Back in 2016, four women in Greenwich, Conn., created a new way to contribute to their community. Brooke Gordon Bohnsack, who’d left a career in sports business to raise three young sons, was volunteering with multiple local charities when her friend Nina Lindia approached her with the idea.
“She was a stay-at-home mom with young children, so she wasn’t available to have a full-time job, but she wanted to do something,” Ms. Bohnsack said. “So she had this idea, and she pitched it to me — it was basically like ‘Shark Tank,’ but for charity.”
In the television show “Shark Tank,” fledgling entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts to a panel of established investors, hoping for funding. At Pitch Your Peers, paying members instead pitch local charitable organizations to one another, and everyone votes on where to allot their funds (a pool of the members’ annual dues of $1,000 per person, though some choose to donate more).
Ms. Bohnsack and Ms. Lindia recruited two more co-founders, Dara Johnson and Rachael LeMasters, and Ms. Bohnsack wrote the organization’s bylaws. The inaugural Greenwich chapter of PYP was established with about 25 members, all women from the community.
“A lot of people wanted to volunteer but didn’t know where to start, and they didn’t know that certain things even existed. That’s kind of why we started, too,” Ms. Bohnsack said. “We always say it’s more than just the grant — it’s about empowering our members to step up
Ms. Bohnsack now lives year round in Amagansett, having moved there with her husband and sons during the pandemic. In 2023, with the help of her friends Julie Gauger and Rhian Horgan, she founded PYP the Hamptons, and the chapter’s first Pitch Day, its only formal meeting each year, was held in the hamlet’s Scoville Hall.
Up to four “grant champions” can team up for a pitch. Those members then act as liaisons to the organization’s awarded grants, ensuring that the funds are used as promised throughout the year. There is a 15-minute time limit for each presentation, and the presentations are open to the public.
“It’s exciting. You learn so much,” Ms. Gauger said. “We’ve been in the same room for the last couple years, but if we keep growing at this rate we’re going to need somewhere bigger. To think it’s only been three years is wild!”
After this year’s Pitch Day, held on Oct. 25, members voted to award a first-place prize of $50,000 to the Retreat, which supports individuals and families affected by domestic violence, abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking. The pitch was presented by Cate Carbonaro, the Retreat’s executive director, and Anne Kothari, a member of its board.
A second-place prize of $10,000 was awarded to Share the Harvest Farm, which grows and donates thousands of pounds of organic produce to organizations across the East End every year. It was pitched by Meredith Arm, the farm’s executive director.
“It was a super, super close contest,” Ms. Bohnsack said of the vote, which was tallied through a simple online Survey Monkey form after the pitches. “It went down to, I would say, the last six minutes before the deadline.”
PYP also holds pop-up events throughout the year. On Dec. 12, during its third annual Stockings for Hope event, local children filled more than 600 stockings with candy and treats, which will be donated to local food pantries. On Jan. 31, a comedy benefit to support the pantries will be hosted by Laura Patton at the Stephen Talkhouse.
The organization has now established six chapters across the country: In Greenwich, Seattle, Chicago, the Hamptons, Westchester County, and, most recently, Palm Beach, Fla. “I’d say we’ve collectively given over two-and-a-half million dollars, and that’s 250 members across all the chapters,” said Ms. Bohnsack. “Probably more than that, actually.”
“It’s such a simple idea, really,” she added, “but it’s a great way to bring together like-minded women and just encourage them to stand up for what they believe in.”
