Nonprofits
A new nonprofit funding model
Forge distributes real advertising revenue to vetted nonprofits every quarter — governed entirely by community vote. No grant applications. No major donor cultivation. No pay-to-list. A genuinely new way to fund the work that matters.
How Forge works for nonprofits
Forge users watch short ads through the web app and Chrome extension. Each watch generates real advertising revenue. At the end of each quarter, Forge deducts operating costs from gross revenue, then distributes 80% of the net total to nonprofits — proportional to how users allocated their marks.
Marks are the governance tokens members earn by watching ads. During the quarterly two-week allocation phase, members direct their marks to any approved cause on the ballot — including newly nominated organizations. Every cause that receives votes receives a proportional share of the revenue. The five causes with the highest total mark weight earn featured tier status for the following quarter.
Forge handles the distribution directly. All causes that received votes receive funds following the close of each cycle — no application, no reporting requirements, no strings.
What being on Forge means
Recurring quarterly revenue
Featured causes receive distributions every quarter — not a one-time gift. As the Forge user base grows, so does the community pool. Early featured causes benefit from the full compound effect of platform growth.
Zero cost to your organization
Forge never charges nonprofits to be listed, featured, or remain on the platform. No listing fees, no revenue share, no administrative costs. If you qualify and the community supports you, you receive funds.
Community validation
Being voted into Forge's featured tier is a meaningful signal. It means real people actively chose to direct their marks to your cause over others. That's audience engagement with demonstrated intent.
No grant cycle dependency
Traditional nonprofit funding requires grant applications, reporting cycles, and funder relationships. Forge is structurally different — it's a platform where community support translates directly into revenue.
Vetting criteria
Forge's vetting criteria exist to protect users and the platform's credibility. They are non-negotiable and applied equally to every organization regardless of size, category, or who nominated them.
✓ 501(c)(3) status
The organization must be a federally recognized nonprofit in the United States with current 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. International organizations are not eligible at this time.
★ Four-star Charity Navigator rating
The organization must hold a current four-star rating on Charity Navigator — the highest available — indicating strong financial health, accountability, and transparency. Forge re-verifies this annually. If a rating lapses, the cause is paused until it is restored.
Forge currently supports four cause categories: Environment, Animal Welfare, Healthcare, and Children's Welfare. See all 12 founding causes →
How causes get on Forge
Causes don't apply to Forge directly — they're nominated by the community. This keeps the platform user-governed rather than supplier-driven. Here's how the process works:
- 01
Nomination
Any Forge user can nominate a cause. Nominations cost 50 marks — Forge's governance token — which are refunded if the nomination is approved, and forfeited if rejected. This small friction discourages frivolous nominations.
- 02
Vetting
Forge reviews every nomination against the two criteria: 501(c)(3) status and a current four-star Charity Navigator rating. Organizations that don't meet both criteria are declined, regardless of cause category or community support.
- 03
Approval and listing
Approved organizations are added to the Forge platform and become eligible for mark allocations in the next quarterly cycle. All users can see and allocate marks to any approved cause.
- 04
Community vote
Each quarter, members allocate their marks to causes they support. Every cause that receives votes receives a proportional share of that cycle's revenue. The top five by total mark weight earn featured tier status for the following quarter.
The community governance advantage
Most nonprofit funding is concentrated. A small number of major donors or foundation grants account for a large share of revenue. That concentration creates dependency — on individual relationships, on grant cycles, on the priorities of funders who may not reflect your community.
Forge is structurally distributed. Funding comes from hundreds or thousands of individual users, each allocating marks based on their own values. No single user, donor, or funder can dominate the outcome. The most supported causes win — and that support is demonstrated, not assumed.
For nonprofit development teams, this represents a genuinely new funding model: one where audience engagement and community support translate directly into revenue, at scale, without the overhead of individual donor cultivation.
Does your organization qualify?
If your organization is a registered 501(c)(3) with a current four-star Charity Navigator rating, you may be eligible for Forge's platform. The best path to listing is through community nomination — share Forge with your supporters and encourage them to nominate your cause once the platform launches.
If you represent a qualifying nonprofit and want to register interest or discuss a founding cause partnership, reach out directly.
We'll respond within two business days.