Fast Pitch participants at the Showcase. /STACY CARDIGAN SMITH.
After 10 weeks of preparation and practice, four local charities were crowned Fast Pitch champions at last night’s sold out Showcase, held at The Met. The winners are:
- Grand Prize ($10,000 grant): Sunshine House
- People’s Choice ($5,000 grant): CanU Canada
- Coaches’ Choice ($2,500 grant): Project Neecheewam
- Presenters’ Choice ($2,500 grant): SSCOPE (Self-Starting Creative Opportunities for People in Employment)
Fast Pitch is a coaching program coordinated by The Winnipeg Foundation. Volunteers from the legal, financial, marketing and business sectors teamed up with charitable community leaders to develop the Fast Pitches.
The Grand Prize was decided by a team of judges and the others were determined through text-to-vote. The event was co-hosted by Dave McLeod and Nadia Kidwai.
“All of the Fast Pitches last night were incredibly strong,” says Jennifer Partridge, Strategic Projects Associate with The Winnipeg Foundation.
“One of the goals of Fast Pitch is to help charities learn to tell their stories clearly and succinctly, and that’s exactly what happened. Although this was a competition, more importantly it was about building connections, showcasing the impressive work going on in our city and celebrating Winnipeggers’ generosity.”
“The Foundation’s vision is ‘a Winnipeg where community life flourishes for all.’ Fast Pitch is one of the ways we’re working to fulfill this vision, and build our philanthropic community,” says Foundation CEO Richard Frost.
The Fast Pitch program aims to build the capacity of, and create visibility for, Winnipeg’s charitable sector. The coaching process also helps build valuable relationships with members of Winnipeg’s business community. The initial 15 teams were whittled down to 10 during a semi-final event.
