Elite Start-Up Accelerator Opens Classes to Nonprofits

Prominent Bay Area business accelerator Y Combinator said Friday that starting next year it will regularly pay for nonprofit organizations to participate alongside commercial firms in its classes for start-ups, Fast Company writes.

While Y Combinator gets a share of equity in fledgling companies it finances, its support for nonprofit participants will be donated, said Paul Graham, co-founder of the Mountain View, Calif., accelerator.

Y Combinator tested working with nonprofits earlier this year, inviting the health-care “crowdfunding” group Watsi to one of its three-month classes. Watsi subsequently secured $1.2-million in seed money from investors in the tech sector.