Like other technology breakthroughs, AI offers enormous opportunities to reimagine solutions to the world’s pressing challenges. However, to harness AI’s power and potential effectively, we must work together to ensure it is used ethically, responsibly, and inclusively.
As a natural extension of our work to help close the data divide, Splunk is partnering across sectors on using AI for good. We’re thrilled to count Fast Forward, an organization focused on scaling tech nonprofits, as a deeply valued partner in that work. For many years, we’ve shared a commitment to empowering tech nonprofits, with an increasing focus on the impactful, AI-powered nonprofits that make up the growing AI for Humanity movement.
Splunk is proud to support Fast Forward’s Startup Accelerator and other key programs through grantmaking and skills-based volunteering, with Splunkers providing feedback and expertise to Accelerator portfolio organizations. Splunk’s strategic grantees include seven alums of Fast Forward’s Accelerator, yet another way we partner to help promising tech nonprofits scale. We are excited to highlight two of those outstanding organizations: Closegap and Ersilia.
“AI-powered nonprofits are proving that AI can serve as a force for good across health, climate, and education. With partners like Splunk, we can accelerate this movement—supporting tech-driven solutions designed with humanity at their core.”
—Kevin Barenblat, co-founder of Fast Forward
Using AI to Identify Crises and Facilitate Meaningful Connection
The youth mental health crisis has intensified over the past decade; yet with school counseling departments understaffed and overwhelmed, many young people slip through the cracks. Today, the average delay between the onset of mental health needs and intervention is 11 years.
Closegap is on a mission to improve the mental health of K-12 students by equipping schools with free, fun, and interactive mental health check-ins.
Students answer a series of questions about their emotions, energy level, and physical needs, and the responses are organized and delivered to staff to allow for real-time intervention. Those check-ins have uncovered issues from mild to serious; they have helped prevent suicides and uncover cases of self-harm, assault, and bullying. Closegap has served over 300,000 students in all 50 states, with over nine million check-ins.
AI is helping Closegap further increase its effectiveness and reach. Closegap is using deep learning methods that improve the triage and classification of student needs, helping staff respond to students faster. It’s also using large language models (LLMs) to provide crisis alerts and generate messages to students who wish to speak to an adult. Those enhancements mean school staff can reach more students, do it faster, and ensure students get the support they need when they need it.
Ultimately, Closegap seeks to not only help educators respond to students in crisis but also address underlying issues students face, like stress and arguments with peers and parents. By following up after check-ins, educators and students build strong relationships rooted in empathy and trust, which enhance mental well-being and healthier school communities.
Transforming Drug Discovery in Africa with AI/ML Technology
Africa faces a staggering burden of communicable diseases, exacerbated by limited healthcare infrastructure and an underfunded drug development ecosystem. Recognizing this challenge, Splunk social impact partner Ersilia, through its Open Source Initiative, is revolutionizing the fight against infectious diseases by equipping African scientists with cutting-edge AI/ML tools while fostering a sustainable health research ecosystem.
Leveraging Splunk’s technology, funding, and skilled employee expertise, Ersilia has made significant strides in improving drug discovery and empowering local researchers. Splunk’s support has been instrumental in enabling Ersilia to streamline data ingestion and analytics, saving over 700 hours of manual work annually. This partnership has led to a 10x improvement in antimalarial drug candidate discovery and facilitated the training of over 150 scientists, including through workshops like the “AI for Drug Discovery” event in Ghana.
Central to this collaboration is the Ersilia Model Hub, an open-source platform offering low-code access to pre-trained AI/ML models tailored for neglected and infectious disease research. Splunk’s contributions have enhanced the Hub’s monitoring and analytics capabilities, enabling Ersilia to track model usage and improve performance across its four-phase deployment plan—from internal monitoring to local deployment in low-resourced settings in the Global South.
Ersilia’s impact extends internationally, fostering partnerships across Africa, South America, and beyond, with organizations like the H3D Centre in Cape Town and the University of Buea in Cameroon. With Splunk’s support, Ersilia is advancing its mission to close the data divide, democratize access to AI technologies, and empower Africa-led scientific research to address global health inequities.
Working Together for a Human-Centered Future
Both nonprofits exemplify the extraordinary good that can result when cutting-edge AI enables innovation. Many social impact organizations are racing to leverage the transformative power of AI, but Fast Forward’s Kevin Barenblat reminds us that the type of tech-fueled success enjoyed by Closegap and Ersilia rarely happens in a vacuum.
“We’re seeing a surge in nonprofits using AI to tackle global issues,” he notes. “But building sustainable, impactful solutions takes support. By partnering with AI-driven nonprofits, more companies can be part of creating a human-centered future.”
To learn more, visit Fast Forward’s website to dive deeper into its Accelerator and other resources for nonprofits.
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