Hermosa Friends awards $25,000 in charity ‘Quick Pitch Contest’
by Kevin Cody Representatives from a dozen Beach Cities charities spoke from the Lighthouse Cafe stage Wednesday evening. Slides showing their services flashed on a screen behind them. The slides were the only support allowed during the four-minute pitches. PowerPoint presentations and videos were not allowed. The evening was hosted by the Hermosa Beach Friends Foundation, formed in 2016 to encourage local philanthropy. Hermosa Friends president Ryan Nowicki welcomes participants to the 2022 South Bay Nonprofit Quick Pitch Contest. Each year, the Friends hosts a “Quick Pitch” contest, modeled after “Shark Tank.” The winner receives $10,000, a significant budget boost for the mostly small charities. The concept isn’t new to philanthropy. But other quick pitches are usually made to foundation members only. Friends holds its pitches in public venues to publicly showcase the charities, explained attorney Ryan Nowicki, who co-founded Friends with his wife Karen, after the two led Leadership Hermosa for 10 years. Ryan Nowicki was Hermosa’s Man of the Year in 2017. Karen Nowicki was elected city treasurer in 2013. “We thought we’d have a dozen members who would get together for dinner a…
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