How the SEED20 competition went for Arin's Good Girl Dog Treats
On March 26, Talia Wucherer, the executive director of Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats, stood in front of an audience of roughly 500 people and gave a three-minute pitch explaining the nonprofit's mission as part of SEED20’s 2024 competition.
Wucherer and nine other local nonprofits received days of training and coaching to perfect their pitch, and the audience at the event voted on which pitch should win first place, a title that comes with a $20,000 prize.
After delivering the pitch, Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats came in second place, Wucherer said.
“When you go onstage, they don’t allow any props, any visuals, think of it like a Ted Talks. When you go on Ted Talks, there’s nothing but you,” she said.
Despite the size of the crowd, Wucherer was not overly nervous onstage.
“I guess that night I decided that our reason I was doing this was to elevate our mission and bring it in front of other people, so, it wasn't really about winning any of the prize money for me as much as, you know, elevating what we’re doing,” she said. “There were other times during the whole coaching process that I was more nervous than that night, believe it or not.”
As the second place People’s Choice winner of the event, Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats was awarded $7,000 from SEED20, but ended up receiving an additional $2,000 thanks to an additional $20,000 raised by Social Venture Partners Charlotte which was split between all 10 nonprofits.
Donations were also open for all nonprofits in the competition, meaning Arin’s also received donation money from those in attendance.
“From what I can tell through our pledge portal, which is what they use for donations, it was an additional, close to $6,000.”
All of the money Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats received from the SEED20 competition will be used for marketing, growing online sales, and hopefully even finding a permanent facility where Arin’s could have a storefront eventually, Wucherer said.
According to Wucherer, the most challenging aspect of the experience was condensing a mission she is so passionate about into a three-minute run down.
One of the most valuable aspects of the competition was meeting people from other nonprofits in the area, she added.
“Looking at the opportunity to have been chosen as just one of 10 nonprofits out of a lot of applicants to be highlighted and go through the training was a huge opportunity, and each one of the nonprofits was really doing significant work in areas that there are serious gaps within the community in the Charlotte area and trying to just create social change,” Wucherer said.
She invites anyone who is interested to get involved with Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats to help elevate individuals with disabilities.
“We’re changing the narrative, you know they’re very capable individuals that can work and offer their skills to the community,” she said.
The mission of the nonprofit is to "develop careers for individuals with disabilities that reinforce independence, resilience, and purpose."
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: How the SEED20 competition went for Arin's Good Girl Dog Treats
