I heart PGH

Tag: Google

  • 2 Women-Focused Organization Awarded At Nonprofit Accelerator Event

    2 Women-Focused Organization Awarded At Nonprofit Accelerator Event

    Lakeisha Wolf, Executive Director of Ujamaa Collective, presents at the Full Circle Impact Accelerator Pitch Event

    Two women-focused nonprofits were awarded $500 each at December 15th’s Social Venture Partners’ Full Circle Impact Accelerator Pitch Event. The event, held at Google Pittsburgh’s HQ, was a culmination of a fourteen-week accelerator program from Social Venture Partners Pittsburgh, a philanthropic grantmaking organization based on the venture capital model.

    The night’s $500 recipients were Ujamaa Collective and Prototype PGH. Ujamaa Collective invests in the economic and social growth of Africana women entrepreneurs and artisans through a boutique in the Hill District and Prototype PGH operates a North Oakland maker-space and offers maker educational programming focused on equity and feminism.

    Prototype PGH co-founders, Erin Elizabeth (Oldynski) Gatz & E.Louise Larson, give their pitch at the Full Circle Impact Accelerator Pitch Event

    At the event, five nonprofits presented information about their organization to three judges and to a packed room full 170+ people. Pitching, in addition to the two $500 recipients, were the Alliance for Police Accountability, the Global Switchboard, and New Fear Being Different. The night’s judges were Ilana Diamond, Managing Director of AlphaLab Gear, Mike Capsambelis, Product Management at Google, and Karen Brackett, Vice President at NexTier Bank, the marquee sponsor for the event.

    The participating nonprofits also competed for an ‘audience favorite’ award. This prize, also for $500, was awarded to New Fear Being Different, a media platform that uses inspirational and entertaining content to shed light on social issues and connect people.

    Those that didn’t receive a $500 award were also supported. Each nonprofit received $2,000 for completing the Full Circle Impact Accelerator program, which was sponsored by UPMC/UPMC Health Plan. Also, an additional $2,600 was separately pledged by the night’s audience and spread across all the organizations that pitched at the event. In total, $14,000+ indirect contributions were made to the five nonprofits.

    Social Venture Partners Pittsburgh’s Full Circle Impact Accelerator is managed by the Social Impact business development firm, CitizenCity, and its principals Ryan Gayman and Benjamin Utter. To learn more about Social Venture Partners and its programs visit, svppittsburgh.org.

     

    Disclaimer: The author attended this event for fun and never identified himself as a reporter at the actual event. The author has also attended other events put on by Social Venture Partners for fun.

     

  • Still looking for a summer internship? We’re looking for an Events Editor!

    Still looking for a summer internship? We’re looking for an Events Editor!

    We’re looking for a summer intern (can continue into the fall as well) to take control of our events calendar.  There are so many amazing, awesome, cool events happening around Pittsburgh and we can’t keep up.

    We’re looking for a blogging, social media rock-star (or wanna be rock-star) to take the rains of the events section of IheartPGH.

    Event Editor Responsibilities include…

    • review and approve submitted events
    • clean up the events calendar – help make this page look awesome – you don’t have to know how to code, but a willingness to learn more about WordPress and wordpress plugins will be helpful.
    • curate event categories – what are we missing? what can be improved?
    • Explore partnerships with other organizations that are looking to promote events around Pittsburgh
    • attend 1 event per week and write a blog post about it
    • share photos on Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest
    • help us build the ultimate guide to promoting your event in Pittsburgh
    • determine the best ad strategy for the events calendar
    • 1 meeting per week – you will work from home, your favorite coffee shop, and events around town

    You should apply if…

    • you love Pittsburgh or you are new to town and want to learn more about Pittsburgh
    • you like meeting new people
    • you want to learn about social media, blogging, local media, event planning
    • you are ok being paid in coffee, free tickets and free sandwiches (past IheartPGH interns have used this opportunity to land jobs at some work places like here and here)

    So you want to apply to be the first IheartPGH Events Editor?  Follow these instructions….

    1. Find an interesting event happening in Pittsburgh in June and submit it to the events calendar.  Take notes on the submission process.
    2. Like IheartPGH on Facebook and Follow @IheartPGH on Twitter
    3. Send an email to events@iheartpgh.com with your name, your favorite blog, 3 ways we can improve the events submission process, a link to your favorite Pittsburgh blog that is not IheartPGH.

  • Punked by Google – Google Fiber a Hoax

    Google Inc.
    Image via Wikipedia

    So a few weeks ago we blogged about the Pittsburgh goes Google project. Well it turns out that the Google Fiber Network that sounded too good to be true is really too good to be true.

    The folks at Google took a page out of the Ashton Kutcher‘s playbook with Google Fiber project.   Turns out the whole thing was just a joke and Google executives were stunned to see the lengths that local mayors and residents would go to to attract Google’s attention.  To win over the hearts of Google – last week Pittsburgher’s spelled out the word “Google” on Forbes Ave.  Check out the photo of this elaborate gesture from the Post-Gazette here.

    The Mayor of Sarasota recently jumped into a shark tank at Mote Marine Aquarium to drawn attention to Sarasota’s bid for Google fiber.  (If you ever visit the Sarasota area – which happens to be near where the Pirates are for spring training – I would suggest you make a stop at Mote Aquarium to see the manatees).

    Google executives have decided that things were getting out of hand – especially when they heard the Mayor of Pittsburgh was thinking of changing his name to Mayor Googlestahl and decided to reveal the truth about the project.  You can see the press release from the Google Fiber Team here. (more…)

  • Cupcakes, Playboy Bunnies & Google – Radio Round Up – March 26, 2010

    Delicious Cupcakes
    Image by Sgt. Pepperedjane via Flickr

    Here is a run down of what we talked about on WDVE this morning.  You can listen to IheartPGH on WDVE FM 102.5 at 6:45 am on Friday mornings.

    • Dozen Cupcakes, Butler Street in Lawrenceville
    • Friday, March 26, 2010 – 7-10pm
    • Saturday, March 27, 2010 @ The Warhol Museum
    • Pajama Party to kick off the new exhibit of art work inspired by the Playboy Bunny exhibit that opens at the Warhol on Sunday
    • Rescheduled from the February snowstorm – new date Saturday, March 27, 2010
    • Fundraiser for the Western PA Humane Society
    • Visit the PAPA – Professional and Amateur Pinball Association – World Headquarters which is only open to the public twice a year, pinball tournament
    • Rare chance to check out this unique collection of hundreds of pinball machines
    • Venture Outdoors has a kayak intro session to help you get ready for kayak season
    • Sunday, March 28, 2010, 2-5pm @ Sarah Heinz House
    • Learn to kayak in the swimming pool – prepare to get wet!

    Allegheny County 2010 Marbles Program

    marbles
    Image by whodeenee via Flickr

    • Did you know that from 2004-2008 – the national marbles champion has come from Allegheny County?
    • FREE marbles competitions for kids 14 and under
    • weekly matches with a championship round over the summer
    pghgoesgooglePittsburgh Goes Google
    • Google is going to invest in a major upgrade of internet infrastructure in a handful of cities around the US
    • This means internet that is is 100 times faster than what you have now – you will be able to down load a full movie in about a minute
    • Help Pittsburgh get on Google’s list of communities by visiting PittsburghGoesGoogle.com to send a message to Google
    • The Pittsburgh Photo Blog Only in Pittsburgh is looking for the most Pittsburghy Pittsburgh Photos
    • Winning photo will be turned into a t-shirt
    • Submit your photos by March 31, 2010

  • Pittsburgh Hearts Google

    I don’t need to tell you that Pittsburgh is a city on the brink. We’re a breeding ground for startups, a few plots of land away from full riverfront development, and we’ve got a plethora of thriving local businesses. Our vibrant and passionate community is what makes these things possible.

    A community of connected individuals, young professionals, investors, and concerned citizens who have the power to make things happen just by the click of a mouse is a revolution; and it’s happening in Pittsburgh.

    Why not take it to the next level?

    (more…)