Meet the team that came together to support nonprofits and funders through their own experience with disaster recovery.
The FastRoots Story
Why we’re committed to supporting nonprofits and funders
In 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida and traveled up the east coast, leaving devastation in her wake. Her path included western North Carolina, where Addi found himself stranded away from his home and community.
Cut off from loved ones but determined to help, he used the internet and his smartphone to remotely organize volunteers for search and rescue operations. What started as an improvised crisis response to help an isolated community quickly evolved. Over 100 volunteers mobilized across five counties and two states to provide critical aid where large agencies struggled to reach.
Teams of nurse volunteers supporting the Hurricane Helene recovery (National Nurses United).
Despite their impact and partnerships with global organizations, the group faced a common challenge: Red tape that makes becoming a nonprofit extremely difficult. Without that status, they were prevented from accessing donations to sustain their efforts. Volunteers juggled urgent needs with the exhausting process of proving their legitimacy to funders.
Large organizations have resources but they often lack the agility and local knowledge to act effectively in the immediate aftermath of a crisis. On the other hand, grassroots groups are deeply embedded in their communities but lack the financial infrastructure to sustain their work.
Residents and volunteers clean up flooded downtown Marshall, North Carolina (CNN).
After experiencing this gap firsthand, Addi partnered with Matt to build FastRoots—a technology platform designed to amplify grassroots impact, streamline collaboration, and help organizations secure sustainable funding.
FastRoots isn’t just about emergency response. We’re here to ensure that community-driven initiatives have tools and access to funding to turn their expertise into lasting change.
We’re here to ensure that community-driven initiatives have tools and access to funding to turn their expertise into lasting change.
The FastRoots Team
Matt Corzine
Co-founder & CEO
As Co-founder and CEO of FastRoots, Matt brings decades of experience in business innovation to the table, ensuring that high-impact community efforts receive the resources they need to thrive.
His philosophy prioritizes operational excellence, data-driven decision-making, and mission-driven innovation. With a proven track record of driving impact across both corporate and nonprofit sectors, Matt is dedicated to shaping the future of grassroots empowerment by harnessing technology to amplify community-led solutions.
Addison “Addi” Fuller
Co-founder & Chief Product Officer (CPO)
Addi is the Co-founder and CPO of FastRoots, working alongside Matt to reinvent how grassroots organizations and funders move fast and grow roots with live data.
Prior to FastRoots, Addi was an executive at the fastest-growing construction technology company in the U.S.. He built and unified product, brand, and people operations teams that improved project delivery for the nation’s largest general contractors through data-driven insights. His success resulted in the delivery of more safe, secure, on time, within budget, and dispute-free projects.
Now, he’s dedicated his focus to improving how nonprofits and funders collaborate to amplify their community-led impact.
Katy Calloway
CFRE, Strategic Advisor
With over three decades of nonprofit leadership experience—including as a Founder and Managing Partner of Calloway Stern Group—Katy advises FastRoots in their development of collaborative capacity software.
She brings direct experience leading nonprofit organizations and boards, along with insights into how philanthropic relationships are built and sustained.
Her understanding of the funding process gives FastRoots a firsthand perspective of how nonprofits and funders collaborate, and how that process could improve.