Vegan movement-building incubator Kickstarting For Good (K4G) has reported that its 2025 graduate cohort collectively raised more than $1.5 million within six months of completing the programme, an 85% increase on the funding secured by the previous year’s graduates over the same period.
The figures include approximately $250,000 in seed grants provided directly by K4G on graduation, with the remainder raised from external donors and impact-focused foundations. The results bring the total funding raised across all initiatives supported by K4G since 2022 to more than $10 million.
The organisation runs an 18-week incubation programme for founders working on projects across advocacy, food systems, media, law, and movement infrastructure. Applications for the next cohort are open until 31 May.
Notable graduates from the 2025 cohort
Several initiatives from the 2025 cohort have raised meaningfully since graduating. Documentary filmmaker support organisation Who Let The Docs Out has since become a re-granter for filmmakers in the vegan movement. Vegan Hospitality, a consultancy working with hotels and tourism operators to develop plant-forward guest experiences, was among the higher-raising cohort members, as was Lawyers for Animals, a legal community pursuing private prosecutions based on footage from more than 100 farm investigations where regulatory authorities have not acted.
What the numbers do and don’t measure
K4G is explicit that fundraising is not the primary measure of success. The programme evaluates its own performance through the longer-term impact of alumni, and treats early fundraising as one indicator of traction rather than an end in itself.
The organisation also counts stopping poorly conceived projects as part of its value. In cases where an idea is unlikely to succeed, K4G works with founders to pivot, restructure, or in some cases discontinue the initiative entirely, on the basis that freeing a capable founder to pursue more viable work represents a better outcome for the movement than allowing a weak idea to run its course.
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face,” the programme notes in its reporting, quoting Mike Tyson to illustrate that assumptions stress-tested during the incubator phase are not always borne out once organisations begin operating.
