Overview of EmpathyTech, Inc.
EmpathyTech is an international initiative and event series that brings together innovators, care providers, educators, researchers, and advocates to explore how technology can positively impact people in need of better support. These are often people who are underserved by traditional systems, including individuals with cognitive challenges, physical disabilities, mental health conditions, or complex care needs.
EmpathyTech began with a personal story, one rooted in caregiving, frustration with broken systems, and a deep belief that technology must serve people, not the other way around. What started as a grassroots initiative has grown into a movement for change. EmpathyTech brings together people across sectors, roles, and countries to accelerate innovation that centers dignity, equity, and empathy.
Our events focus on building bridges between sectors, encouraging meaningful collaboration, and raising awareness for empathy-driven innovation.
While we provide a tested event framework and guidance, each EmpathyTech event is co-created with the local host. We are flexible in how the partnership is shaped, and none of the details are set in stone. The structure can be adapted to match local capacity, priorities, and context.
EmpathyTech is in the process of becoming a global nonprofit platform. Two aligned but independent legal entities will form the foundation:
• EmpathyTech Inc. (United States) – a nonprofit currently being established in the U.S.
• EmpathyTech Europe (Norway) – will be registered as a nonprofit association
Our Ask
EmpathyTech® will be sustained through a mix of donations, sponsorships, public grants, and fundraising activities. While our first events were volunteer-driven, we are committed to building a model that enables fair compensation for everyone contributing to the mission.
Funding sources will include:
• Individual donations and philanthropic gifts
• Public grants (U.S., EU, Norway)
• Strategic partnerships with mission-aligned organizations
• Merchandise and creative fundraising events
• Values-aligned consulting, speaking, or educational offerings
100% of your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by US law. Your donation is made to Every.org, a tax-exempt US 501(c)(3) charity that grants unrestricted funds to the fund for EmpathyTech hosted at Edward Charles Foundation on your behalf.
Co-hosting an EmpathyTech event is an opportunity to position your organization as a visible leader in the future of inclusive care and technology. By partnering with us, you will:
• Showcase your commitment to innovation and equity in your sector
• Gain visibility and recognition across a diverse and growing network
• Influence the conversation about how technology can serve people better
• Connect with startups, investors, researchers, and decision makers
EmpathyTech also invites informal advisors from key sectors such as caregiving, innovation, research, and policy to help guide development and unlock opportunities through their expertise and networks.
Core Programs
EmpathyTech was born from the spark created when innovators met early adopters—people willing to take a chance on doing things differently. It started with a shared desire: to use empathy as the foundation for innovation. Pletly, driven by an entrepreneur determined to make change through technology, met A Step Up Academy (ASUA), an organization seeking to deepen its connection to the people it serves. Together, we found common ground in a belief that empathy and innovation are not opposing forces—they are complementary ones.
This collaboration between ASUA and Pletly represents what EmpathyTech is all about: innovating with empathy, showing empathy for those who take risks to create something new, and recognizing that meaningful progress rarely happens on the first try. It is about believing in people, ideas, and the potential to build something better—together.
After a successful EmpathyTech Philadelphia co-hosted with NewCourtland in 2024, co-hosting EmpathyTech 2025 with ASUA was the most natural next step following EmpathyTech’s registration as a non-profit. While ASUA’s daily work centers on children and young adults with autism, it was never a question that this EmpathyTech would expand to include conversations around physical disabilities, aging, mental health, and more. Empathy is universal—it does not belong to one community; it connects us all.
The EmpathyTech Impact Lab is a collaboration stage at EmpathyTech Philadelphia where innovators, providers, researchers, and advocates present a real challenge, project, or idea that needs partners to move forward. Rather than a pitch contest, the goal is to connect people who care about solving the same problems. Selected participants will have the opportunity to present their Call for Collaboration on stage and invite collaborators to connect with them to form partnerships. They will also receive curated partner introductions, share their progress virtually in six months, have a chance to win $5,000 in funding, and present their results on stage at next year’s EmpathyTech Philadelphia. The first Call for Proposal went out on October 1, 2025.
One of our long term goals is to launch the Techuity Fund, a dedicated pool of resources to provide free or subsidized access to technology for people who cannot afford it. The goal is simple: to treat access to innovation as a basic human right.
Needs
Our initial focus includes:
• Finalizing legal structures and governance
• Securing early-stage funding and sponsorships
• Hosting annual events in Europe and North America
• Building an open global community of contributors
• Launching the Techuity Fund
• Ensuring transparency, mission alignment, and sustainable growth
We are in the early stages of building something big, and we want to do it with people who care. If you believe innovation should center empathy, and that dignity should be a design principle, we invite you to get involved. Whether as a cohost, a funder, a thought partner, or simply a voice for inclusion, there is a
role for you in the EmpathyTech community.
Please contact the Pletly team directly to express your interest or learn more.