2016 Fast Pitch Winners

 
Social Venture Partners Arizona hosted its sixth annual Fast Pitch on March 1, attracting a record 600 attendees to an event where social entrepreneurs compete in front of a live audience to “pitch” grant funders and donors so they can better fulfill their missions and grow their reach.
Held at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, eight Phoenix-area nonprofits and one student group from Arizona State University competed for $60,000 in cash awards and grants. Further, community leaders, business executives and philanthropists in attendance donated an additional $40,000 after hearing the pitches.
“This event is exhilarating and inspiring. It’s a wonderful example of how just a few members of our community are capable of effecting change on such a large, powerful scale,” said SVPAZ Executive Director Terri Wogan-Calderón. “Each year, the nonprofit leaders raise the bar, and this year was no different. Our winners are creative, cunning and will no doubt make a life-altering impact in Arizona and beyond.”
Winners of the 2016 Fast Pitch:
·       SVPAZ Award includes a year of mentorship from partners ($25,000) – ONe TRUe LOVe
·       Judge’s Award ($10,000) – Homeless ID Project
·       Kiita “Get Up & Go” Award ($7,500) – Resilient Me
·       Audience Choice Award ($2,500) – Homeless ID Project
·       Mentor’s Choice Award ($2,500) – Resilient Me
·       ASU Rob & Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Award ($2,500) – ONe TRUe LOVe
·       ASU Student Award ($2,000) – Literacy For All, Inc.
The live event is a culmination of an eight-week program in which 20 nonprofits received coaching and technical expertise from the business and philanthropic community to help hone their message and build a foundation for future success. The finalists each had three minutes to pitch a panel of judges. Fast Pitch dares to ask the question: “How can you change the world in three minutes?” The eight finalists who competed for funding on stage included leaders from the following nonprofits:
·       Code Clubs of Arizona
·       Discovery Triangle Development Corporation (Fresh Express by Discovery Triangle)
·       Homeless ID Project
·       Hunkapi Programs, Inc.
·       Local First Arizona Foundation
·       ONe TRUe LOVe
·       ResilientMe
·       Young Artist Society
For additional information about Fast Pitch and Social Venture Partners, visit www.svpaz.org.