(September 9, 2015 | New Orleans, LA) The Greater Foundation is pleased to announce that Committee for a Better New Orleans, New Orleans Mental Health Institute St. Tammany, and Reconcile New Orleans, Inc. will present their innovative ideas in a public pitch to a panel of judges on Friday, October 2nd at 8:30 am at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Pitch It! The Innovation Challenge will fund a novel approach, an innovative product, a new process, or an innovative service that supports a new way of doing business in the nonprofit sector. Top prize is $25,000 with second and third place winners receiving $8,000 and $5,500.
“In an environment of uncertain economic times and shrinking public coffers, we’re turning more and more to nonprofit organizations to tackle our toughest social problems,” said Albert Ruesga, president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “As demand grows for their services and programs, nonprofits must continuously seek novel solutions to meet community needs.”
“We’re proud to be entering our third year of partnership with the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Pitch It! Challenge that allows nonprofits to imagine new and innovative ways to tackle problems,” said Michael Shaw, program officer of human services at the Kresge Foundation.
Additional Pitch It! sponsors are Chevron, Uber, and contributions from the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Partners in Philanthropy annual campaign.
The three finalists who will present their pitches were selected from a pool of nearly 30 applicants who submitted a diverse range of innovative ideas to address many vital community needs. The three presenting finalists are Committee for a Better New Orleans, NAMI St. Tammany, and Reconcile New Orleans, Inc. Their innovations will address city budgeting challenges, services for people in crisis, and so-called “food deserts.”
The winner will be selected by the following panel of judges:
- Leah Brown, interim manager of Policy, Government and Public Affairs for Chevron’s Gulf of Mexico Business Unit
- Quentin Messer Jr., president and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance
- Michael Shaw, program officer of Human Services at the Kresge Foundation