Striving to create a world in which people have what they need and where economic, educational and health disparities are diminished.

About Us

Our Name

Pace from the Latin word for Peace, and Able for improving the individual’s capacity for a fulfilling, productive life.

Pace Able Foundation believes that through enabling a few people who have the conviction, they can make a difference through funding, access to mentoring and an ecosystem of tools to take the next steps to enhance a development or social structure.

We look to partner with energetic organizations that want to effect changes that improve people’s lives measurably, improving health, economic status and educational outcomes.

Bart Burstein and Leslie White are the husband and wife team behind Pace Able. We bring an array of perspectives to share with grantees. Bart has been a tech executive in Silicon Valley. Leslie has both tech and education backgrounds.

Our Team

Bart Burstein

Successful career through multiple Silicon Valley startups. Extensive experience in international business development and channels. Practicing Quaker.

Leslie White

Worked in development and marketing in Silicon Valley. Later became a reading specialist, working with struggling readers.

Our Advisors

Lindsay Stradley

Co-founder and Executive Director Lindsay Stradley oversees the growth and expansion of Fresh Life, a nonprofit sanitation service delivery company based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Vinai Sirkay

Bay Area Native, love for business development and negotiation in and for startups – hoping to help social impact entrepreneurs with the same.

Stan Getui

He currently serves as Head, Capacity Development and Ecosystem Building at the Mastercard Foundation. He was previously a Director at Luminate, part of the Omidyar Group where he sourced and manage Luminate’s investments and grants in Africa and the US. He has worked as a strategy consultant with Dalberg Advisors, where he focused on inclusive finance, as well as ICT and Investment for Development. He also worked with MFS Investment Management and Mercer Investments, both in Melbourne, Australia. Stan has served on the Advisory Board of the Department of Finance at the Deakin Business School, advising on undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.

Stan holds a Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) from the Warwick Business School, a Bachelor of Commerce Honours (First class) Degree in Finance and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Economics and Finance, both from Deakin University where he was the recipient of the John Scouller Award for outstanding individual research. Stan holds the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

He also serves on the board of Youth Impact, a grassroots, youth-led, evidence-based movement based in Botswana.

Jenna Wachtel Pronovost

Jenna Wachtel Pronovost is the Executive Director of the Ravenswood Education Foundation. Having served over 20 years in education as a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, preschool coach and non-profit leader and board member, she is passionate about the power and potential of high-quality educational opportunities, especially for our most vulnerable children and families. Jenna and her husband Robert, a fellow educator, are raising their two young children in Redwood City, CA.

How We Work

Pace Able actively partners with grantee agencies. For that reason, we only invite a few organizations to apply for grants. Beyond monetary support, we craft the partnership collaboratively to match our skills to the needs of the grantee. This is the process invited prospects can expect:

Apply

Fill out a concise statement of your organization’s goals, program, strategy and business plan.

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Review & Converse

Pace Able and its advisory board will review the application and hold conversations with you to determine mutual fit.

Partner

Together we will craft a multi-year collaboration that will move your program to reach its goals.

Pace Able funds projects that are sustainable and measurable. We engage with agricultural, health care, financial inclusion and education projects both in the developing world and the Bay Area.

Who We Fund

Agriculture

Technology that improves farmers’ productivity and profitability.

Partners:

Capacity Building

Innovations that create jobs and increase the capacity of society.

Partners:

Education

Programs that boost school achievement for children of color.

Partners:

Health

Solutions to improve public health systems and health outcomes.

Partners:

Alumni Partners

Partner Stories

Our grantee partners span from Gulu, Uganda to Hanoi, Vietnam. And they all have committed teams working hard to improve lives through their social ventures. Read their blog posts to learn how they incorporated startup know-how to get their business basics right.

See Partner Stories