Non Profit NewsPod: Sacramento Venture Philanthropy's 10th Anniversary Fast Pitch Call for Entries

00:09 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Welcome to this nonprofit news pod, where we feature short, informative or educational updates of relevance to our nonprofit community. I'm talking with Brad Squires, part of the Strategic and Tactical Leadership for Sacramento Venture Philanthropy, more commonly recognized to us as SVP. The purpose of our conversation is to share one of our region's signature nonprofit events. It's coming up soon and registration is now open. It's a big deal and I really would like Brad to share what I'm referencing. Brad, tell us what's going on. 

00:42 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Thanks, Jeff. Yeah, we're really excited about our SVP Fast Pitch Showcase happening this year. Of course, this will be the 10th annual Fast Pitch program. 

00:52 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Congratulations, that's awesome. Yeah, I'm really excited. So if you would explain to us, for the benefit of those who are maybe newer to the process, what is this Fast Pitch program? 

01:05 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Fast Pitch is a program that helps nonprofits tell their story. We say you know, nonprofits have a story to tell and Fast Pitch helps them tell it. And so when a nonprofit can tell their story well, in a concise, compelling way, it helps them to increase their capacity and ultimately grow their impact, and that's our goal capacity and ultimately grow their impact, and that's our goal. 

01:30 - Jeff Holden (Host)
And let me clarify for the benefit of those who are listening yes, we help you tell your stories as well, but we're giving you the opportunity to tell your whole story. This is a condensed presentation. This is even shorter than what we all call the elevator pitch. Right, brad? 

01:40 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, we go through a training process and talk about how you need a 30-second, a three-minute and a 30-minute pitch, right? So this is that three-minute version of that pitch. 

01:50 - Jeff Holden (Host)
And what happens is you host an event which is in November. Do we have that date set already? 

01:58 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, so we've got a kickoff happening August 21st, which is our fast pitch launch party Super fun. But the main event is November 17th that's a Monday, and it'll be at the Sophia downtown. We'll have four or 500 people there and we'll get to hear from the organizations that go through the program this year judge last year. 

02:21 - Jeff Holden (Host)
What a blast. Just so exciting to see everybody make their presentations and those who make it to the Sophia. That's the finalist group, correct? 

02:37 - Brad Squires (Guest)
That's correct. Yeah, so we have applications open right now through June 30th, and so we're looking for we'll be narrowing it to 16 nonprofits that are able to be our class of 2025. 16 nonprofits that are able to be our class of 2025. So last year we had, I think, 50 or 60 applicants, so we have 16 spots and then we'll kick that off in August at the launch party, and then what will happen is September and October. There'll be several workshops where we will pair each organization with two coaches, and those coaches are typically, you know, business and community leaders that want to come alongside those organizations to help them draw out their three-minute story and figure out how to tell that well. So it's a really important role in the process, and so we're also looking for 32 coaches to participate in the program this year. Those applications are also open now through June 30th, so that's kind of the flyover of the program this year. 

03:33 - Jeff Holden (Host)
So application for coaches is open, of which you're going to have two per 16 organizations as finalists, so 32 coaches as well as organizations who want to participate, and this is something beyond just your story and your ability to get it into a condensed and concise fashion. There's also money that gets raised on this as well, right? 

03:57 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, so we have grants and awards that are part of the fast pitch process. 

04:01
So on the night of the showcase event, each organization will go on stage and present their pitch and there'll be live donations happening from the audience. 

04:11
So everybody has access to participate in that way if they'd like, and there's a leaderboard up on the screen so you can see which organization has raised what money, and then there's different judges that will provide feedback on their pitch, and then we also have grants and awards that will provide to some of the winners of that event. So last year, I think it was a couple hundred thousand dollars that we were able to flow through that event. We hope to have that, plus some. Being our 10-year anniversary, we have some exciting things that we'll be introducing to the mix, but we always say the fast pitch process is, yes, it's a fundraiser, but it's really a long-term strategy building your pitch so that you can use it again and again and again for many years to come. I know, being our 10th year, many of the organizations that went through this program years ago are still using their same pitch and raising money, and so it's an incredible tool that helps these organizations build their capacity. 

05:12 - Jeff Holden (Host)
And definitely storytelling and storytelling done appropriately is a sustainable element of your organization that you can transfer to people throughout the organization. Not to mention, this is all recorded so people can look and review and use it as a tool for the entire team of the organization. 

05:33 - Brad Squires (Guest)
That's right and you know we try to integrate both quantitative and qualitative elements to the pitch. So the you know you've got to have a little bit talking about data and metrics and outcomes and outputs, but also integrating story and there's a whole process that we take each of these organizations through and that September October timeframe that helps refine that. 

05:56 - Jeff Holden (Host)
When I can share, lest anybody thinks this is a simple process. It is not easy to get your story condensed into a three-minute presentation, not to mention doing it in front of an audience of about 500 people. 

06:09 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, but it's a meaningful process of an audience of about 500 people. Yeah, but it's a meaningful process and you know, in addition to the actual pitch development, you know you got to figure there's 16 organizations and all the coaches that get together on a regular basis. So there's a lot of camaraderie and friendship that gets built and, and I would say, social capital for the nonprofit ecosystem, which we really believe in just connecting good people. You know good things come out of that and so there's a lot of good that comes out of that. That's not just financial. Sometimes the coaches fall in love with the organization and decide they want to join the board or lead a capital campaign or, you know, really support the organization beyond the fast pitch process. I've seen nonprofit organizations leaders connect and develop collaborative programming to address some of their needs. So there's just a richness that comes from getting great people together in the room. 

07:03 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Well, you've got the collaboration all the way around, from the organizations that participate, the association to SVP, the people who get exposed to not only the organizations but your organization, and it just fuels, like you said, the entire ecosystem. It's just a wonderful program. How many organizations over the course of the 10 years and roughly how much money has been raised, do you know? 

07:23 - Brad Squires (Guest)
We've had well over a hundred organizations. We're actually going to be doing some fun elements this year to kind of bring in some of our alumni doing some fun elements this year to kind of bring in some of our alumni to celebrate them as well, being that it's our 10th year and we do track how much money has been distributed out via Fast Pitch. But beyond that we know that our organizations that have been through this program have raised millions of dollars via their pitch. So again, it goes much beyond just the Fast Pitch process. 

07:51 - Jeff Holden (Host)
So, brad, what's the next step? To register? What do people need to do? 

07:55 - Brad Squires (Guest)
So at this stage, if any organization nonprofits want to be part of Fast Pitch, to apply, you can go to our website, which is svpsacramentoorg, find the link to apply. Again, it's open until June 30th and that's true for coaches as well. So we're looking for nonprofit organizations and coaches and then after that it'll be getting into the process. Our partners review all the applications in July and then August we have our big kickoff party and then you know if you want to just attend the event, of course, just mark your calendar for Monday, november 17th. That's a big day because that's if you want to come and learn about some really great organizations, especially right before the holidays and giving season. It's a great chance to get a feel for 10 different nonprofits on stage and see how you can get involved, whether it's financially or maybe you go volunteer but it's a really great way to learn about some good organizations. 

08:51 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Where should they go? Is it the website? Does all the registration take place on the website? 

08:56 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, svpsacramentoorg. 

08:58 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Perfect, Brad. I love the event. I loved judging it. What a privilege it was to be able to be on the stage and see those organizations do what they do. So so very, very well. Thanks for sharing the details with us. Good luck in getting the 10th anniversary edition of SVP's Fast Pitch put together. Good luck to the finalists. I hope you have more registrations than ever before and I cannot wait to see the presentations on November 17th. Thanks, Jeff, it's great.