FAQ

A small solar panel, a rechargeable battery and two LEDs in a 3D-printed case. The light charges while the sun is up and provides reading light after sunset, without a wall outlet.

A 3D-printed case ($1.10), a 5V solar panel ($1.50), a LiPo battery ($1.65), a TP4056 charge board ($0.45), two 5 mm LEDs ($0.12) and a slide switch ($0.35). Parts come to $5.17 per light. The full list is on the study light page.

Student volunteers print the case, assemble the parts and check that each light charges and turns on. Volunteers build without pay, so the $5.17 covers parts only. Shipping and a partner's distribution are separate. See how a light is built.

By our estimate, a light is used about 6 hours a day. That is Flash Forward's own estimate, not a measurement reported by a partner.

655 million people lived without electricity in 2024, according to Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026. Flash Forward does not claim to serve that many people. The figure is context for why a small light is worth building.

As of October 6, 2026, Flash Forward has built 72 lights for three partners. 42 have shipped to Brighten Haiti. 15 are allocated to Loksadhana in India and 15 to Malaika in the DR Congo; those 30 are allocated and not described as shipped. See where the lights go.

The partner organization. Partners already work with students and families and know who needs a light and how to hand it over. A Flash Forward volunteer on site is not the one who knows the households.

Yes. Pick a partner on the donate page. The team receives that as your preference and follows it when it can. It is not a restricted fund.

Write to us through the contact form and choose the topic Request lights for my community, or email about@flashforwardfoundation.org.

Each light costs $5.17 in parts. Choose how many lights, give once or monthly, and finish checkout on Every.org.

To parts for solar study lights: $5.17 per light. Volunteers build the lights without pay. Card and wallet gifts carry a payment processing fee (for US Visa and Mastercard, 2.2% + $0.30) that comes out of the gift. Bank transfers on Every.org arrive in full.

To the extent allowed by law. Every.org emails the receipt. Tax status and the EIN are on the nonprofit status page.

Yes. Choose Monthly on the donate page. Every.org lets you change or cancel a monthly gift from your account.

Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or Venmo on Every.org.

Volunteers build lights and keep the rest of the work moving: outreach, writing, fundraising and welcoming the next person. Say what you can do and how much time you have, and the team will answer with what is actually open. Start on the volunteer page.

Engineering and manufacturing, outreach and partnerships, communications, fundraising, volunteer coordination and STEM activities.

No. The internship is unpaid and has no stipend. It is not a job offer at the end. Academic credit, if any, is between you and your school. See the internship page.

There is no application portal and no posted deadline. Pick one track, then write your name, school, email, the term you want, how many hours a week you can give and the track. Send it on the application form or by email. A team member replies if the workshop can take a placement. No reply is not a waiting list.

Volunteers help with a task that is open. Interns have a named track, a term and a person to report to. Both are unpaid.

A student-run nonprofit in Bellevue, Washington. Volunteers build solar study lights so that students without electricity at home can keep studying after dark.

Students founded it in 2024 and built the first solar study light prototype that year. In 2025 the IRS recognized the organization as a public charity. In 2026 volunteers are building lights for partners in Haiti, India and the DR Congo.

Yes. The IRS recognizes Flash Forward Foundation as a 501(c)(3) public charity, effective August 5, 2025. The determination letter and the Publication 78 listing are posted on the nonprofit status page.

A student on the team. Write through the contact form or email about@flashforwardfoundation.org.