The Joyful Impact Accelerator for Social Entrepreneurs 2026 is currently accepting applications, with a deadline of October 18, 2026. The program is designed for leaders of high-potential social impact organizations who want to pursue their next level of impact, personal renewal, and joy through a year-long journey of personal and professional growth.
Program Overview
• Purpose: Helps leaders of high-potential social impact organizations discover their next level of impact, personal renewal, and joy.
• Format: A year-long journey of personal and professional growth.
• Cohort design: Diverse by design, created specifically for mission-driven change agents with a big vision for making the world a better place.
• Participant profile: Leaders, and in many cases founders, of entrepreneurial social ventures in which they are both key visionaries and operational strategists.
• Core belief: The joyful integration of participants' personal and professional selves makes all the difference in their overall success.
• Program components: Connect with a diverse set of peers; engage with curated content focused on making social change more impactful, sustainable, and joyful; and access individualized coaching to apply the learning in each participant's unique context.
Costs
• The Joyful Impact experience is offered free of charge to participants, thanks to sponsorship by some generous grant makers.
• The only cost participants are asked to cover is travel to and from the two in-person convenings.
Eligibility
• Feel a strong calling towards social impact.
• Be a full-time Founder/ED/CEO of a US-based social impact organization, either non-profit or for-profit.
• Be at some type of inflection point in life and/or leadership.
• Be willing to reflect deeply about professional and personal well-being and to make changes in their lives accordingly.
• Be looking to build relationships with a unique community of peers.
• Be eager to learn from the lived experiences of a diverse cohort of peers and willing to share their own experiences in service of collective learning.
• Be willing to commit the time to engage fully, roughly 1-2 hours per week plus two in-person retreats and one virtual retreat spanning two afternoons.
Application
• Application deadline: Sunday, October 18, 2026 at midnight PT / 7:00 AM GMT (UTC+0).
• More information: Visit Joyful Impact Accelerator.
With a fully sponsored program experience and a cohort built for diverse, mission-driven change agents, the Joyful Impact Accelerator offers social impact leaders a structured opportunity to deepen their leadership, well-being, and peer connections over the course of a year. Interested candidates are encouraged to review the eligibility requirements and submit an application by October 18, 2026.