They say, "A picture is worth a thousand words," and a well-crafted pitch deck can capture the essence of your mission, convey your impact, and inspire potential funders and donors to support your work. 

In this article, we will explore the key elements of a compelling pitch deck for your nonprofit, outline what you really need to communicate in 10 slides, and share some case study samples along the way.

Start with a Captivating Story (slides 1 & 2)

Every great pitch deck begins with a powerful story. As a nonprofit, you have a unique narrative that drives your mission and fuels your passion.

Introduce your organization with a heartfelt and relatable story that tugs at the heartstrings of your audience. Show them the challenges you're tackling, the lives you're changing, and the impact you're making.

A compelling story forms the foundation of your pitch deck and helps funders and donors connect emotionally with your cause.

1. Engage with Captivating Imagery

Use photos and imagery that tell your story. Show people engaging with one another, or people interacting with their environment, versus a single smiling face that tells your audience nothing in relation to your mission. 

Well-designed slides, and a consistent color palette will make your pitch deck visually appealing. Include large images, keep the text concise, use bullet points to convey key messages, and ensure that your font choices are easy to read. 

Unless it's a live presentation, consider putting your story in the notes section of the slide deck, or bullet point your story on a separate slide-  if a single picture and statement can not carry the story alone.

Slide 3 & 4: Clearly Define Your Mission and Vision

Funders and donors want to know what your nonprofit stands for and what you hope to achieve. Clearly articulate your mission ( without jargon) and vision statements, highlighting the problem you're addressing and the long-term goals you aim to accomplish. 

Make it clear how your organization is positioned to create meaningful change and how your approach is both unique and sustainable.

Testimonial for rootid

“I'm really liking what you brought out to highlight. Now the deck is brief, clear, and captures who we are in a more compelling way to all the regular people we are trying to reach. This is the language I needed to focus on. It always feels like such a struggle to liberate myself from the jargon and verbosity, my head is so full of everything--the whole org story, how we do our work, youth stories, research, etc--I really needed your fresh lenses to help pull out the most important things.” - Elizabeth Knight, ED Upward Roots

Let us help you spruce up your slide deck! Contact us for a 30-minute consultation »

Slides 5-7: Highlight Your Impact & Legitimacy

Demonstrate the tangible outcomes of your work through data, stories, and testimonials.

Use visual aids like infographics, charts, and graphs to illustrate the impact your organization has made so far. 

Include quantitative as well as qualitative information like key performance indicators, success metrics, as well as team accolades, and real-life examples to showcase the transformative potential and power of your initiatives. 

Donors and funders want to see that their contributions will make a real difference, and a well-presented impact section will inspire their confidence in your organization.

Slide 8: Present Your Financials Transparently

Transparency is vital when seeking funding and support. Provide a clear breakdown of your financials, including revenue sources, funding allocation, and budget projections. 

Showcase your ability to manage resources efficiently and ensure sustainability. Instilling confidence in your financial management practices is essential for potential funders.

Slide 9: Outline Your Strategic Plan or Funding Roadmap

Donors and funders want to see that your organization has a well-defined roadmap for the future. 

Lay out your strategic plan, including short-term and long-term objectives, expansion strategies, and/or programmatic milestones. Discuss your collaborations with other organizations, and any partnerships that will enhance your reach and impact. 

Slide 10: Call to Action

End your pitch deck with a clear call to action. Invite potential funders and donors to join your cause, whether it's through financial support, mentorship, or collaboration. Provide contact information and offer to answer any questions they may have. Be prepared to follow up promptly and demonstrate your gratitude for their consideration.

Testimonial for rootid

“This was so collaborative, but you also did work for me...you all put new language on the deck. This to me was like a "wow" moment because I could share things and then see the changes in real-time, instead of me trying to take what we discussed and pulling it together on my own. I appreciated that you invited me to talk about the deck, why things were there, what they meant in my own words. I think we were able to feed off each other to get a clearer presentation of who Upward Roots is. You all created the space and really have helped me. In our time on Tuesday, I immediately thought of our grant application templates for mission statements and program statements and how I can transfer this language refresh into those.” - Elizabeth Knight, ED Upward Roots

Conclusion

Crafting an irresistible pitch deck for your nonprofit organization is an art that combines storytelling, data, visuals, and passion. By implementing these key elements and infusing your pitch deck with authenticity, you'll be well on your way to engaging funders and donors who share your vision and mission impact.

Check out our free Slide Deck Template »

Sign up for a 1:1 slide deck consultation »

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton

This month we are featuring womxn working towards purpose in their own way. We have compiled a group of women that we have not only ‘rubbed shoulders’ with, but are also diligently working to create change in their various fields. We posed a simple question and wanted to hear their various perspectives.

Women have played a significant role in driving social change and making a positive impact on our communities through (insert your field of work). As a female identifying nonprofit leader, can you share a project or initiative that you or your organization has undertaken to empower women and the impact it has had?

Amy Moy
Co-CEO, Essential Access Health

Like many who work in mission-driven spaces, my lived experience has led me to where I am and the work I do. Envisioning and helping to create a future where everyone is free to make personal decisions about their health and families, and can access the essential health care they want and need—with dignity and respect—is not only a professional journey, it’s personal commitment and my life’s purpose. 

From an early age, I understood the fundamental impact that our reproductive health and reproductive choices—or lack thereof—have on our health, economic security and overall well-being.

My paternal grandparents immigrated from China to New York City. As immigrants with lower-incomes and being of reproductive age from the 1940s-1960s, their health care options were limited. Without access to contraception, my grandmother had 12 children. My maternal grandparents were unable to have children on their own, and adopted my mother, their only child. Fast forward to a generation later, when I was in college, I had the ability to make a personal decision about my reproductive health that allowed me to continue my education and sparked my career path. My family and personal herstory deeply inspired me to dedicate my career to helping to make sure that the decision to become and continue a pregnancy, and if and when to have children is an actual choice, that every individual is free to make. 

Today I am proud to serve as Co-CEO at Essential Access Health (Essential Access). Our work is centered on advancing health and reproductive equity for all and supporting equitable and affordable access to high quality and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services.The federal Title X family planning program was established by Congress in 1970 to provide a pathway for patients with low-incomes to access contraceptive care. Although this was a tremendous step forward, many remained without access to affordable birth control and contraceptive choice due to systemic and structural barriers and racist policies. For more than fifty years, as an original Title X program grantee, Essential Access has helped expand access to sexual and reproductive health services and information for millions of patients – and in turn, improve individual and community health, and increase educational, career, and economic opportunities for people who can get pregnant—regardless of race, gender, income, zip code, insurance coverage or documentation status.

In a post-Roe landscape, Essential Access is also working with a broad range of partners and stakeholders to advance public policies and administer newly established state-funded grant programs to make the right to abortion a reality for anyone seeking abortion care in California.

We believe that sexual and reproductive health play a critical role in individual and community health. Reproductive rights and justice is intricately connected to gender, racial, LGBTQ+, and economic justice. As Audre Lorde said, “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own."

Andrea Manzo
Executive Director, Action Council & Building Healthy Communities Monterey County

Action Council/Building Healthy Communities is an organization that is proudly womxn-led.

Many organizing efforts within the organization have a strong base of womxn leaders that are addressing issues within education, neighborhoods, health and racial justice.

Our organization is supporting leadership pathways for residents to increase their capacity to use their voice and power on issues that affect their lives.

Liz Salter
Director of Donor Relations, Habitat For Humanity of Washington, D.C. & Virginia

I've been lucky enough in my career to work with many wonderful women leaders in the non-profit field. I've been inspired by their passion and commitment to creating more equitable communities by ensuring people have access to basic needs like food and housing while looking at how to make the process dignified and empowering for those we serve.

We host an event called Women Build at Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. & Northern Virginia. The goal of Women Build is to bring together women and gender non-conforming folks together to fundraise, build, and network. Women Build provides a way to make building on a construction site more inclusive and welcoming. While we work to create this environment every day on our sites, Women Build may attract someone nervous about coming on site because of preconceptions. After our teams have their build day, they are often ready to take on their projects at home and keep volunteering. 

We also have many women homeowners, and we want to ensure they feel empowered to feel comfortable managing their homes once they purchase them. We are currently building a single-family home for a woman and her family, and she is so excited about the stability that this home can provide and the growth for future generations. Having our current and future women homeowners at Women Build inspires them with all the wonderful volunteers and staff who are behind them as they start their journey. At Habitat DC-NOVA, we are lucky enough to have two amazing women on our construction team who are both leaders in their areas of expertise. We also have a lot of amazing women crew leaders and volunteers who join us in ensuring more families in our communities have equitable access to affordable homeownership.

Nakeyshia Kendall Williams
Founder & CEO, MindCatcher

MindCatcher envisions a world where all young people are designers of their own future and all educators are equipped to support youth in their journey. Our mission is to disrupt the cycle of hopelessness in learning spaces by fostering the social-emotional growth and decision-making power of educators and youth of color. Because the education sector is mostly women, our work often centers this group and seeks to bolster their leadership capacity. 

This past October, we hosted a retreat for participants in Collective Support, a cohort experience for systems and site leaders of color. As we believe in creating space for the genius of those actively engaged in leading school communities, we invited Collective Support members to share a session at the retreat. A female K-8 school leader hosted a session on Psychological Safety, which was a deep dive into what it means to experience freedom and support to take healthy risks. Under her skillful facilitation, we all came to the collective aha that professional environments where we supported to do our best work were few and far between. Those who had the positional authority to enact changes to create more psychologically safe environments accepted the charge to do so. Their decision-making will positively impact the learning environments of 4,500+ educators and 66,000+ youth. And the female school leader who led the workshop has gone on to share her thought leadership with education powerhouses such as Charter School Growth Fund and the Goldman Sachs x New Leaders One Million Black Women initiative. 

As Elaine Welteroth shares, "When women affirm women, it unlocks our power. It gives us permission to shine brighter.” As the Founder and CEO of MindCatcher and a woman social entrepreneur, I have accepted the charge to create more spaces for women to realize their genius. Onwards!

In these distressing times, it is vital that communities band together. Young children shouldn’t have to learn about tragic events; whether seeing it on the news, hearing about it from those around them, or experiencing it first hand - exposure to tragedy has become all too common. As acts of violence continue to increase, some parents may struggle with what to say and how to appropriately answer their child(ren)’s questions. 

It has become more important that parents have access to resources that can assist them in having those difficult conversations. We at rootid would like to share this list of resources that provide tips and best practices for talking to your children about tragedy and violence. It is our hope that you will find this list useful as you process your feelings and  support your children.

My school's new emergency plan includes lockdown drills. How can we keep them from scaring the kids?  https://childmind.org/article/my-schools-new-emergency-plan-includes-lockdown-drills-how-can-we-keep-them-from-scaring-the-kids/

Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth after the Recent Shooting https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/parents_guidelines_f...

Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers
https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/school-violence-resources/talking-to-children-about-violence-tips-for-parents-and-teachers

How To Talk To Kids About Violence, Crime and War
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-violence-crime-and-war

How To Help Children Cope With Tragic Events
https://newsroom.ocde.us/five-things-to-keep-in-mind-when-helping-kids-cope-with-crisis/

Coping In The Aftermath Of A Shooting
https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/coping-in-the-aftermath-of-a-shooting

Supporting employees in coping with community violence
https://www.lacoe.edu/Portals/0/LACOE/EASE/Guidance%20for%20Leadership_%20Supporting%20employees%20in%20coping%20with%20community%20violence-EASE-10%20(1).pdf?ver=2020-06-04-141201-693

RESOURCES IN SPANISH - RECURSOS EN ESPANOL

Ansiedad por los tiroteos en las escuelas; En busca de formas proactivas para lidiar con los sentimientos de preocupación
https://childmind.org/es/articulo/ansiedad-por-los-tiroteos-en-las-escue...

El nuevo plan de emergencia de mi escuela incluye simulacros de encierro. ¿Cómo podemos evitar que asusten a los niños? 
https://childmind.org/es/articulo/el-nuevo-plan-de-emergencia-de-mi-escu...

Cómo ayudar a sus hijos tras los tiroteos en los centros de educación
https://www.apa.org/topics/schools-classrooms/escolar

Recursos De Violencia Masiva
https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/terrorism-and-violence/mass-violence?search=&resource_type=All&field_taxonomy_event_type_tid=105&language=86&audience=All&other=All

Guía Para Los Padres Para Ayudar A Los Jóvenes Después De Un Tiroteo Reciente
https://www.nctsn.org/resources/guia-para-los-padres-para-ayudar-los-jov...

Hablarles a los niños sobre violencia: consejos para padres y educadores
https://conejousd.org/Portals/0/Talking_to_Children_About_Violence_Infog...

Date: March 17, 2021
Time: 9am - 11am PST
Location: Virtual (Participants will recieve the Zoom link once they have RSVP'd)

Join a group of nonprofit leaders & staff to explore narrative framing during a 2-hour Virtual Roundtable.

Watch the Storytelling Roundtable Presentation

We strive to co-create spaces of meaningful connection and belonging (these workshops are not webinars). We encourage and model frequent screen and body breaks. We believe collective learning leads to the most innovative and effective outcomes.

This is part 1 of a 2 part series that can be attended together or separately.

This roundtable will be co-facilitated by Kiara Nagel, Strategic Creative Consultant and Trainer with Center for Story-based Strategy.

This solution room-style agenda invites attendees to:

• Discuss challenges they are currently facing in narrative framing.
• Ideate with peers, consultants and funders from the nonprofit sector about potential solutions.
• Learn about tools, practices, and policies that have helped others succeed already in the face of similar challenges.
• Grow your network of nonprofit industry leaders to continue the conversation.

After the solution room, walk through a narrative planning framework that Center for Story-based Strategy uses with nonprofit clients.

The virtual session will take place over Zoom.

Seats are limited and reserved on a first-come first-served basis.