From Idea to Fruition: Accelerating Nonprofits, with Shannon Farley and Kevin Barenblat of Fast Forward

From Idea to Fruition: Accelerating Nonprofits, with Shannon Farley and Kevin Barenblat of Fast Forward

November 5, 2025 · 39 min · Season 3 · Episode 1

About this episode

The episode explores how Fast Forward accelerates nonprofits by blending startup culture with social impact.

What do you do when you have a great social impact idea but no experience with making it a reality? With all its risks, is Artificial Intelligence something that replaces human ingenuity or can it really be used to bring your idea to fruition? Delve into how Fast Forward takes a page from the iconic Y Combinator playbook to shake up the nonprofit scene. Entrepreneurial spirit meets social impact—discover the innovative accelerator model that's bridging startup culture with philanthropic goals. Full transcript: https://techmatters.org/fastforward-accelerating-tech-nonprofits KEVIN BARENBLAT (Co-Founder & President) Kevin is an engineer turned social innovator. He has helped over 100 founders use technology to tackle global challenges. He also writes the AI for Humanity newsletter and contributes to the Stanford Social Innovation Review. SHANNON FARLEY (Co-Founder & Executive Director) Before co-founding the accelerator, Shannon launched Spark, a network for women's organizations, and helped start the W. Haywood Burns Institute for racial equity in juvenile justice. Shannon brings sharp focus, creativity, and a passion for human-centered innovation. RATE, LIKE, SUBSCRIBE If you…

People in this episode

Host: Jim Fruchterman

Guests: Kevin Barenblat, Shannon Farley

Topics covered

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fast Forward, Y Combinator, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spark, W. Haywood Burns Institute

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