Fast Pitch

See you in 2025!

Thank you for making Fast Pitch 2024 a night to remember! As a community, we showed our commitment to 10 incredible nonprofit leaders last night by:

  • Raising nearly $125,000 (and counting), including $50,000 from SVP Chicago, $15,000 from Allstate and met our $60,000 goal from our audience

  • Coming out in force, with an amazing audience of over 250 people

  • Building these leaders’ confidence and connections

The passion of our pitchers, the energy of our emcees, and the commitment our coaches made to the program all contributed to a wildly successful night.

And while this wasn’t a competition, we were so happy to see three of our pitchers walk away with “bragging rights” awards, including:

SVP Chicago provides skills-based support -- as well as networking and educational opportunities -- to our community nonprofit partners, so Fast Pitch was only the start of our pitchers journey with us. And we’re so excited to see how their Fast Pitch experience impacts their organizations. 

A Step Ahead Chess ● Alt_Chicago ● Austin African American Business Networking Association ● Firehouse Community Arts Center ● Focus Fairies Mentoring ● Kingdom Avenue ● Light Up Lawndale ● Mr. Dad’s Father’s Club ● Think Outside Da Block ● Towers of Excellence

Credit: Sean McGill Photography

Fast Pitch FAQ

  • Fast Pitch is a free, two-month communications training and mentoring program for innovative nonprofits that are effecting social change in Chicago. Nonprofit leaders are selected from a pool of candidates recommended by community leaders.

    Each nonprofit leader receives training and mentoring from a team of two SVP Chicago partners who help them refine their messaging and develop a three-minute pitch to tell their story in a powerful and compelling way.

    The program culminates in a high energy, rapid-fire showcase event during which the nonprofit leaders share the mission, vision, and impact of their organization with an in-person and virtual audience to fundraise and friendraise.

  • We know from past participants that the program is about so much more than the pitch:

    • The refined messaging can transform how you talk about your organization across communications platforms.

    • You can make connections with other nonprofit leaders that last beyond the two-month program.

    • The showcase leads to more donations, potential volunteers and board members, and broader exposure for you and your organization.

    • Program alumni join our network of nonprofits we support with our organization-building help.

    • It is important to us that all organizations who are accepted into the program are compensated for their time. As such, SVP Chicago gives each nonprofit leader who completes the program a small, unrestricted grant.

  • Participants are expected to attend three practice pitches and the showcase event. You can anticipate a weekly commitment of approximately 4-5 hours to practice with your coaches and prepare for each pitch.

    Orientation: Wednesday, March 6th

    First Practice Pitch: Thursday, March 21st

    Second Practice Pitch: Wednesday, April 3rd

    Third Practice Pitch: Tuesday, April 16th

    Main Event: Thursday, May 2nd

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Quilen Blackwell, President & Co-founder, Chicago Eco House –Fast Pitch 2021

“Participating in SVP Chicago’s Fast Pitch changed how we talk about our organization. Working with my coaches, I was able to crystalize our messaging to go beyond talking about the programs and, instead, focus on telling our story more broadly.

The program also gave me access to SVP’s network of partners which has led to pro bono organization building support and more. This helped us to gain national media coverage on the Today Show, 60 Second Docs, Steve Harvey on Watch, New York Times, Forbes, and many others. Furthermore, our revenue has grown significantly from the time we started the program to now, which I attribute to our improved messaging. While the program is a time commitment, the value I received and continue to receive was well worth it.”

To view our previous Fast Pitch showcases, click below.