Acceleraise Reviews

Acceleraise has gone through two cycles of women of color leaving in mass exodus (both attrition and firings), most recently the exit of 5 qualified Black women in less than 6 months. Last year, when consultants gathered to honestly share their struggles and exhaustions during a team meeting, the lead consultant who facilitated the conversation was bullied by leadership and promptly fired. Constructive feedback is not shared with staff in a timely manner and is only brought up at termination conversations, or sporadically when the CEO feels like going on a witch hunt. The CEO is a reactionary money-focused “leader” who really struggles with constructive feedback and that is evident in the organization’s abrupt pivots. She is selective in whose voice she deems worthy of listening to. She knows how to market herself and virtue signal as a Brown woman leader persevering in an antagonistic philanthropic scene (which it can be), but there is nothing revolutionary about funding an exorbitantly expensive “philanthropic conference” of her clients and friends to Belize. There is nothing revolutionary about actively seeking funding and fellowship with local elite whose politics and orgs actively harm the Black and Brown communities Acceleraise’s clients serve. The organization lacks meaningful equity policies such as pay transparency or maternity/paternity policies, which are proven by research to have significant impacts on the lives and families of WOC. The org upholds much of the white supremacy professionalism culture of reactionary urgency without any sustainable strategy or proper support, esp for folks with disabilities. There is a consistent pattern of over-promising to new clients, overworking staff (esp consultants), and gatekeeping key connections that are advertised during the prospecting calls with clients.