Our Social Venture Partners Board of Directors and our SEED20 Steering Committee recognize the need to do our part in prioritizing public health and containment of the Coronavirus. In weighing the best options against the impact to the nonprofit participants and community, we decided to proactively curtail our March 31st SEED20 OnStage event to eliminate the large gathering recommendation of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Our goal is to award the more than $40,000 in prize money to the winning organizations as planned. As such, the show must go on, albeit in a livestream format!
March 31-Livestreaming Event
We will be producing a livestreaming event in lieu of a live audience program. It will be complete with Hosts, Judges, recognition of sponsors, introductions of the 20 participants and the heart of the show, the pitches by the ten finalists. Audience voting will take place from the comfort of the ticket holders’ own homes and computers. Only individuals who are essential to running the show and limited sponsor representatives will be in the auditorium to maintain social distancing and a supportive environment. Ticket holders will receive additional information on how to access the live stream event and cast their vote.
Date to Be Determined 2020-Live SEEd20 Celebration
With our overarching goal of connecting the community to our region’s most innovative ideas for tackling pressing social challenges, we will plan a celebratory reception later this year. SEED20 ticket holders will be invited and encouraged to attend and engage with all 20 participants, enjoy food and beverages, and potentially hear the winning pitches live. If you have been to SEED20 before, you know the networking and community engagement are key components to making SEED20 so impactful, so you will understand why a live event is essential! We will provide more information on this event as our planning proceeds.
SEED20 OnStage Ticketholders
We greatly appreciate your commitment to SEEd20 through you ticket purchase. Your support has already enabled so much benefit to our Class of 2020 over the last four months. We’ve produced introductory videos for each participant, provided customized professional headshots, shared their introductions via blogs and social posts, and coached them on their storytelling abilities. We do understand that you purchased tickets for a live March 31 event, and our new plan may not meet your original expectations. In the spirit of supporting nonprofits, we encourage your engagement with our modified program, however, the Blumenthal Preforming Arts Center is available to support you with refund requests if needed at 704-372-1000.
We thank you kindly for your support of our program and this difficult decision.
