A civic pitch competition for individuals with creative ideas to make northeast Ohio a better place to live.
Individuals with visions of creating positive change in Cleveland will pitch more than two dozen ideas at Accelerate: Citizens Make Change, a civic pitch event presented by the Cleveland Leadership Center with support from Citizens Bank. Their ideas touch nearly everyone in NEO and include projects that leverage the arts to improve neighborhood connections, and that address issues involving refugees, youth, and people who are homeless. Some ideas use website, podcast and blockchain technology. Presenters range in age from their teens to over 60 and represent a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
Panels of prominent community members will judge preliminary competitions to select one finalist in each of six categories: Authentic Cleveland Experiences (which is a new category this year), Community Change, Economic and Workforce Development, Educating for Tomorrow, Health & Wellness, and Quality of Life. The six finalists make their pitches to a combined audience, which will vote to select the winner.
Since the event launched the event in 2015, Accelerate has been a catalyst for dozens of ideas to take flight and directly impact everyone from pre-kindergarteners to senior citizens. Updates on past pitches are at www.cleveleads.org/AccelerateUpdates.
Advance tickets are on sale now and cost $35 for the general public and for alumni of Cleveland Leadership Center programs, which includes one drink ticket and discounted valet parking; $20 for students (student price does not include a drink ticket). All tickets are $40 at door. Open seating.
Phone: 216-592-2289
Email: nboyd@cleveleads.org
2019/02/27 - 2019/02/27
Additional time info:
Doors open at 5:00 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., there will be 6 simultaneous pitch sessions by category, followed by a reception (6:30 p.m.) and finalist’s competition at 7:00 p.m.
New to the event this year is a Teen Enterprise Pop-Up shop, which was the result of last year’s winning Accelerate pitch. Tory Coats pitched his civic vision of preparing tomorrow’s business leaders today by offering them mentoring and a place to sell products they create. Coats returns to Accelerate with teen entrepreneurs who will sell clothing, artwork and other products they have created. The Burton D. Morgan Foundation is sponsoring the pop-up shop.
In addition to Citizens Bank, the event is offered in partnership with sponsors for each pitch category: Cleveland Clinic, Cuyahoga Community College, Destination Cleveland, Nordson, Oswald Companies, Westfield, Oatey Co. and Thompson Hine LLP. Jackson Lewis is sponsoring the Past Presenters Showcase, where those pitched at previous Accelerate competitions will share the progress of their vision and how they are impacting the community.
Global Center for Health Innovation
1 St. Clair Avenue NE, Cleveland, OH 44114