LAS VEGAS — May 24, 2018 — Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), the leading independent provider of identity for the enterprise, today announced the next grantee of the Okta for Good Fund, Fast Forward, an organization that funds and supports nonprofit entrepreneurs building technology for social impact.
Fast Forward is focused on scaling tech nonprofits because the combination of original technology and a nonprofit business model unlocks unprecedented social impact. The organization’s investments span beyond philanthropic funding to include resources and programs such as its Accelerator for nonprofits. This second grant of the Okta for Good Fund will aid Fast Forward’s efforts to support nonprofits in their direct programs and entrepreneurs across the broader nonprofit ecosystem. In addition to the grant, Okta for Good will provide resources through direct Okta employee engagement, including an Okta-hosted accelerator day featuring mentors across the company’s technical and business leadership.
“Tech nonprofits build products that solve problems like education, health care, and human rights, but will never drive value in a market because their focus is 100% on impact. Applying the best technology to the biggest social problems requires philanthropy and resources from the tech community," said Shannon Farley, co-founder and Executive Director, Fast Forward. "With Okta's support, we are building out a scalable way to connect tech sector resources with tech nonprofit entrepreneurs. Not just for our 31 Accelerator alumni, but for the broader ecosystem of promising tech nonprofit entrepreneurs around the world.”
Okta for Good has expanded rapidly over the past year, surpassing $1 million in donated products and supporting hundreds of nonprofit organizations through Okta's products, employees or grants. The Okta for Good Fund’s first grantee, NetHope, also undertook a major research study through its Center for the Digital Nonprofit initiative, releasing findings on the state of technology transformation among NGOs. The findings set the standard for how to measure digital transformation in the nonprofit sector based on its Digital Nonprofit Ability (DNA) Assessment across NetHope’s member organizations, which today includes 56 of the world’s largest nonprofits that together deliver more than 60 percent of aid worldwide. With this insight, the Okta for Good Fund’s grant will next support the Center for the Digital Nonprofit’s work to close the gaps identified in the DNA research with resources, tools, guidance and grantmaking needed for nonprofit digital transformation.
In addition to the Fast Forward grant, Okta for Good also hosted its first-ever nonprofit customer summit at Oktane18, the Nonprofit Collaborative, bringing together nonprofit leaders, technologists and partners to find ways to use technology to reduce frictions common to NGOs. Okta for Good also released new Businesses @ Work insights for nonprofits, announced a new support portal for nonprofit customers, and shared details on its new partner initiative, Okta for Good for Partners, to further scale its support of those organizations in the Okta ecosystem.
“One thing we've learned in these early days of Okta for Good is that nonprofits need an ecosystem that understands them, funds them and supports them – especially when it comes to technology. This new grant to Fast Forward is the next step on that journey for us, and another great partner to give to and learn from,” said Frederic Kerrest, Chief Operating Officer and co-founder, Okta. “By extending our philanthropy to Fast Forward’s community, we’ll be able to support social entrepreneurs as they bring new thinking and new solutions to social challenges – together empowering the next generation of nonprofit startups.”
The Okta for Good Fund is a donor-advised fund of Tides Foundation. For more information about Okta for Good, visit: https://www.okta.com/okta-for-good/.
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