$142,512 of $200,000 raised.
Dustin met Reach's Executive Director, Mark, in college, where they sang in the same a cappella group. After graduation, they stayed in touch. And when Mark launched Reach ten years ago, Dustin became an early donor.
But, Dustin lived in New York. While he believed in Reach and continued to make annual donations, there was only so much he could do from 200 miles away – especially while juggling a busy career and a young family.
Then, in October, Reach visited New York. On our only night in town, we invited a group of supporters – including Dustin and his wife Kristen – to join us for an intimate gathering. We wanted our New York-based supporters to get to know one another, and we wanted to tell them about The Reach Fellowship.
That evening, Dustin listened intently as we described the purpose of the Fellowship. And when we explained how corporate partners could help prepare our teens to transition into successful careers, it hit him. This was another way he could support Reach.
After the presentation, Dustin approached us. He rattled off the names of several large real estate companies in DC. Were these the types of corporate partners we were looking for? Because, if so, he knew people who worked at these companies and would be happy to connect us.
We couldn’t say yes quickly enough.
Within days, Dustin began connecting us to people in his professional network. And, recently, we met with one of these connections. The meeting went well; we already have another conversation planned for the new year. Partnerships like these can take a long time to build. But, because of Dustin, we’re off to a good start.
Reach is a DC-based nonprofit, but our community extends far beyond our city, from New York to California to the Netherlands, and many places in between. And while we may not see these supporters as often as we’d like, we know that they - like Dustin - are #AlwaysThere for us, even from afar.
All this month, we will be sharing stories about members of the Reach community that are #AlwaysThere for the organization and those we serve. Dustin Pizzo is Sector Head at Waterfront Capital Partners. More importantly, he was previously a member of The Pitchforks of Duke University, the school's oldest and best a cappella group.
Make a gift here to support our 2020 #AlwaysThere campaign.