Founder-Led Charity Launches Accelerator to Support Social Entrepreneurs
DENVER, Nov. 25, 2025 – The Founders Forward Foundation, a founder-led charitable organization dedicated to scaling high-impact social ventures, today announced the launch of its Social Enterprise Accelerator Programme, a six-month intensive designed to equip early-stage entrepreneurs with catalytic capital, executive mentorship, and investment-readiness training.
The accelerator will select 15 ventures for its inaugural 2026 cohort, providing each with $150,000 in non-dilutive funding, 180 hours of customized mentoring from a network of 500+ executive volunteers, and direct connections to impact investors. Applications open December 1, 2025, with a deadline of January 31, 2026. The program targets nonprofits and social enterprises generating at least $50,000 in annual earned revenue and employing three or more full-time staff, prioritizing those advancing women’s economic power and climate resilience solutions.
The launch responds to critical gaps in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem. Recent sector analysis reveals that while global impact investing reached $1.164 trillion in 2024, less than 15% of capital flowed to early-stage ventures led by women and minorities. A new report from Pioneers Post highlights that social enterprises collaborating through structured accelerator programs demonstrate 40% higher survival rates and scale three times faster than isolated ventures, validating peer-learning models as essential infrastructure for the sector . Despite this potential, fewer than 200 specialized accelerators worldwide offer the combination of unrestricted funding and deep mentorship that early social entrepreneurs require to achieve financial sustainability.
Selection criteria emphasize measurable impact and operational readiness. Applicants must demonstrate consistent service delivery for at least 12 months, articulate a clear path to scaling beyond current operations, and commit to weekly mentoring sessions and impact measurement protocols. The Foundation’s rigorous screening process—reviewing business model viability, team capacity, and social impact metrics—ensures cohort peers represent ventures capable of making “real shifts in the world,” according to program directors.
“Founders understand founders. We built this accelerator because we lived the challenge of scaling impact without sacrificing mission,” said Sarah Chen, CEO and co-founder of Founders Forward Foundation. “Our model surrounds entrepreneurs with the density of support we wish we’d had—unrestricted capital, access to policymakers, and a community that treats social impact as a non-negotiable bottom line. This isn’t about incremental growth; it’s about creating the conditions for social unicorns that can influence systems change.”
The program’s outcome metrics project that 36% of cohort participants will secure follow-on funding within two years, based on data from comparable European accelerators such as the Investment Ready Program, which has helped alumni raise over €5 million since 2012 . Additionally, each venture will receive support to quantify social impact using standardized frameworks aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals, enabling clearer communication with institutional funders. The Foundation will publish a public playbook after the inaugural cohort, documenting replicable strategies for rural and underserved entrepreneurial ecosystems.
About Founders Forward Foundation
Founded in 2021 by serial social entrepreneur Sarah Chen, Founders Forward Foundation is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to catalyzing sustainable social enterprises. The Foundation has distributed $8.3 million in grants and technical assistance to 127 ventures across 22 states, focusing on economic mobility, climate adaptation, and gender equity. Its all-founder board and staff bring combined experience scaling 12 social enterprises from concept to multi-million-dollar operations.
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