Pitch Black
PitchBlack is an exercise in cooperative economics funding local creativity through crowd-funded micro-grants that impact the collective.
Together, We're Making a Difference with Pitch Black
Since 2021, Pitch Black has been a vibrant testament to the power of community. With each $10 contribution, our community members don’t just donate—they vote and decide which Black-led projects to bring to life. Together, we’ve raised over $65,000 and supported more than 40 transformative projects. Your $10 isn’t just a donation; it’s a investment and a building block for a thriving ecosystem of change, empowering creators and innovators who are shaping our community’s future. Join us during Kwanzaa on Ujamma, December 29th, and let’s continue to grow this movement of collective empowerment and community-driven change.
December 29th at 6pm
THE MAROON CULTURE LAB
867 Mt. Vernon Ave. | Columbus, OH 43203
Apply To Pitch
Deadline: December 19th at 7PM
About Pitch Black
Theory Of Change
PitchBLACK seeks to build on creatively onto the Kwanzaa principle of Ujamaa. By building a forum for radical communal exchange, empathy, and investment in order to foster communal impact.
The fourth principle of Kwanzaa is Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) and is essentially a commitment to the practice of shared social wealth and the work necessary to achieve it. Ujamaa literally means familyhood and suggests a sharing of work and wealth in the manner of a family. It grows out of the fundamental communal concept that social wealth belongs to the masses of people who created it and that no one should have such an unequal amount of wealth that it gives him/her the capacity to impose unequal, exploitative, or oppressive relations on others.
How it works
01: Invest – Make an investment of $10 or more by purchasing a ticket or boosting the grant through donation. Attend the PitchBlack event.
02: Pitch – Each presenter has exactly 5-8 minutes to share their idea with the community investors and answer 4 questions from the audience about their project. Attendees hear presentations from Four to Five community members leading projects in the Arts, Urban Agriculture, Social justice, Education, Technology & More.
03: Vote – Attendees vote on the project they feel has the most community impact. While votes are tallied attendees are able to network, share resources, enjoy music and art, take pics.
04: Build – At the end of the program, the votes are tallied and the winner goes home with the money raised by the attendee’s investment to carry out their project.
05: Share – Winners will be required to come back to a future PitchBLACK to update the community on the success of their project.
Apply To Pitch
Application Opens December 11th!
Important Dates:
December 19th: Applications Close | 7PM
December 23rd: 6pm -7pm for a virtual call (If application is accepted).
December 29th: PITCH BLACK from 6pm – 8pm in-person at The Maroon Culture Lab
*Please note: Applying does not guarantee you will receive a spot to pitch. There will only be 5 pitches selected so please provide as much information as possible in your application.
Can't Make it to the event?
Donate to PitchBlack! All proceeds go to the grants.
Venue Info
The Maroon, Mount Vernon Avenue, Columbus, OH, USA
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