Earlier this year, our Resource Development Director Kara Robinson took a big chance on herself—she applied to compete in Desert Fast Pitch, a speech competition for nonprofit leadership. Kara can work a room with the best of them, but standing up on a stage in front of hundreds of people would be a huge challenge for her.

Desert Fast Pitch is an annual nonprofit pitch competition presented by the Regional Access Project Foundation and NPO Centric. The program provides selected nonprofit organization leaders with training, coaching, mentorship, and opportunities to compete for funding while building the skills and confidence needed to advance their missions.

This monthslong process was difficult, with many hours dedicated to writing, practicing, coaching, and digging deep to connect the Boys & Girls Club Cathedral City’s mission with a large audience.

Her hard work paid off! Already a winner with $1,000 for participating, $1,000 for making the finals, and $1,000 for her three-way tie for Most Improved, a panel of judges named Kara the first runner up, winning the Club $15,000. That’s $18,000, well-earned, for her incredibly brave pitch about the importance of mental health programming for local youth.

Thank you to NPO Centric, RAP Foundation, the judges, and the team of mentors who helped make this moment possible. Congratulations to all the other competitors for taking this leap, including third place winner Erin Hyland of Read With Me Volunteer Programs (a BGCCC partner nonprofit), and first place winner Tamara Canedo from Seiden Juku.