If you had to explain everything your organization does in 3-minutes, without notes, without visuals, in front of an audience of over 750 attendees, could you do it? That’s the challenge facing 10 nonprofit finalists at SVP Fast Pitch.

“We’re so passionate about our work, but what we really do for the community wasn’t coming through in our pitch — and we were potentially losing donors and volunteers because we weren’t clearly communicating our value and needs,” one past Fast Pitch nonprofit explains. After participating in Fast Pitch — where 20 local nonprofits receive over 30 hours of coaching support honing their three-minute pitch — participants leave with a clear value proposition and pitch that they go on to use well beyond the final event.

Since 2015, SVP Fast Pitch has given out over $50,000 in funding and in-kind support to local nonprofits and has seen more than $260,000 in follow-on funding come in to support those nonprofits. Fast Pitch creates a ripple of an impact that can be felt well beyond the final curtain.

Bree Cahill, Executive Director of SVP of Sacramento explains, “SVP is about providing impactful nonprofits with the tools they need to be even more successful in their work. Fast Pitch leads to additional donations, clear messaging and the final event is their chance to connect with an audience of 750+ engaged Sacramentans.”

Amber Stott, Founder and Chief Food Genius of Food Literacy Center, gained so much from the process with her participation in 2016. “Food Literacy Center won the coach lottery, which made our experience a lasting one! Our team created a strong pitch together and have since strengthened it for repeated use in the community. I’ve used versions of the pitch in a TEDx talk, house parties, recruiting major donors, events, national webinars, other pitch contests, and even in a video grant submission, which earned us $20,000! Next up: we’re planning to train volunteers to use the pitch.”

A three-minute pitch may — at first glance — seem like an easy thing to craft. But these pitches are honed, practiced, dissected, and reviewed by 40 corporate leaders who volunteer as coaches. Many pitch performers report spending 60+ hours outside their typical workday working on this pitch in the three months leading up to the big event.

And this year, SVP Fast Pitch is bigger and more impactful than ever! 40 nonprofits will host informational booths at the event, 10 inspiring pitches will be performed at Golden 1 Center and more than $80,000 in funding and in-kind support will be given out on Wednesday, March 8!

For more information, visit the event’s Sacramento365 page here.

This blog was written by Bree Cahill, Executive Director of Social Venture Partners of Sacramento