Denise Burkard, Lead Partner, SEED20 2017
If you haven’t attended the SEED20 OnStage event before, you are in for a real treat. Ever need a chance to feel good about humanity again? To remind yourself why you love living in the Queen City? This night brings it all home for you. You get to see inspiring nonprofits at their best. You get to be part of a local community out to cheer them on.
What’s in store for you on March 27th? While 20 organizations are selected from a large applicant pool to participate in the program, they’ve now been whittled down to ten finalists. These ten will take the stage to tell their story in a concise and compelling manner. How concise? Each finalist has three minutes to tell their story. No notes. No props. No powerpoint.
Now these are regular people like you and me. But when they take that stage, they transform into visionaries who have seen a problem and stepped up to address it. To deliver this compelling pitch takes a lot of coaching, preparation, and guts. What makes it even more fun, is that you, yes you, get to vote for the grand prize winner! And, the cherry on top is the chance to interact with any or all of the 20 organizations at the reception. Grab a plate of food and a glass of wine, and go find your favorite non-profit and chat them up. Better yet, volunteer or donate.
If you’ve attended in the past, you may be wondering what’s new this year. Besides a whole new crop of outstanding nonprofits, we have a few nifty enhancements –
* A Master of Ceremonies! For the first time, we’ll use professional talent to add fun and polish.
* Look Up! Yes, the Wells Fargo’s Duke Energy Center will be lit up in green in honor of our program on the evening of the 27th.
* A new SEED20 Web Award has been added to our prizes this year. The community will be able to vote for a winner via the website in the days leading up to the event. We’ll announce the winner at the OnStage program.
* Want to hear the final pitch for any of the 10 semi-finalists? Now you can. John and Miller at The Charlotte Podcast are recording a 5 minute podcast for each semi-finalist. You can download and listen at your convenience.
So, don’t be unnerved if you leave the evening feeling compelled to show some extra love and kindness and aren’t sure why. Just let it flow over you; it’s a natural side effect.
See you on March 27.
