Victory Cup 2023 - What an experience!

Meghan Killingsworth presenting on behalf of Picnic Project at 2023 Victory Cup Storytelling Showcase.

You may remember our enthusiasm last November when we earned a coveted Top 10 spot as a 2023 Victory Cup Initiative finalist. The competition was fierce – about 85 nonprofits submitted applications – so we were honored to make the cut but most of us did not truly understand what being a finalist meant.

Now we do!

Last week, we competed against the other nine finalists in the Storytelling Showcase, a Shark Tank-style competition with winners determined by live audience votes. The competition was the culmination of three months of hard work, four professional storytelling coaching sessions and countless hours networking with other nonprofit leaders who are doing equally amazing work throughout Central Florida. (Watch the video below, which shows co-founder Ryan Bozeman delivering a practice run of our story in preparation for the big day.)

The Victory Cup Storyteller's Breakfast raised more than $550,000 for the 10 featured nonprofits! While we do not yet know our total winnings, we’ve heard that each participating group will be receiving at least $48,000 in unrestricted funds! Wow!

The finalists of the 2023 Victory Cup Storytelling Showcase.

We are blown away by the generosity of the Central Florida community and the passion of the Victory Cup team. These funds will go a long way to carry on our mission to end hunger in all its forms. Plus, our Victory Cup experience gave us skills and relationships which will positively impact us over years to come.

We give special thanks to all of those who stepped up with extra support throughout this journey. Specifically, we would like to thank board member Meghan Killingsworth, who did an amazing job as our pinch-hitting presenter! She did a fantastic job and we are indebted to her!