2023 was a tremendous year for the disability-focused nonprofit world, and accessiBe is honored to have formed 200 new partnerships with many of these amazing organizations while sustaining and growing our existing, 400 partnerships. It was our partners’ valuable insights, purposeful actions, and commitment to inclusion that allowed us at accessiBe to make an impact and be part of positive change.
A core component of accessiBe’s Nonprofit Partnership Program is the celebration of the many successes owned by our partners. And so, with this list of success stories, we’re proud to highlight nonprofit organizations that exemplify a more accessible world.
#1: Autism Goes to College
Autism Goes to College, a nonprofit supporting autistic students on their paths to higher education, is proud to share that their Webby™ Anthem Award-winning podcast passed 60,000 downloads just before the end of 2023. The podcast features unique stories of autistic college students nationwide, illuminating the pathway to higher education for neuro-divergent students everywhere.
#2: Thriving Blind Academy
Thriving Blind Academy is dedicated to ending the literacy, employment, and financial crisis in the blind community. This year, the organization broke into the literary world by publishing the children's book "What I Can Be Is Up To Me." The book is written by the organization’s Co-Founder, Kristin Smedley, and illustrated by blind artist, Kim Crothers. The book is fully accessible with Braille and picture descriptions. It also features inclusive characters who are blind, with low vision, or CVI, and represent diverse backgrounds. "What I Can Be Is Up To Me” was awarded the Donna Lynne Quille Award and is achieving rave reviews from parents, teachers, and most importantly, children.
Get a little more personal with the organization by watching Thriving Blind Academy's Kristin Smedley give a TED talk on her personal story of how she learned to see the world through the eyes of her children who are blind.
#3: Help Hope Live
The supporters of Help Hope Live, a nonprofit that supports community-based fundraising for people with medical expenses and costs due to cell and organ transplants or catastrophic injuries and illnesses, raised over $208,000 on Giving Tuesday. 610 donors contributed, increasing Help Hope Live’s website offering from last year's Giving Tuesday by 48%!
#4: Helpers Community Inc.
Helpers Community Inc. San Francisco supports the adult developmentally disabled community and the organizations they serve by providing relevant grants, hosting events, and collaborating with influential partners in their respective spaces. In October 2023, Helps Community SF held a Meet the Artists event where they featured 8 artists who work across several mediums. The event offered a setting for neighborhood networking and brought together artists, nonprofit organizations, and community members for a night of mixing and mingling.
#5: The Friendship Circle of San Diego
The Friendship Circle of San Diego brings together teenagers and adult volunteers to help people with disabilities and their families. For Hannukah, the organization hosted a festive event to bring together its adult participants with disabilities. The community members baked and decorated themed holiday cookies and ate, danced, made art, and sang all as new friends.
#6: Accessible Festivals
Accessible Festival and its Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program grants free access to recreational experiences like concerts, festivals, and conventions for people with disabilities and their loved ones. People impacted by newly acquired, temporary, or lifelong disabilities are encouraged by this organization to apply for free access to their favorite events. In the past year, Accessible Festivals partnered with a variety of festivals including Beyond Wonderland, BottleRock Napa Valley, and Electric Daisy Carnival. With many friends and partners in the industry, they plan to add many more festivals and recreational events to the list in 2024. In 2023, The Dan Grover Memorial Ticket Grant Program granted over $40K in free tickets!
#7: Imerman Angels
Imerman Angels provides free, one-on-one cancer support and personalized mentoring for all cancer fighters, survivors, previvors, and caregivers, The nonprofit has been fortunate in 2023 to surpass all previously set goals for this year from their events, fundraising, and most importantly the number of people whom they helped. Imerman Angels started the year by adding some amazing new staff members, moving into a new office space, creating a new website to showcase their work, and most importantly, partnering accessiBe.
#8: Adeo
Adeo, an organization that supports people with brain injuries and their families by providing services tailored to meet individual needs, launched the Say Yes to Joy! Fund in 2023 when it did its annual Walk, Run, or Roll event. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Adeo’s Walk, Run, or Roll event, the “Say Yes to Joy!” The fund raised more than $20,000. This fund will be used to underwrite a variety of experiences that bring joy to ADEO’s residents with brain injuries.
Cheers to 2024!
As we celebrate every one of these nonprofits' success stories, let them serve as a blueprint for future meaningful contributions that make a difference in the realms of access and inclusion. The creativity, innovation, and motivation shown by these nonprofits should encourage all of us to join the ranks of those working towards positive change, fostering a sense of community and collective responsibility. These success stories truly define 2023 and the unwavering belief that a better world is within our reach when we work together.
You can visit our Nonprofit Partnership Program page to learn more about joining and hear more stories from our incredible Partners.