April 24, 2021 - Athari Group is launching an accelerator that accepts ideas based on their potential positive impact, not their financial return. Its non-traditional approach is to work with organizations at the idea-stage, and fundamentally help shape the way the founder and their idea evolve. One-on-one mentoring from nonprofit executives, carefully curated workshops, free accounting services, and the opportunity to gain $5,000 in seed funding comprise Athari’s offerings, and prospective applicants will be happy to learn the program is free.

Athari Group is committed to helping create transparent and nimble organizations that prioritize sensitivity and respect for the people they serve above all else. Participants must demonstrate that they are attending to their target area in a unique, novel way, and that their future organization will be co-led by local community members. The group states on its website that “Very rarely is starting a nonprofit the most effective way to contribute towards a cause”, which might seem like an odd thing for a nonprofit accelerator to suggest, but a deeper dive into the organization’s philosophy reveals they take very seriously the waste and unintentional harm often symptomatic of nonprofits. Co-founder Jeff Fonda is an IBM executive by day, and started his own nonprofit a decade ago, which was the inspiration for the project. He explains, “Our mission is, of course, to help bring brilliant ideas to fruition, but it is also, prior to that, to educate future founders on what it means to build a truly humane organization. Myriad resources exist on how to fundraise, for example, but we’d like to transcend the purely practical; the goal is to be a one-stop-shop for how to create something that begins and ends with those we are trying to serve."

Website: www.atharigroup.org
Social channels: theatharigroup (IG)
Press contact name, title, phone email:
Jeff Fonda
Co-founder and CEO
518-657-1163
jeff ( @ ) atharigroup dot org