Spontaneous giving surprises Smackdown

Local nonprofit leaders squared off Friday night in a Nonprofit Smackdown at Wealthy Theatre as part of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network’s (YNPN) national conference. What began as a fun close to the conference ended as an overwhelming display of spontaneous giving in Grand Rapids.

The Smackdown consisted of 16 individuals representing eight sub-sectors of the nonprofit field: Education, Arts & Culture, Health, Community Development, Environment, Homelessness & Hunger, Professional Membership and Philanthropy & Foundations. The teams of two had to make it through four rounds, convincing the audience their cause was more worthy than the rest.

“Nonprofits are always competing for the same resources, but it’s a very cordial competition,” said Barbara Anderson, Recognition & Networking Co-Chair at YNPN GR. “The Smackdown is a fun way to make it more competitive. Our idea was that it would serve as both a catalyst for dialogue among the nonprofit sector and offer something fun for out-of-towners to do after the conference.”

It was not only a battle for resources, but a “battle of wits," according to Nikos Monoyios, Senior Planner at The Rapid and Master of Ceremonies/referee at the Smackdown. The contestants would be judged on their “level of hype-ness,” said Monoyios, by an audience that had come prepared with noise-makers.

Round 1: Despite their argument that foundations support all sectors and you get to give away other people’s money, Mike Goorhouse and Elizabeth Kidd of Philanthropy & Foundations went out on the first round along with Christy T. Buck and Jeremy Moore, representing Health.  

Round 2: Community Development representatives Claire Fisher and Johannah Jelks came out with a lot of energy and had the audience chanting, but went out in the second round with the Arts & Culture team, Jill May and Matthew Downey.

Round 3: Down to four teams now, Education was a strong contender with team members Luisa Schumacker and Erica Curry VanEe, and the shirtless representative of Memberships, Kevin Ligell with YNPN GR painted on his chest, was a fan favorite alongside his partner Maxine Gray. Both groups, however, went out after three rounds leaving Homelessness & Hunger to face off against Environment in the finals.

Round 4: Steve Faber and Rachel Hood of the Environment team battled it out  with a high level of intensity and humor, but fell to Homelessness and Hunger in the end. Janay Brower (Coalition to End Homelessness) and Bridget Clark Whitney (Kids Food Basket) were crowned Smackdown champions.

Surprise Round 5: The two champions turned on each other to compete for an unexpected $500 grant from Grand Rapids Community Foundation. Homelessness and Hunger battled it out one last time and when it came time to choose a winner, the audience decided instead to match the grant with its own contributions. The crowns came off to collect attendees’ donations and an anonymous donor submitted an additional $500 match. The grand total came to $1,780 to be split between Kids Food Basket and Coalition to End Homelessness.

“We could not have planned a better ending to the evening,” said Jenn Schaub, Marketing Co-Chair at YNPN GR. “It is inspiring to find the community so receptive to talking about the nonprofit sector and the amazing passion of our young nonprofit professionals.”