Accelerate is a pitch competition which gives individuals across Greater Cleveland the chance to win seed money to help launch their idea to make the region a better place. Presenters are selected through a competitive application process to pitch in one of six categories. A panel of judges drawn from community leaders select one finalist in each category. The six finalists pitch again to the full audience, which votes on the winner. The winner receives $5,000 and the remaining five finalists each receive $2,000 to help bring their ideas to life. The Cleveland Foundation is also awarding $3,500 through the Technovation competition to the top technology idea at Accelerate. The category pitch competitions will take place February 22-24. The Technovation and finalist competitions will take place on February 25. Tickets are available on a Pay What You Can basis and include access to all six of the category competitions, Technovation, and the finalist competition. You’ll also get access to the recorded pitches in case you miss the live stream.