Last month, six Whitworth honors students took second prize at the Northwest Entrepreneur Competition for their nonprofit project, Northwest Gives. The proposed app and website will be used to connect those in Spokane who are in need with homeless shelters, food banks and donors.

The competition idea brought freshmen Emma Maple, Tricia Cebotari, Colin Pfening, Grace Pedersen and Britney Botez, as well as senior Jacob Shea, around a common goal of impacting their local community for good. 

CFO and Marketing Director Colin Pfening explained that the mission of the nonprofit centers around linking needs and resources in the community.

“Our goal in Northwest Gives is to provide synergy amongst three groups in Spokane: homeless shelters and food banks, people in need of donations and those looking to donate,” Pfening said. 

To do this, the team will create an app that provides an inventory system for both food banks and shelters, as well as taking specific requests for certain needs. 

Entering the Northwest Entrepreneur Competition this spring allowed the team to brainstorm their idea, pitch their project to judges and obtain startup funding.  It also gave them the impetus to get started, according to Co-founder and President of Technology Tricia Cebotari.

“The idea was first formed on a trip to Coeur d’Alene among friends, but the competition allowed us to put it into action,” Cebotari said.

Co-founder and Public Relations & Social Media Manager Grace Pedersen believed the competition gave their idea structure.

“The process was helpful because the competition had checkmarks along the way for each pitch and different things we had to complete for them. So, it gave us the direction we needed,” Pedersen said.

The Northwest Entrepreneur Competition was held virtually this year. The Northwest Gives team competed in the tech category, which involved three stages.  First was a 90-second video pitch by CEO Emma Maple. Then came a live Zoom presentation with more information on the idea, and finally the third stage brought a live five-minute Zoom presentation with six-minutes of Q-and-A before a panel of judges. The team’s hard work paid off, as they finished second place and took home a $3000 award to fund their project.

Pfening said this funding is critical for launching their idea off the ground.

“We need to buy a domain and security. We need to pay all of our team members for the work they have done, and we also need to pay part-time salaries to five [additional] employees this fall,” Pfening said.  The funding will also help them reach their goal of starting in earnest by the fall. 

“We need to code the whole app and website, and we have publicity to do through posters and our Instagram.  We also want to start funding through local churches and open a bank account to get our finances and taxes set up,” Pfening added.

Until then, the team is focusing on becoming as informed as possible on what their community actually needs. 

“We are working to educate ourselves on the poor and homeless in the community.  For example, last week we participated in a march to advocate for the homeless, and we learned a lot about what specifically Spokane is looking for in terms of help for the homeless.  It inspired us to stop, educate ourselves and become more informed before we jump in,” Pedersen said.

Down the line, the team wants to expand their vision to provide services, as well as material goods. 

“We are seeking to solve the issue of homelessness, not just the symptoms.  People often don’t have access to services to help them get out of their situation, like resume building, career services

and so on.  This is why down the line, another branch of our nonprofit will be Northwest Provides to connect the homeless to people willing to provide the free services they need to help them get back on their feet,” Cebotari said.

To learn more about Northwest Gives and how to get involved, visit their Instagram page @northwestgives or email [email protected].