Attention business owners: the Fraser Coast’s next big idea needs your support to get off the ground.

We’re putting the call out for sponsors at our next Community Ideas Pitch Night.

This unique event – established as part of the Fraser Coast Community Social Plan – has served as a launching pad for some remarkable projects making a real difference in our community.

It exists to foster innovation and to encourage grassroots ideas that address the real issues in our community.

Now we are inviting local businesses to invest in this project’s future by becoming prize sponsors for the next event, coming up on Tuesday, March 22nd at the Hervey Bay Community Centre.

RELATED: How Pitch Night supported Hope in a Suitcase

Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre CEO, Tanya Stevenson, said the goal of the Pitch Night was simple but profound.

“It’s an event that recognises how many amazing ideas are out there in our community that don’t quite have the finances, resources or awareness to really get going,” Tanya said.

“Some amazing projects, including Hope in a Suitcase, Outreach Doctors, Bite the Blue and the Bub Hub got their start or took their next big step at Pitch Night.

“We want to see this ideas incubator continue growing and making real, grassroots change in our community.”

Becoming a prize sponsor is simple and requires an investment of just $2500.

Sponsors will receive:

• Inclusion in all social media promotion for the Pitch Night event
• Co-branding (logo and business name including on all marketing material)
• Position on the Pitch Night judging panel
• Cheque presentation to Judges’ Choice winner

If you are interested in getting involved, email [email protected].

Pitch Night’s impact so far

These are just some of the success stories that have come out of the Community Ideas Pitch Night:

Hope in a Suitcase took out the Judges’ Choice award at the November 2020 Pitch Night. This project’s goal is to make sure all Hervey Bay children going into foster care have a suitcase full of age and gender-appropriate belongings – something they can call their own.

Intergenerational High Tea was the February 2021 winner. Since then, three high tea events (presented by HBNC’s social enterprise, The Wandering Teapot) have gone ahead, breaking down isolation and bringing together different generations.

While Bite the Blue did not take out one of the Pitch Night prizes, its founder Jessie McCarthy has leveraged the exposure her project gained through the event. She has now established ambassadors and partnerships throughout the community with the goal of combatting loneliness and mental health concerns.