Tech Nonprofits Grant Round Returns this Fall

Back by popular demand, SV2 will offer a second Lightning Grant Round focused on tech nonprofits this fall! This Round was offered last March with an outstanding group of nonprofit applicant organizations, and we are hosting it again because of strong interest in the topic. SV2 Partners Dan Barritt and Rekha Pai will co-lead the Round, and we will again partner with Fast Forward, who will be nominating a new group of organizations from their portfolio. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn about a high-quality group of nonprofits, all leveraging technology platforms or programs to address complex social challenges in our community. We encourage all interested Partners to participate and welcome those who participated last March to join us again, if interested, as we will be considering a new group of nonprofits.

This sounds amazing! Tell me how to sign up…

In-person meetings for this Lightning Grant Round will be in the evenings on Tuesday, October 30 and November 13 from 6:30 – 9:00pm at the Mitchell Park Community Center. The Round will kick-off in late September, before the first meeting, with diligence pre-work, which includes reading and optional conference calls with our funder allies.

To RSVP for this Lightning Grant Round, please RSVP here.

What is a Lightning Grant Round?

Lightning Grant Rounds are a shortened grantmaking experience, taking place over four to six weeks with only two in-person meetings. For the Lightning Rounds, SV2 collaborates with funder allies who nominate organizations from their own portfolios and share their diligence materials with us. Working with funder allies relieves the burden for nonprofit applicants and allows SV2 Partners to learn how our funder allies approach their work. For this Round, we’re delighted to work with Fast Forward, a tech nonprofit accelerator, who will nominate organizations from their portfolio. During Lightning Rounds, participating Partners have the opportunity to research six organizations in the sector, learn from funder allies about these organizations, hear presentations from the leaders of three finalist organizations, and collectively select a single Grantee. Lightning Round Grantees receive a one-year general operating support grant of up to $30,000, and participating Partners get to engage in a fantastic hands-on learning experience.