{"id":24916,"date":"2015-01-29T10:21:27","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T15:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=24916"},"modified":"2017-11-13T15:09:29","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T20:09:29","slug":"leadership-miami-philanthropists-pitch-to-the-sharks-at-fiu-brickell-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2015\/01\/leadership-miami-philanthropists-pitch-to-the-sharks-at-fiu-brickell-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership Miami philanthropists pitch to the \u201cSharks\u201d at FIU Brickell event."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Leadership<\/p>\n

Mixing charity, competition and celebration, Leadership Miami put a group of young philanthropists to the test at its annual Connecting for a Cause charity fundraiser at FIU Downtown on Brickell.<\/p>\n

The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce event, held on January 22, 2015 and sponsored by the College of Business\u2019 MBA programs, was a proving ground for seven teams, each representing a charity project. Each team\u2019s mission: convince a panel of five \u201csharks\u201d that their philanthropic cause was the most worthy of a $2,000 first place or $500 second place seed funding award, sponsored by TD Bank.<\/p>\n

Jose Aldrich, vice dean of the College of Business and a Leadership Miami graduate, welcomed the participants to FIU Brickell and served as one of the sharks.<\/p>\n

\"Leadership<\/a><\/p>\n

Matthew Maffai, chair of Leadership Miami, explained the format. Teams of two or three individuals representing each charity were to go into the tank, an FIU classroom, where five Miami business and civic leaders \u2013 aka, the Sharks \u2013 awaited them. Each team had two minutes to pitch their project and explain how they would put the money to use, and how team members would involve themselves personally to make the project successful.<\/p>\n

Reception guests get a \u201clive\u201d look at the competition. <\/em><\/p>\n

While cameras rolled in the Shark Tank, over 150 Leadership Miami participants and their friends networked and nibbled on appetizers in the nearby reception room. They also watched the presentations live on giant screens via FIU\u2019s classroom capture technology, a new feature of this year\u2019s program. Each team brought its own network to the event, with guests\u2019 admission fees benefitting the team they chose.<\/p>\n

\"Leadership<\/p>\n

While many presenters were jittery in their pre-tank moments, each team sailed through the presentation as well as the sharks\u2019 four-minute question-and-answer session that followed. Afterwards, they praised the sharks for well-informed, pertinent questions with little bite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were more like dolphins,\u201d said George Abbott of the Knight Foundation, one of the participants.<\/p>\n

At the end of the evening, Felipe Basulto, TD Bank\u2019s retail market manager for Miami-Dade, who led the judging, announced the winners. The grand prize went to Sunnyside Up, benefitting Lotus House, and second place went to Miami Matters, working on behalf of the Chapman Partnership.<\/p>\n

\"Leadership<\/p>\n

Rounding up the shark panel were Fernando Figueredo, director of career management services at FIU; Steve Nudelberg, principal thinker at On the Ball Marketing, and Juan C. Zapata, Miami Dade County Commissioner, District 11. At the end of the evening, Commissioner Zapata surprised the teams by letting them know his district would contribute $1,000 to each of their projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeadership Miami participants are some of the best and brightest of South Florida\u2019s young professional community, individuals who want to get involved, make a difference and build Miami as a world-class city,\u201d Aldrich said. \u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to bring them to FIU\u2019s Brickell facility and introduce them to our MBA programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Leadership Miami teams:<\/p>\n