Look at that pitch deck!

First off what is a pitch deck and nonprofits need one. A pitch deck is a BRIEF presentation used to provide your audience with a quick overview of your vision and your roadmap. You will usually use your pitch deck during face-to-face or online meetings with potential donors, investors, partners, and co-founders. Creating a pitch deck is not an easy task. Most of us should be wondering what to take out instead of what to put in (believe me!!). It needs to be brief after all... While being clear, inspirational, and while demonstrating that you know what you are doing and have done the math. If you’ve never created a pitch deck before it can be really daunting, and good examples are hard to come by.

While most decks start as private documents and remain confidential, some end up on the internet, and can be learned from. Startup Pitch Decks is a collection of real fundraising decks from top startups, like Airbnb, Tinder, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. Another excellent resource is Pitch Decks From Top Startups. Check them out to see how some of the most iconic tech companies presented themselves in the early days, and how their story has changed over time.

Please my fellow nonprofit-ers do not underestimate the importance of being up-to-date and do take advantage of this digital era and of the incredible tools it offers us to improve our messages. Even if you think of yourselves as a "traditional" nonprofit it is never too late to refresh your message and your brand. We leave in the most competitive times we have ever known as humans, we need to increase our efforts to capture the attention of our supporters, clients and donors in order of magnitude.

Start with studying common elements in the pitch decks I link above and start thinking of your own!