Pitch Night 2 in Tamworth tonight

The event, at Quality Hotel Powerhouse, will have presenters sharing their plans with more than 100 people with pledge cheques in hand.

Speakers from Tamworth Local Aboriginal Land Council, Beyond Empathy and Gomeroi Education and Training will have six minutes to describe why they need and deserve funding.

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And one of the judges knows better than most what that experience is like: Ros Rose of Pius X Aboriginal Corporation, which secured $47,500 in the first event in Newcastle last year.

Mrs Rose said the funds had allowed the Pius X clinic to extend a pilot antenatal program in the area to 44 more Indigenous pregnant teens and young adults.

They’ve been learning how to cook nutritious family meals and will receive cooking utensils at the end.

“The program’s gone ahead in leaps and bounds,” Mrs Rose said.

“We’ve taken it to Toomelah and Mungindi as well – there are 44 girls involved – and the girls at Mungindi have been over the moon that their plight in life has been recognised and acted on.

“These girls do it really hard out there: they don’t have a lot of support ...

“A lot of our girls have no life skills, so this was a program aimed at teaching them the skills to cook for a family instead of going to Maccas and KFC three nights a week, and then the next four nights starve.

“This teaches them how to manage their money and also how to prepare food for $10 for a meal for four people.

“At the end of the program we’re giving them utensils to start up their kitchen with, and a frying pan.

“We’re also looking at getting a photo shoot; these girls don’t get photos taken with their bubs, because they just can’t afford it.”

Mrs Rose said an unexpected benefit of taking part in Pitch Night 1 had been the offer of another grant from an audience member.

“UNE was there at Pitch Night and asked me what else we could do with, and came through with money for an updated cookbook with these healthy meals.”

The first cookbook was published five years ago and was titled Outback Cookbook: Cheaper than Chips.

Mrs Rose said it would be “very interesting being on the other side” for this event.

Her advice to the presenters tonight was: “Just be yourself and come from your heart”.

“Once I got over the nerves, I thought, ‘Just say what you feel, Ros’ – so that’s what I did.”

The presenters have also recently done training with The Funding Network Australia to help them prepare their pitches.