One of the biggest names in business is coming to Richmond to support a brand-new nonprofit.
Sir Richard Branson will be the first guest speaker hosted by Richmond Unite, an organization recently started by Carroll Hurst and Pat Hull that will raise funds and awareness for youth nonprofits in the Richmond area.
Hurst, a principal at the accounting firm Keiter Stephens, and Hull, founder of Getloaded.com, started working on the idea for Richmond Unite more than a year and a half ago.
“The whole idea was to act as a catalyst to help organizations raise money in a fun way,” Hull said.
Richmond Unite is modeled after the Hull Foundation, a nonprofit Hull started about four years ago that supports charities with entrepreneur-focused programs. Hull worked with Branson through Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of the Virgin Group, to help small charities.
“We’re involved with Virgin Unite, and we’ve done a lot of charitable work with Richard Branson, so I thought, ‘Why can’t we do something like this in Richmond?’” Hull said.
The nonprofit’s main focus will be to help local groups apply for grants. Richmond Unite will fund some of them, and some winners will be announced at a September event.
Local youth-oriented nonprofits can submit grant applications online, and the deadline is July 15.
“People can vote once a day for their favorite charities,” Hull said.
“The participants will be picked on how their missions align with Richmond Unite’s overall goals and the manner in which they’re serving under-privileged youth.”
Winners will be announced Sept. 9 at an event featuring Branson as the keynote speaker.
“Guests will buy tickets and get to meet Branson,” Hurst added.
Hurst and Hull are still working out some of the details, but they plan to bring in other big names to speak at the event. They plan to fund the event with ticket sales for the dinner, cocktail party and auction and through donations people make to the site for the nonprofits.
Amy David covers the non-profit sector for BizSense. Please send news tips to Amy@richmondbizsense.com.
Carroll,
As a fellow classmate from college, I applaud your efforts for fundraising and charitable acts. This is the fiber we all should be made of. I congratulate your new beginnings.
Good deeds are seeds of hope and promise. I congratulate you, Mr. Hurst, and your team for taking this bold step to promote charities.,
An exciting addition to the local nonprofit community!