ProVeg International is looking for outstanding, mission-driven talent to join the second edition of Kickstarting for Good, the world’s first incubator and accelerator programme aimed specifically at high-impact nonprofit organisations and initiatives working on transforming the food system to reduce farmed animal suffering, mitigate climate change from agriculture, and improve public health. It is the not-for-profit programme of the ProVeg Incubator, which has been working with over 100 food tech startups in the last five years.

In 2023 we completed the Kickstarting for Good pilot programme, which received more than 300 applicants and involved 18 participants from 11 countries. The programme started by focussing on nine ideas and after eight intensive weeks, six teams and initiatives graduated from Kickstarting for Good including Vegan Thesis; Reporters for Animals International; Open Paws; The Freedom Food Alliance; and Church Welfare Campaign. Watch a 3-minute video with elevator pitches from each initiative. 

Applications for the 2024 cohort are now open.

Selected applicants will participate in a 10-week expert-led programme with a bespoke curriculum, expert mentoring (from leaders like Bruce Friedrich, Lauren Mee, and James Özden), and exclusive networking opportunities. They will learn key EA principles including how to prioritise between interventions, calculate expected value, use counterfactual reasoning, identify outcomes and indicators, and measure their impact. Participants will team up with like-minded co-founders, spend two intensive weeks in Berlin, and receive a grant of up to $5,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs. The programme culminates in a Pitch Day for those participants who meet pre-established milestones and “graduate” from the cohort.

Individuals, founder teams and also existing organisations can apply to the programme, which lists the following idea areas:

• Policy Change - Policies are an important tool for advocacy, with individual laws that can affect billions of animals and impacts that “probably (average) at least 100 years.” KFG seeks to support one or more efforts, staffed by experts, to advocate for policy changes that incentivize movement toward novel sources of protein and away from animal agriculture. 
• Meta-Fundraising - Donations to farmed animal causes total about $200 million per year, less than half of one percent of all charitable donations, and only 3% of climate change funding goes to food system work. We are looking for ways to significantly increase counterfactual funding for farmed animal charities by identifying new income streams and attracting new funders. 
• Artificial Intelligence - Artificial Intelligence is poised to disrupt society in countless ways, but its impact on farmed animals and the global food system is uncertain. After incubating our first AI charity in 2023, KFG wants to further explore promising approaches to using AI tools and influencing AI development to reduce farmed animal suffering and the other negative impacts of animal agriculture.
• Social Media - Nearly five billion people are members of at least one social media platform, representing dramatic growth from less than one billion users in 2010. KFG seeks to improve social media advocacy by helping plant-forward social media content creators be more professional, persuasive, effective, and self-sustaining.
• Corporate Engagement - Engaging with corporations has been effective for welfare-oriented goals like eliminating cages for egg-laying hens. KFG seeks to develop new concepts to use the power and influence of corporations to reduce animal product consumption and encourage alternatives.
• University Outreach - There are 245 million students enrolled in universities worldwide and they represent a key audience for farmed animal and food system advocacy. KFG supports efforts to conduct strategic outreach to these students including ideas to educate, influence, organise, and support them.
• Public Relations - Current perceptions of farmed animal advocates, plant-based foods, and food technology in general are mixed and often polarised, in part due to well-funded campaigns by the meat industry. KFG supports improving the movement’s use of public relations, media, and communications.
• Culinary Engagement - In the U.S. alone, the culinary industry employs around 15 million people, including 175,000 chefs and head cooks. KFG seeks to engage with plant-forward culinary professionals to help them be more successful and improve the quality and availability of plant-based foods in all parts of the world.
• Faith-Based Advocacy - Worldwide, more than 80% of people identify as being affiliated with a religion and faith-based beliefs and values have a deep influence on the actions of billions of people. KFG seeks initiatives that work with religious groups to leverage their influence in creating a more compassionate and sustainable food system.
• Farming Transition - Approximately one in four people in the global workforce are employed by agriculture. Farmers and their employees have been integral to sustaining the global human population and will be an important part of transforming the food system. Conceptualize and launch initiatives that help farmers transition away from animal agriculture toward more sustainable business practices.
• Food Waste - Global food waste accounts for an estimated 6% of greenhouse gas emissions, which is about a fourth of all food-related emissions. Food waste also accounts for 18 billion farmed animal deaths each year. KFG will seek to influence current food waste efforts and find innovative ideas to address animal product waste among consumers and throughout the supply chain.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis but ProVeg is encouraging submissions by 30 April for the very first round of projects. The Kickstarting for Good team will send a response by 15 May informing the applicant as to whether they’ve made it to the next stage. 

Find out more and apply at http://kickstartingforgood.org/.

If applying is not for you, but you have skills that are relevant to starting new nonprofit initiatives, please consider joining our amazing group of mentors! We’re looking for experts on nonprofit strategies and business models, program design, operations, marketing, research, impact measurement, and other essential areas. Please contact me at che.green-freelancer@proveg.org if you’re interested in being a mentor.