Lighthouse Writers Workshop Wins Big At Donor Pitch Event

<p>(Corey H. Jones/CPR News)</p>
<p>Slam poet Jovan Mays performs during a presentation by the Lighthouse Writers Workshop at Colorado Art Tank at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016.</p>
Photo: Jovan Mays Presents With Lighthouse Writers Workshop at Colorado Art Tank
Slam poet Jovan Mays performs during a presentation by the Lighthouse Writers Workshop at Colorado Art Tank at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016.

Lighthouse Writers Workshop was the big winner at the second-annual Colorado Art Tank Tuesday night, earning $36,000.

The Arts Affinity Group (AAG), an arts-dedicated giving division of the Denver Foundation, organizes the live event, which is modeled after the hit television series "Shark Tank." On Tuesday at the University of Denver's Newman Center for the Performing Arts, six Colorado art groups competing for $65,000 pitched their projects to five panelists.

The Lighthouse Writers Workshop presented its idea for a program called "Write Denver" that will work with people from different communities to record their stories. The organization will transform those stories into visual art throughout the city.

The first place project earned $25,000 from AAG as well as $1,000 for the Audience Choice Award. The Bonfils Stanton Foundation also awarded "Write Denver" with $10,000.

The other finalists and their winnings include: