foundation’s grantmaking aligns with its accelerator model and its broader support for nonprofits using technology to address social problems. Its active programs include the Fast Forward Accelerator, which provides funding, mentorship, and resources to tech nonprofits, and Fund.AI and AI for Humanity initiatives focused on AI-powered nonprofits and philanthropic strategy for AI. Across the recent grants list, the recipients include education organizations, health-oriented services, climate groups, and human-rights adjacent work, all funded as general support rather than project-specific awards.
What Ffwd Funds
Education is a visible part of Ffwd’s portfolio. In 2024, it gave $1,635,391 in general support to CommonLit Inc in Washington, DC, and $594,916 to Rocket Learning Foundation in Cambridge, MA. It also backed TalkingPoints with $953,361 in 2024, plus an earlier $337,501 grant in 2023, both as general support. Climate-related work appears through organizations using technology for environmental action. Climate Cabinet Education received $2,457,688 in 2024 and $260,829 in 2025, while WattTime Corporation was awarded $285,801 in 2024. Ffwd also supported Farmers For Forests Inc with $282,426 in 2025. Health and public-service applications show up as well. Sirum received $294,606 in 2023 and $276,631 in 2024, and Dollar For was funded with $383,850 in 2025. Recidiviz also appears in the portfolio with a $261,341 grant in 2024.
How Ffwd Gives
Ffwd’s recent awards are typically mid-sized to large, with a p25 of $30,000, a median grant of $60,531, and a p75 of $138,563. The recent list also shows a heavy upper tail, with several grants in the hundreds of thousands and multiple seven-figure awards. The foundation is a Pure DAF Provider, and its grants are almost entirely general support. A recurring pattern is multi-year support for the same organizations. FreeWorld, Climate Cabinet Education, CommonLit Inc, TalkingPoints, ReMake, Sirum, and Rocket Learning Foundation each appear more than once across the recent grants list, usually with continued general support rather than one-off project funding. Ffwd accepts unsolicited applications through its Fast Forward Accelerator and Fund.AI initiatives.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$12.9M
Total Assets
$14.4M
Total Revenue
$22.6M
Total Expenses
$20.1M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $30K and $139K, with a median of $61K.
25th Percentile
$30K
Median
$61K
75th Percentile
$139K
Geographic Reach
National17 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Kevin Barenblat
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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