Fast Pitch was perfect timing for Blueprint Education as we focused on our 2020 strategic vision and accelerated our ability to make that vision public.
The entire experience was a rallying point for us to work on how to communicate to the community as well to meet a deadline to get our act together. It built pride in our team while demonstrating that we had something special and award winning to share. Our Communications team took this experience and process internally, allowing our school leaders to develop professionally and even pitch their own school stories to local community members. We increased our community outreach by meeting with likeminded thought leaders and nonprofits executives. This could not have accomplished without the passion and commitment from our mentors.
For me, the public speaking, presentation skill training and confidence building were rich and rewarding. The opportunity allowed us to hear what resonated with our community members, prospective donors and volunteers: personal, emotional, and simple stories. We learned that stories about our students are far more engaging and effective than how many years the organization has been around or the caliber of the board. We do take pride sharing our own success story by being one of the eight Fast Pitch finalists and the opportunity to pitch in front of a packed auditorium the night of the event. It would have taken months or even years to have positioned our organization in front of that kind of crowd.
Finally, although we did not win a grant that night, we won relationships that will last far longer than the money, allowing our network to flourish. We are proud to share our Fast Pitch experience and will continue to speak highly of what Social Venture Partners brought to Phoenix and the value it brought to me personally, professional and our organization holistically.
Doug Covey is President & CEO of Blueprint Education and a curent SVP Partner.