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What does it take for a nonprofit to craft a compelling, three-minute pitch that captures hearts and minds and maybe even some money? Find out as I welcome Brad Squires, President and CEO of Sacramento Venture Philanthropy, who takes us behind the scenes of the Fast Pitch Finals. With over 50 applicants whittled down to 15, and only eight making it to the finals, this episode offers a sneak peek into the rigorous coaching and vetting process of the program. Brad shares how this event, now in its ninth year, empowers local nonprofits to amplify their impact by honing their storytelling skills.
Discover the excitement leading up to the Fast Pitch Showcase at The Sophia theater this November 7th, where attendees can support their favorite nonprofits through live donations. Hear from Brad about the invaluable skills participants gain, from fundraising to volunteer engagement, and the role of live judges, including your very own host, Me! We also touch on the Class of 2024 and the anticipation surrounding the announcement of the top eight finalists. This program will sell out and we want to be certain everyone knows to move quickly to get their tickets.
You can learn more about the event and how to get your tickets by visiting the website https://www.svpsacramento.org/fast-pitch
Thank you so much for listening! We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates. https://www.nonprofpod.com/ And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing.
00:07 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast News Pod. I'm talking with Brad Squires, president and CEO of Sacramento Venture Philanthropy. Hey, brad, we got something coming up and it's coming up in November and in all likelihood it's going to sell out, and that is the Fast Pitch Finals that you do every year. Can you tell me a little bit about what this Fast Pitch thing is?
00:26 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, so Fast Pitch is a program. This is our ninth year doing this program. It's helping nonprofits tell their story and nonprofits go through a couple months of coaching to develop their pitch a three-minute, concise, compelling way to tell their story. And ultimately, our goal is that they build capacity, they raise more funds, they increase their volunteer pool and really increase their impact in the region.
00:49 - Jeff Holden (Host)
And there's a vetting process. You start with X number and then they get weaned down and weaned down and by the time we get to the event itself the finals how many people are left?
01:04 - Brad Squires (Guest)
So we had over 50 applicants from different nonprofits all over Sacramento region and then we had 15 that were selected by our partners to participate. All of them get the benefit of going through the program, which is wonderful. And then the top eight, which is a decision based upon the folks in the community, in the group. They choose the top eight to go on stage on November 7th at the Fast Pitch Showcase.
01:22 - Jeff Holden (Host)
So for an attendee, what are we getting to see?
01:26 - Brad Squires (Guest)
So it's a great night at the Sophia. It's a celebration of the work they've put in. They're presenting their pitch, of course, again that three-minute pitch and we go through all eight of them and the crowd gets a chance to support them with live donations optional, but on their phone they can donate live and support the great work that these organizations are doing. So it's an inspiring night. It's a great way to learn about different nonprofit organizations in the Sacramento region. So anybody who's looking to just kind of get to know what's going on this is a great way to do that.
01:55 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Of those eight. Is it then decided that there is a winner or runner up and it goes down that process, or is it just these eight get to present and they have? The opportunity to get donations from the audience.
02:07 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, so we have a live panel of judges. Well, five judges, community leaders and Jeff, you'll be one of them, which will be great.
02:13 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Yes, I'm looking forward to it.
02:14 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, so five judges and the judges basically use the same scorecard that we use throughout the process, and so it's as they go through their pitch they are able to rank the pitches. And of course, so as they go through their pitch they are able to rank the pitches, and of course we have top three that get a nice grant or award at the end of that. But I always emphasize that it's really less about that. It's more about the process and the work that organizations put in to refine their story so that they can use that on and on beyond just the fast pitch program.
02:40 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Yeah, boy, we know telling stories, and telling those stories in your words, because that's what we're all about in a long form. So having the ability to get it condensed into almost what we would call that elevator pitch in a way that's not only vetted but judged, has to be pretty exciting for these guys to be able to convey it that quickly.
03:00 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Right, yeah, so it's powerful and again, a lot of these organizations that have been through this program there's over a hundred nonprofits in Sacramento area that have been through Fast Pitch and these organizations again are able to take that pitch with them all over the community in different groups and rooms and help to again raise funding and grow capacity for their work that they do.
03:20 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Do we know who the eight finalists are at this point?
03:24 - Brad Squires (Guest)
No, but we do know the 15 that are participating. We call them the Class of 2024. They're posted on our website. So great group of organizations ranging from very smaller organizations all the way up to large ones, various different regions. We serve the four-county region, sacramento, placer, yolo and El Dorado counties and so they're all located locally here and doing great work.
03:47 - Jeff Holden (Host)
When do those 15, the class of 2024, get notified that it is down to eight?
03:53 - Brad Squires (Guest)
So there's four workshops and we finished two of the four, and so the last two workshops is where they're going to present their pitch and the group is responsible for scoring during these workshops. So over the next month, really through October, we'll narrow it down to our top eight.
04:11 - Jeff Holden (Host)
And that's incredible, how exciting. And the class of 2024, the 15 at this point, are on the website and what's that website address? Again, svpsacramentoorg. All right, so anybody that's interested can go there. They can see who they're going to be interested in following. By the week of Will they know the final eight.
04:32 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yes.
04:32 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Yeah, okay, so they can see that process of elimination going in real time on the website as people go, and I'm sure it'll be posted on social and everything else like that. So again, you want to give me the dates and the specific of when the Fast Pitch final is.
04:47 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, November 7th at the Sophia at downtown Sacramento. It'll be in the evening, it's a couple hours. It'll be some cocktail hour and some food and drinks and just some social time. But also a great time, a couple hours of hearing these pitches and supporting great organizations.
05:03 - Jeff Holden (Host)
And I'm happy to say, as I look at the class of 2024 here in front of me, many of them have already been on the program on the Nonprofit Podcast. I would suspect that's the case which is really great to see and I hope we can continue that as we get into next year. So again November 7th at the Sophia. It's in the evening. What's the cost to attend? What's the ticket?
05:25 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Well, the early bird pricing is available till October 15th, and so you can log onto the website and book a ticket for $40. Otherwise, the ticket goes up to $50 after that.
05:36 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Okay and this event will sell out. We want everybody to get there sooner than later. So if you really do want to attend, you want to support or root for your favorite nonprofit that's in the finals please go to the website sooner than later because you won't be able to go. The Sophia has limited seating.
05:53 - Brad Squires (Guest)
That's right.
05:54 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Which is great. Let's put that sense of urgency in there.
05:57 - Brad Squires (Guest)
So you've got to get those tickets before you can't.
06:00 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Maybe they'll be scalping them right on one of the—.
06:02 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Yeah, might have fun. I'm on Stoke, maybe they'll be scalping them right on one of the yeah it might have fun a month or so, brad.
06:06 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Thank you, it's so great to see this. I can't wait to be a judge for the event. We're really looking forward to it and I will put the information in the show notes for this news pod as well.
06:17 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Sounds good. We look forward to it. It's going to be another fun event.
06:20 - Jeff Holden (Host)
Great Thanks, Brad.
06:22 - Brad Squires (Guest)
Thanks, Jeff.
