If entrepreneurs can pitch their businesses for million dollar investments in Silicon Valley, then why can’t programs that help low income youth get a chance to do the same thing? That was the idea behind a recent fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula (BGCP), called Venture Tank, modeled after the popular TV show, “Shark Tank.”
A real ABC ‘shark’ brings together a panel of local venture capital leaders to support local youth
Real ‘shark’ Robert Herjavec at the BGCP Venture Tank event. Photo by BGCP
Led by Robert Herjavec, one of the actual ‘sharks” from ABC Shark Tank program, the BGCP ‘Venture Tank’ event featured some of the biggest venture capital leaders in Silicon Valley: Doug Leone of Sequoia Capital, Peter Wagner of Wing Venture Capital, Ted Schlein of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, David Strohm of Greylock Partners and Peter Levine of Andreesen Horowitz (a16z).
BGCP “Venture Tank” event featured Robert Herjavec of the ABC Shark Tank show and a panel of venture capital leaders. Photo by BGCP
BGCP: helping low income youth succeed in school and life beyond
BGCP serves about 1,800 students in East Palo Alto, eastern Menlo Park, and the North Fair Oaks region of Redwood City across nine sites: three clubhouses and six local schools. BCBG has been around for over 55 years, but as community needs have increased, the organization has evolved from providing after school recreation to helping low income youth gain the confidence and academic skills needed for school success, high school graduation and beyond. In 2015, over 90% of BGCP’s high school members earned diplomas, compared to 60% of the students in their surrounding neighborhoods.
BGCP programs help over 1,800 local low income youth succeed in school and build confidence. Photo by BGC
A ‘return on investment’ for local youth
A BGCP staff member and a BGCP alum made their case for why the ‘sharks’ should invest in two programs that have a strong return on investment (ROI) for low income youth: the BGCP summer learning program and its high school program at Hoover School in Redwood City.
Lindsay Black, a senior at Howard University who worked with BGCP VP Erin Brannon to showcase the summer learning program, loved trying to convince the ‘sharks’ to invest in Silicon Valley youth.
BGCP alum and current Howard University senior Lindsay Black pitches the Venture Tank judges. Photo by BGCP
“To actually witness the genuine interest in the work BGCP does and how the programs benefit our youth from some of Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists was an incredible experience,” she said. “The event gave me the opportunity to understand who was investing youth like me and why.”
Venture Shark event yields $500,000 for BGCP and a surprise for donors
The result? The Venture Tank ‘sharks’ invested big for BGCP youth, taking BGCP more than halfway to its goal of raising $900,000 for the expansion of these two programs.
Local youth were the winners at the BGCP Venture Tank event. Photo by BGCP
A few members of the audience also stepped to support BGCP, and were rewarded by a surprise offer by Robert Herjavec to visit the set of Shark Tank and watch the show being filmed.
“Venture Tank was an incredible event,” said BGCP Development Director Sean Mendy. “We raised a significant amount of money, and our alumni also felt valued that the business community was interested in supporting BCGP and local youth. Our team will continue our fundraising efforts for both projects so we can bring these important opportunities to our youth.”
You can be a ‘shark’ too: To learn more about the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula (BGCP), make a donation or get involved, visit www.bgcp.org.
