Local businesspeople with a vision for service as well as profit took home more than $20,000 at 2025 Spark Tank Pitch Fest, organized by the Fresno Pacific University Center for Community Transformation.
The Valley’s only competition supporting social enterprise, Spark Tank took place Thursday, April 10 in the Warkentine Culture & Arts Center, 4838 Butler Ave., Fresno, on the main FPU campus. In addition to providing a product or service at a profit as conventional businesses do, social enterprises make measurable community impacts and operate in an environmentally responsible manner.
Winners are:
- $10,000 Good Dirt Collective, Christy Manning, chief executive officer; Kasey Jackson, chief operating officer; and Jordan Collins, chief creative officer. Pottery business supporting young women who have aged out of foster care.
- $5,000 TuHogar Property Services, Esther Carver, executive director. Lowell CDC with the goal of launching a property management company.
- $3,000 Quetzalli Shop, Karina Orocio, founder. Dedicated to supporting artisan women in rural Mexico.
- $1,000 Print21, Jennifer Whiting, outgoing executive director. Screen-printing business operated by the Down Syndrome Association of Central California to provide meaningful employment for individuals with Down Syndrome.
- $500 each:
- Clean and Shine, Inc., Steve Dominguez, founder. Provides exterior building maintenance.
- Chez Maryse, Xiamy Ly-Yang, founder. French café employing people with disabilities.
- Branch Transitional & Sober Living, Patrick and Michelle Burriel, founders. Supports individuals recovering from addiction.
Since 2013 the Spark Tank Social Enterprise Pitch Fest has invested more than $100,000 and helped catalyze more than 50 social enterprises. Leading this year’s event were Bryan Feil, associate director of CCT, and Gladys Martinez, entrepreneurship coordinator.
Spark Tank was supported through generous funding from the Lilly Foundation and a sponsorship by Beneficial State Bank and Lilly Endowment. More than a dozen vendors, including Spark Tank sponsors and past winners, showcased products and services. Learn about Spark Tank at: cctfresno.org/initiatives/entrepreneurship/spark-tank/pitch-competition.
Judging the contestants were:
- Anthony “AP” Amour, co-founder and CEO of Neighborhood Industries.
- Stephanie German, founder of German Business Consulting, advising founders and CEOs.
- Galiana Fajardo, senior principal, capacity building, at REDF, a venture philanthropy organization based in the Bay Area.
- Sean Tambagahan started Butler Branding in 2012 to help mission-driven organizations tell their stories.
Upcoming CCT events include:
- 6:00-8:00 p.m. Tuesdays, April 22-June 3, “Launchpad.” This seven-week online course helps participants launch a business. Clarify goals, refine a financial model and master the skills needed to thrive. Meetings via Zoom. Fee $150. This event is made possible through generous funding from the Lilly Foundation. Learn more and apply at: cctfresno.org/initiatives/entrepreneurship/launch-pad
- 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Thursday, May 1, “Embracing Families with Disabilities,” a workshop for churches to learn ways to serve people with disabilities. Featured speaker will be Fred Hammer, ministry relations manager, Joni & Friends Central California. BC Lounge on the main FPU campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno. This event is made possible through generous funding from the Lilly Foundation. Admission is free and lunch is included, but participants need to register in advance at: cctfresno.org/initiatives/education-training/ministry-labs/nsne-training-series
- 11:30-2:00 p.m. Friday, May 23, “Startup Fest.” An expo of the Central Valley’s newest start-ups. Vendors, workshops, lunch and more! Free and open to the public in the FPU Special Events Center on the main FPU campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno. Learn more and register at: cctfresno.org/initiatives/entrepreneurship/spark-tank/expo/
PHOTO: Left to right—Bryan Feil, CCT; Jordan Collins and Christy Manning, Good Dirt Collective; and Gladys Martinez, CCT. (FPU photo by Joy Ndombeson)