Nonprofit Accelerator

a $50,000 fellowship Supporting early-stage founders in the growth of their ventures.

Praxis Fellows and mentors engage in a breakout discussion at a mentoring event.
12

days

‍

03

events

‍

12

ventures

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$50K

unrestricted grant

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35+

mentors

We believe that Christian entrepreneurs who are spiritually serious, culturally astute, and in community are uniquely suited to build sustainable ventures that renew culture, bless their people and partners, and embody the love and grace of the gospel.

Through our flagship Nonprofit Accelerator, we help entrepreneurs become deeply formed as leaders who guide their nonprofit organizations to be more effective in leveraging philanthropic capital, and more redemptive in their impact.

This mentorship-driven, non-residential Accelerator equips high-capacity founders as they innovate in their respective sectors. We accept just 12 seed and early-stage ventures every year, with up to two co-founding leaders (known as Praxis Fellows) per organization.

2023 NONPROFIT cohort Applications

Applications for the 2024 Nonprofit Accelerator program open in April 2023. The 2024 program cycle itself will begin in October 2023 and run through May 2024.

To tell us about your interest in being considered for that cohort, complete the interest form. To nominate or recommend a candidate for the program, complete the nomination form. We'll review your nomination and invite them to apply when applications open again in April 2023.

Explore the Accelerator

about the program
our portfolio
who should apply?
start your application

What Praxis offers

During and beyond their participation in the Nonprofit Accelerator, Praxis supports the growth, health, and impact of new ventures by equipping entrepreneurs in five critical areas.

  • Values-Aligned Capital

    Enabled by program mentoring, Showcase events, informal gatherings, and other introductions, over $100M in investment and philanthropic capital has been placed into portfolio ventures through our community.

    New for the 2023 program, Praxis Capital Partners is an initiative led by generous donors in the Praxis community who are committed to supporting redemptive ventures in our portfolio. All ventures completing the Accelerator program will receive $50,000 in unrestricted grant capital that may be used to fund areas of greatest need determined by Fellows. This capital will be transferred to Fellows upon completion of the program in May 2023.

    This capital allocation is not a direct grant to Fellows by Praxis as an organization; instead, it represents a deepening of our long-standing model to facilitate direct relationships between funders and founders in the Praxis community. We have established Praxis Capital Partners to better connect and engage both groups in the work of building ventures.

    Read more about praxis capital partners in our FAQs
  • Expert Mentoring

    Through our Accelerator programming and introductions, Fellows are introduced to dozens of mentors who—in addition to bringing domain expertise and consultative skill—are exemplars of redemptive leadership.

  • Transformative Content

    In the company of mentors, faculty, and peers, we use the Redemptive Nonprofit Playbook and Rule of Life to apply the paradigm-shifting ideas, commitments, practices, and experiences of redemptive entrepreneurship to each Fellow and venture.

  • Spiritual Formation

    We integrate prayer, teaching, and other shared spiritual practices into the program so that we grow in faith as we grow in leadership. We connect Fellows to providers of trusted resources (for marriage health, counseling, and spiritual direction) in the community.

  • Talent Network

    Fellows looking for values-aligned talent for their ventures can post their venture’s open jobs, search on profiles of people who have participated in a Praxis experience, and make connections with others in the community.

What Fellows gain

You'll strengthen your nonprofit. In the Accelerator we're working together to make your venture more effective, high-impact, sustainable, and redemptive as it grows. You'll regularly discuss and apply powerful principles and specific tactical counsel across the venture, in multiple aspects of strategy, operations, and leadership. You'll enjoy access to capital, talent, and other resources to grow your venture, through personal introductions, gatherings, and private tech-based platforms.

You'll grow as a leader. You'll be interacting with dozens of Praxis Mentors—wise leaders with expertise on strategy, operations, fundraising, and leadership. You'll receive sustained personal coaching from our senior program team. As a result, you're very likely to become more effective, more resilient, and more redemptive as a leader.

You'll become part of a life-giving community. From day one you're part of a diverse cohort of amazing peers leading early-stage ventures in various nonprofit sectors, sharing the highs and lows of the journey to grow your ventures as you grow in your faith. You'll be supported by the Praxis team, a tight-knit group of advocates and connectors ready to help you thrive in the program. And the program is an onramp to ongoing participation in the wider Praxis community, launched at our end-of-program Summit and Showcase with hundreds of active philanthropists, mentors, Fellow alumni, and thought leaders.

Read more in our FAQs

Accelerator Sessions

Each Accelerator event is customized to the needs of the Fellows and the expertise of the mentors.

Together we work through the Redemptive Nonprofit Playbook and the Praxis Rule of Life for Redemptive Entrepreneurs. We also draw from a library of over 150 topics (briefly sampled here) for supplemental talks, workshops, and breakouts that leverage each mentor's areas of knowledge and passion.
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With every component of the Accelerator content—whether it’s about leadership, strategy, or execution—we apply best practices, share personal experiences, and push the redemptive edge of the topic.

dynamic conversations based on THE REDEMPTIVE nonprofit PLAYBOOK

start reading
STORY

Telling a consistent and integrated story to all stakeholders

Nonprofit Branding: Designing for Your Stakeholders

Mission Drift: Staying Faithful to Your Organization's Roots

PROGRAMS

Designing and delivering services based on proximity, collaboration, & impact

Design for Nonprofit Scale: Breadth vs. Depth for Impact

Replication & Transfer: Bringing Your Model to New Markets

TEAM

Advancing a healthy team culture that develops people for the long haul

Building the Team: Hiring for Scale

Creating a Culture of Design & Excellence

bOARD

Investing relationally in engaged, high-performance governance

Board Evolution: Engagement & Governance Over Time

Founders & Board Chairs: Making or Breaking the Venture

FUNDING

Building truly mutual relationships with donors as whole persons

Foundations & Family Offices: Navigating Relationships

Global Trends in Impact Investing

IDENTITY

Developing the mindset of stewardship rather than ownership of the mission

The Prophetic Role of Nonprofit Leadership

Building Strong Families & Strong Organizations

dynamic conversations FROM THE Rule of Life

start reading
Time

Practicing rhythms of work & rest that sustain our energy (and our team's) over the years

Money

Practicing simplicity & generosity to dethrone our preoccupation with wealth and possessions

Imagination

Practicing limits on our consumption of media & tech to steward and refresh our creative ability

Decision-Making

Practicing dependence on God in our discernment, rather than relying on our own autonomous wisdom

Power

Practicing sharing rather than accumulating status and authority to generate possibility for others

Community

Practicing presence and submitting to accountability with others who are not part of our work

Accelerator Cycle

The Accelerator runs from September 2022 to May 2023, and is anchored by intensive, multi-day, in-person events, with regular one-on-one coaching sessions with core team mentors and other small-group virtual sessions in between.  

Over the course of the Accelerator, Fellows interact personally with 35+ mentors and team members through small group discussions and one-on-ones.

Fellows also benefit deeply from the experiences of their peers. They encourage and challenge one another, engage in problem-solving sessions on key issues, and introduce one another to their own networks.

During the Redemptive Imagination Summit in May, Fellows close their program year by presenting to the community (including hundreds of potential funders) in their program Showcase.

April 1, 2022

Applications
Open

June 30 - July 15, 2022

Invitations
SENT

Coaching Sessions

Sep. 12-16, 2022

Mentoring Event

New York

Feb. 6-9, 2023

Mentoring Event

San Francisco, CA

May 22–24, 2023

Summit &
Showcase

Napa, CA

Active Community Participation

As a leader of a growing organization, I wasn't sure if the Praxis Accelerator would be worth the investment. But it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made as a leader. Every time I attend a Praxis event, I leave feeling inspired, connected, and rejuvenated ... and taking away concrete ideas and relationships that actually advance my work and life.

Victor Boutros

CEO, Human Trafficking Institute

2016 Nonprofit Fellow

The Praxis community broadens and challenges my perspective while simultaneously rooting my identity as a steward of God's call for our organization's mission. It's given me handles and frameworks to the concept of redemptive entrepreneurship, as well as strategy, tools, and tactics that have directly affected our work.

Johnmark Oudersluys

Executive Director, CityLink Center

2015 Nonprofit Fellow

God is at work through Praxis and its ventures. I know of no movement today that is restoring culture so deeply, through common commitments and willingness to sacrifice on behalf of others. It is a picture of unity, faith in action, and a commitment to excellence.

Peter Greer

President & CEO, Hope International

Nonprofit Accelerator Mentor, Venture Partner

Kelly Lyndgaard
It felt like I had come home. Praxis is the community I had been looking for my whole life.

Kelly Lyndgaard

Founder & CEO, Unshattered

2018 Nonprofit Fellow

Praxis' redemptive framework challenges and encourages me to reshape my decision-making in a way that no longer orients me at the center of my choices but to sacrificially put others first, reflecting Christ's love for us. I am humbled to be part of the Praxis community and grateful for the opportunities to collaborate with Christ-followers committed to the same calling of restorative life and work.

Vivian Long

Executive Director, Long Family Foundation

Nonprofit Accelerator Mentor

The Praxis team is invested in your redemptive work, yet one of the greatest attributes is their personal investment in you as a child of God. I have incorporated many practices from the Rule of Life for Redemptive Entrepreneurs, although the most important for me has been the active practice of a Sabbath.

David Araya

Co-Founder, HoPe

2017 Nonprofit Fellow

Praxis has been life-changing. Not only have I gained new practices of discernment and a new vision for how my wife and I can aspire to live, but our strategic model for our organization has drastically improved. Our lives and our work now demonstrate more of God's glory!

Olatunde Sobomehin

CEO & Lead Servant, StreetCode Academy

2021 Nonprofit Fellow

Accelerator Community

Meet our Mentors

Seasoned founders and investors offering strategic insight to the current cohort.

Meet our Fellows

The entrepreneurs in our current cohort.

Meet the program core Team

Praxis team members and Venture Partners who serve Fellows and connect them with resources.

Our Portfolio

A sampling of the 100+ ventures that have completed or are in the current cohort of the Nonprofit Accelerator:

Our accelerators have served 200+ active ventures

View the full portfolio

who should apply?

We select ventures that are:

  • Post-hunch, actively pursuing traction and growth in what they are building
  • Designing an innovative solution in their sector
  • Aiming to pursue their mission through a scalable model
  • Addressing a critical cultural issue through a redemptive approach

led by serious christians who are:

  • Aiming to embody the gospel through a redemptive venture
  • Humble and teachable, with a passion for excellence
  • Seeking an accountable community to grow together in faith
  • Working full-time on their ventures

A note on venture stage: The Praxis Accelerator is designed to support early-stage venture development. This program is best suited for entrepreneurs who have moved past the concept stage and are pursuing growth (whether that is early product-market fit or plans for significant scale). We typically engage entrepreneurs in the first five years of building their venture that have established donor revenue; however, we regularly include pre-revenue founders that are pursuing ideas at the redemptive edge of their sector that are still proving out model and structure.

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we're passionate about building a diverse community of exceptional entrepreneurs from every continent and background, including greater representation of:

  • Women
  • Racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., including Black, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native/Indigenous people
  • Currently underrepresented regions globally, including sub-Saharan Africa, Latin & Central America, and South and East Asia
  • Entrepreneurs coming from and serving in economically marginalized communities and sectors

A note for working parents: Praxis is committed to supporting entrepreneurs who are balancing the demands of early-stage venture development alongside raising a family. By structuring our program as non-residential, we’re intentional in limiting the amount of travel and hours needed to participate in the Accelerator to three events during the 9-month program cycle. We don’t want the needs of parenting to interfere with your ability to apply or participate in our Accelerator, and we do our best to accommodate working parents through schedule modifications and breaks for nursing mothers.

Apply

2023 NONPROFIT cohort APPLICATIONs

Applications for the 2024 Nonprofit Accelerator program will open in April 2023. The Praxis team will review applications, conduct interviews, and notify selected candidates by July 2023. The 2024 program cycle itself will begin in October 2023 and run through May 2024.

Accelerator fees

Through the support of our generous donors, we are able to subsidize most of our actual costs to deliver our Accelerator. This means your selection into our Accelerator comes with no program fees!

We will cover all food and accommodations for roughly ten days at the three in-person events, plus program materials and access to all the elements described above. We ask that you cover travel and transportation to each event.