Spotlight Project: Shining a Light on South Florida Nonprofits with Art and Community Events
You won’t convince me otherwise, but I believe women are what make the world go round.
My opinion was reinforced after meeting and working with Allison Ragle and Emma Pawlik of Spotlight Project.
We first worked together when they reached out to one of CCC/my clients, Friends of Our Florida Reefs (FOFR), to do an event where they are the beneficiary as a nonprofit.
The event took place in January 2026 and was a hit.
It was in collaboration with Feral Friends Showdown (more on that below), which basically meant that the fundraiser was a live art competition.
Five talented local artists painted a coral reef-inspired painting in three hours and the audience/attendees voted on their favorite with proceeds going back to FOFR.
Did I mention this was all at a local brewery? The event was a blast and so successful, I knew I wanted to work with Allison and Emma myself, and I DID!
Keep reading to learn more about Spotlight Project, Feral Friends Studio, and how they’re fostering community in South Florida with nonprofits.
What is the Spotlight Project?
Spotlight Project is a South Florida based event business dedicated to creating unforgettable experiences with purpose.
By partnering with local nonprofits to create community events, Spotlight Project is able to uplift and empower local organizations that oftentimes don’t have the means of setting up their own events.
However, these are not ordinary events.
Spotlight Project designs interactive fundraising events that bring people together through art, science, conservation, and community to create meaningful impact.
Events like live art competitions, paint-and-sip fundraisers, pumpkin carving, and more.
Since launching in October 2025, Spotlight Project has already hosted several local events, generating more than $4,500 for various nonprofits at the time of this article (March 2026).
I worked with Spotlight Project to bring my vision to life of supporting a local organization and celebrating my birthday.
Allison thought of a paint-and-sip class where she would lead us through an ocean-inspired painting and proceeds went to a local nonprofit, Big Blue & You.
The event went off without a hitch. It was a satisfying and relaxing day while being beneficial to the organization, in which we were able to raise $654.15.
What I didn’t mention on socials is that we started planning the event a month before it happened.
Emma and Allison were so on top of it, organized, and knew what questions to ask me and how we can manage the obstacles.
After the event, almost everyone came up to tell me how much fun they had and how happy they were to have attended the event.
The entire process was super professional and streamlined, I’m already thinking about what type of event we could collaborate on next!
If you’re a local nonprofit, you can request an event with Spotlight Project here.
Meet Allison Ragle and Emma Pawlik
Allison and Emma are the dynamic duo behind Spotlight Project, a business that hosts events for nonprofits in the South Florida area.
As scientists in their own regard, Emma and Allison often worked alongside environmental organizations that were doing such great work, but didn’t have the means to progress or reach more supporters.
Nonprofits often run slim, barely getting by with donations, and oftentimes volunteer-run making finances and labor even harder to come by.
They saw this as a gap in the market and decided to use their love for the environment and people to unite the two worlds.
The Spotlight Project has held events at breweries, on the beach for a dune restoration volunteer day, another one to come, and at Mizner Park.
When they’re not working their conservation jobs or planning The Spotlight Project events, they go to festivals where they usually do some kind of sustainability volunteering like with Mission: Home for Ultra or they’re enjoying time in nature themselves.
Feral Friends Showdown: A Live Painting Competition
In addition to Spotlight Project, they also host the Feral Friends Showdown: A LIve Painting Competition, which is more of a signature event.
It’s a collaborative concept shining light on Florida’s feral animals through art.
Allison’s day job is a field biologist and she wants to give more of a platform to the less loved and “more feral” animals that are just as much part of the ecosystem.
She is also a professional artist and Feral Friends was born from the idea that art can tell stories that verbal communication cannot.
Subjectively, “cute” animals are given lots of funding, attention, and resources, while their subjectively less cute counterparts are often forgotten.
Animals like opossums, snakes, horned frogs, and many others that are not as beloved.
Feral Friends Showdown is the live painting competition that brings together drinks, art, conservation, and community.
Live art competitions can incorporate emotional storytelling to convey conservation awareness themes and Feral Friends is the intersection of these ideas.
We did a Feral Friends Showdown for the Friends of Our Florida Reefs event, it was so fun to be part of!
Connect with Spotlight Project
If you’re a nonprofit, especially an environmental nonprofit, you need to connect with Spotlight Project. I personally can’t wait to work with them again.
They do one event a month, so make sure you get yours in the books!
Contact them for an event: Spotlight Project contact form
Spotlight Project Instagram
Email them: spotlightprojectevents@gmail.com
Visit their website: https://www.spotlight-project.com/
