Accelerate Change is a nonprofit media lab founded in 2012 that focuses on catalyzing new scalable and sustainable digital media models for citizen engagement. It emphasizes engaging communities of color, low-income communities, and fostering cross-class and racial citizen collaboration. The organization employs lean startup methodologies and business strategies to help both startup nonprofit ventures and established entities scale their digital media relationships and revenue streams.
Over the years, Accelerate Change has evolved from a scrappy incubator for new ventures to a full-fledged media lab that supports some of the largest nonprofit media ventures in the U.S. Their work includes scaling emerging cultural media properties, investing in established digital cultural media, running a digital media experimentation lab, and orchestrating impactful civic engagement campaigns such as the Civic Revolution.
The organization also builds and maintains influencer networks that authentically connect with audiences, helping amplify civic engagement and social impact. It operates primarily through its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, with a sister 501(c)(4) entity known as Accelerate Action.
Accelerate Change’s programs center on innovation in media and community organizing, aiming for financial self-sustainability while expanding digital media’s role in social change through news, education, and action. Their mission drives efforts to create new, scalable approaches that sustain and deepen citizen organizing specifically in communities historically underserved or underrepresented in media and civic participation.