Heart of Dallas Young Professionals (HODYP) today announced that they will host an inaugural Fast Pitch event for DFW nonprofits focused on the areas of youth sports, children’s programs and family support. The event will takeplace on Wednesday, November 4^th at d.e.c on Dragon St. at 6:30 p.m. Local nonprofits supporting projects or programming dedicated to youth that align with one of HODYP’s three focus areas are encouraged to apply. Finalists will then be chosen to compete on stage at the Fast Pitch event in November.

Photo: DEC on Dragon

The Heart of Dallas Young Professionals group is comprised of young business professionals in the sports and entertainment industries in DFW and works to fuel bold social change. In 2013, Heart of Dallas inked a deal with ESPN Regional Television to produce the Heart of Dallas Bowl Game through 2019. As part of the arrangement, ESPN agreed to contribute an annual gift to advance the mission of Heart of Dallas.

Photo: www.purdueexponent.org

The HODYP formed a Fast Pitch event to make a significant contribution to the community and recognize DFW nonprofits that support local youth programs and projects. Through this event, area nonprofits will receive grants to support their efforts in addition to the opportunity to engage with potential new volunteers, donors and supporters. For more details about the event and to view an application, visit www.theheartofdallas.org.

“Our larger goal is to engage future business leaders that can provide the support and resources needed to encourage the development of nonprofit organizations who do so much to help our community,” said Britton Banowsky, a Founding Partner of Heart of Dallas. “It will be so rewarding to help these nonprofits become more effective.”

Photo: D Magazine

The Heart of Dallas Fast Pitch event is a two-part process. The first step consists of nonprofit organizations filling out an application for the event. Written applications are due October 15, 2015. The HODYP Steering Committee will select deserving finalists from the pool of applicants. All finalists will have the chance to participate in the Heart of Dallas Fast Pitch Event and receive an award ranging between $2,500 and $25,000.

The finalists will be judged on their live on-stage performance in presenting three-minute pitches before an audience and a panel of judges whose backgrounds range from business, civil service and nonprofit management. Representatives of the organizations have three minutes to tell judges the mission, vision and why their organization brings value to the community and is deserving of the funds. The finals competition will conclude with the winning nonprofit programs being awarded a predetermined amount totaling up to $60,000 in grants. The audience will determine the People’s Choice Award, which will be a $5,000 grant. Another $5,000 will be presented to the Community Excellence Award recipient’s chosen charitable organization. This award will honor a professional athlete who has made an impact on the field and a positive difference off the field.

To access the application, purchase tickets or become a sponsor for the Heart of Dallas Fast Pitch event, please visit theheartofdallas.org. Discounted tickets are available for nonprofit employees.

About Heart of Dallas:

The Dallas Foundation is the fiscal sponsor of Heart of Dallas Fund, a component fund of The Dallas Foundation, a 501(c)(3), publicly supported charity. The official launch event was the Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank on January 1, 2013 at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Demonstrating Heart of Dallas’ commitment to its home city, net profits from the event went to benefitting the homeless population in Dallas. A year later, The Heart of Dallas Young Professionals was formed to convene and engage the next generation of leaders in the Dallas sports and entertainment fields by connecting young professionals with one another and opportunities to fuel bold social change. For more information on Heart of Dallas please visit theheartofdallas.org.

Media Contact:
Carla Rosenberg, Matchpoint
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