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Your Nonprofit Pitch

Developing a 15-30 second elevator pitch for your nonprofit requires careful consideration and concise communication. In this brief timeframe you want to capture the essence of your nonprofit's mission, unique approach, and impact.

  • Start by clearly defining your nonprofit's purpose in a single sentence, and then identify the unique selling proposition that sets your organization apart.

  • Tailor your pitch to resonate with your target audience and structure it around three key components: the problem you aim to solve, your solution or approach, and the tangible impact you have or plan to make.

  • Practice and refine your pitch, ensuring it remains conversational, authentic, and impactful. With a well-crafted elevator pitch, you can captivate attention, inspire action, and open doors to new supporters and partnerships for your nonprofit organization.

SAMPLE

I'm Charlene and I provide business services and learning opportunities to women in nonprofit leadership.

I work with entrepreneurs all across the country to help them improve their nonprofit businesses, prepare for funding, and achieve career satisfaction.

I host a Mastermind for Women where we supporting each other, learning together and developing grant proposals.

You can visit us online at DevoCenter.org for more information or contact me directly.

Recommended Nonprofit Technology

Nonprofit founders, entrepreneurs and managers wear many hats. In addition to running programs, leaders have to be familiar with technology that supports productivity, communication, recruiting, financial management, marketing, grant opportunities and fundraising.

Here are the resources that we use to get things done with ease.

Productivity

TechSoup
Access donations and discounts on software, hardware, and tech services

Microsoft Office 365
Your place to create, communicate, collaborate, and get great work done

Google for Nonprofits
Be more collaborative, productive, and efficient with Google Workspace

Bookkeeping

Wave
Free accounting software for nonprofits

QuickBooks Online
Nonprofit accounting software solution

Gusto Payroll
Hire, pay, insure, and support your employees with Gusto's all-in-one people platform

CRM’s and Donor Management

Salesforce.org
Scale funding and increase operational effectiveness with Salesforce. Free or discounted for nonprofits.

Staff, Volunteer and Board Recruiting

Idealist
Connects people who want to do good with opportunities for action and collaboration.

Volunteer Match
Matches inspired volunteers and nonprofits to achieve remarkable outcomes.

Foundation List
A national job board for nonprofits. Connecting people to help create greater impact.

Create The Good
Connects nonprofits with volunteers ready to share their life experiences, skills and passions.

Design and Marketing

Canva
Create social media graphics, videos, logos, marketing materials and more

iContact
Easy email marketing for nonprofit organizations

Envato
Everything you need to get creative projects done

Elfsight
Ready-to-use website widgets to help increase sales, engage visitors, collect leads and more.

Adobe Creative Cloud
software used for graphic design, video editing, photography and more

Squarespace
Establish a presences and take donations with this website

Grant Databases

Foundation Directory by Candid
Grants database and grantmaker search tools

GrantStation
Grants database, tools and info to secure nonprofit funding

GrantWatch
Grants database for nonprofits and municipalities updated daily

Instrumentl
Grant discovery, research, and tracking in one place

Fundraising

Guidestar by Candid
Connecting donors and funders to nonprofit organizations

Grants.gov
Subscribe for funding opportunities and apply for federal grants

Dun and Bradstreet
Register your business to establish credibility with funders and partners

Giving Portals

Network for Good
Online giving and donor management software for nonprofits

Cybergrants FrontDoor
Claim your organization to access the hundreds of corporate giving portals

YourCause GrantsConnect
Manage grantmaking from online grant applications through payments

Benevity Causes Portal
Helping nonprofits access and become eligible for corporate giving

Ready For Impact Workbook

Through the Mastermind Program we help educational nonprofit leaders explore and embrace the knowledge, skills and mindsets needed to manage sustainable businesses, deliver meaningful programs, and prepare for valuable partnership opportunities. This easy to use workbook is designed to help you organize and prepare for funding to achieve your mission.

Here you’ll find a series of prompts and exercises to help identify and articulate personal values, organizational goals, desirable leadership qualities, brand message, program impact, and partnership opportunities.

The guiding questions are perfect for individual reflection and journaling, and can be used for board planning and team visioning workshops. Once completed, you’ll have the rationale and language to begin conversations with funders and other stakeholders.

Each section of the workbook includes:

  • Big Idea: Explains what each essential is, why it’s important and how it helps build better nonprofits

  • Key Concepts: Includes important words and phrases

  • Prompts: Open-ended and provocative questions that inspire discovery of the big idea

  • Task: An activity that reinforces the big idea and supports development of an executive summary

  • Resources: Examples, templates, videos and other media that support the big idea

Free and Discounted Tools For Nonprofits

As a 501c3 your nonprofit organization is eligible for many free and discounted products and services to support business operations. Here are a few marketing and productivity tools that we use.

TechSoup supports nonprofits, charities, and libraries by providing access to donations and discounts on software, hardware, and services from major brands.

Google for Nonprofits provides access to Google products at no charge. Get the basic G Suite features and $10,000 per month for Search Ads. Reach more donors online. Be more collaborative.

Microsoft for Nonprofits helps your organization make a greater impact. Discover how Microsoft 365 can empower and achieve greater scalability for your nonprofit. Grow your nonprofit, get support, learn digital skills and increase productivity.

Canva for Nonprofits provides an easy way to create high-impact social media graphics and marketing materials. Register now to get Canva’s premium features for free.

iContact for Nonprofits knows which features matter most for driving donations and organizing volunteers. All qualifying 501c3’s receive a 20% discount and North Carolina nonprofits are eligible for a free account.

Adobe provides nonprofits with discounted subscriptions to Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator and more. Get a subscription through TechSoup.

Writing an Executive Bio for Nonprofit Leaders

An executive bio describes your personal values, interests, career history and accomplishments. You’ll need a bio for your website, professional networks, and for the many applications and proposals that are submitted to raise funds for your business.

You should have two versions available:

  • Informal bio - short and written in first-person

  • Professional bio - longer, written in third-person narrative

Here are a few tips to writing a compelling and concise executive bio:

  • Be Consistent: your bio should reflect and summarize information on your resume, linkedin profile and other professional online channels

  • Focus on Action: be sure to explain both who you are and what you do.

    • Example: “Vanessa King is an experienced community advisor, known for educating and supporting students as they transition from high-school into post-secondary opportunities.”

What to include in your bio?

  • Share Your Passions and Personality: Let readers know what inspires you and how your interests and experience inform your current work

  • Summarize Your Career Path: tell a story about your professional experience including your current role, showing how it all hangs together

  • Share Professional Accomplishments: provide an account exemplary projects and the impact you’ve had on the organizations you’ve served

  • Include Relevant Qualifications: Describe significant educational experiences, degrees, professional memberships and other credentials

  • Get Personal: Briefly tell your readers who you are and what you enjoy outside of work