Our fifth week of An Introduction to Octane Foundation for Innovation (OFI) will focus on our Non-Profit Accelerator. Octane’s Non-Profit Accelerator leverages Octane’s award- winning accelerator, LaunchPad, and we have customized this process to support the specific requirements of non-profit organizations. To read more about our LaunchPad Accelerator, another initiative in Octane Foundation for Innovation, you can do so here. The Non-Profit Accelerator is a 16- week program intended to increase awareness of each non-profit, its mission and supporting capabilities to further enhance their ability to have a sustaining impact on their community. It has been designed for organizations to have maximum one-on-one engagement with non-profit subject matter experts while also meeting collectively with a cohort of their peers.
The Non-Profit Accelerator was launched in August 2019 and included an inaugural cohort featuring five non-profits that are advancing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and awareness. In 2020, Octane’s Non-Profit Accelerator announced its second cohort and will have its third cohort in the second half of the year. The Non-Profit Accelerator aims to expand even further in the future through the support of additional strategic partnerships. The Non-Profit Accelerator initiative has been made possible by a grant from Edwards Lifesciences Foundation.
A company can apply if they are a 501(c)3 organization based in Orange County can fill out this form here. Criteria for selecting organizations are loosely based on their potential to build capacity and sustainability. In addition, the Non-Profit Accelerator gives preference to those non-profits that have a technology or STEM component to them and had the potential to sustainability based on revenue. You can view our second cohort announcement here.
If you are a non-profit industry expert and looking to engage as an advisor to non-profits through this program, please email jamie@octaneoc.org and she will get back to you with further information.