SVP India’s Fast Pitch event: Connecting social sector leaders with key resources

IMAGINE a space where social sector leaders are given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to an audience full of potential givers, just like on the popular TV show Shark Tank! Now, imagine that instead of pitching for profits, these entrepreneurs are pitching for a social cause – a cause to make a difference in the lives of those most in need. Welcome to the third edition of Fast Pitch, by Social Venture Partners India (SVP India).

The “sharks” here are everyday citizens spread across our country, who want to be part of innovative programs that make positive changes in the lives of less fortunate Indians.

Fast Pitch provides a platform for 12 phenomenal social sector leaders working in areas such as education, skill building, disability, women’s empowerment, prison reform and eliminating hunger; to pitch their ideas before a virtual audience, to increase awareness of their work and to raise unrestricted funds. People can connect from anywhere in the country just by registering here:  

Register Here

The online event starts at 5.30 pm on Thursday, 25 April 2024. 

Attendees can show their support to any of the NGOs or to all of them through live donations on Give, India’s largest crowdfunding platform for non-profits.

Perfecting the pitch 

Excitement is mounting as the event draws near, with only two weeks left to go. Twelve NGOs, in collaboration with Social Venture Partners India, have been working tirelessly to perfect their pitches. SVP India’s partners have been coaching the social sector leaders to share their five-minute pitches on 25 April 2024. 

“Fast Pitch gives non-profit organisations a wide-reaching platform to share the story of their meaningful work – this inspired me to bring this event to India 3 years ago. Fast Pitch is a marquee event for us at SVP, as it aspires to equally engage individuals as donors, who are so thrilled to hear diverse non-profit stories in a curated manner. This has created traction for the event and made it so successful,” says Govind Iyer, All India Chairperson, SVP India.The build-up to Fast Pitch is spread over several months, when NGOs from across the country present their ideas to SVP India. The panel at SVP India evaluates the ideas based on their potential for impact, scalability, sustainability, and overall feasibility. 12 NGOs are finally selected and trained to make their presentation at the Fast Pitch event. Here, a panel of judges select the win

ners who get cash prizes. The social sector leaders also attract the audience members to donate live during the event on their online fundraisers.  

Bigger and better

In the last two years, over 2700 people tuned in to the live broadcast of the Fast Pitch event, captivated by the stories of these inspiring organisations. The 24 participating social sector leaders raised an impressive ₹7.62 crores through the events, proving that Fast Pitch is truly a game-changer for the social sector. 

Watch all the pitches from the 2022 and 2023 finalists.

This year, with the help of SVP India partners as coaches, the social sector leaders have been working hard to perfect their pitches, ready to share their five-minute stories with the country on Thursday 25 April 2024.

The 12 Fast Pitch NGOs 

Here we take a look at the 12 NGOs that have been selected after a rigorous process:

Alokit builds the capacity of school leaders (Principals and Headmistress) of government schools in India to improve the learning outcomes of students.

They also support government partners to design professional development programs for school leaders and support them in making policy decisions related to school education.

Anahat Foundation is focused on improving access to primary and preventive healthcare for the urban poor in Bangalore. They work on the philosophy that healthcare should be accessible and affordable for all citizens, to improve health outcomes which in turn improves productivity and quality of life. India’s health ecosystem has to be anchored by a robust primary and preventive health delivery system.

Bridges of Sports Foundation champions a unique and empowering approach of sports excellence through a hyperlocal, community-led model. They identify youth who have potential to excel in sports and work closely with them by identifying, nurturing and developing them to become the best athletes in the country.

Dream School Foundation strives to break the cycle of socio-economic vulnerability in children and families, and help them through the power of education. They work closely with the Education Department and are aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) of the Government of India. They also work with teenagers and youth towards livelihood. 

Happy Feet Home Foundation has a Palliative Care centre that offers free-of-cost nutritional, medical, emotional, psycho-social and educational/ vocational support to children and young adults who are either infected or affected with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses. They provide various services that enable the overall well-being of the children and youth.

Jayam Trust was founded on the basis of special education services provided at the highest level of learning and training. They pride themselves on using evidence-based practice techniques under a safe learning environment, with qualified special educators and therapists dedicated to enhancing the health and wellness of children, to bring them back into mainstream society.

Khaana Chahiye Foundation works towards the Sustainable Development Goal of ‘Zero Hunger’ in the Mumbai metropolitan region. They are a citizen’s movement organisation with volunteer-driven relief operations. They support 2 community kitchens and offer assistance with grocery kits distribution to the poor.

Project Second Chance does long-term and committed prison reform work through workshops conducted in prisons for prisoners. Post the release of prisoners, they create a pathway for them to become full-time fellows in a “Second Chance Fellowship”, where these fellows develop an intervention to address any systemic issue which can be implemented within the prison system at scale. Their focus is to revamp the prison as an institution and make society safer.

Purnata combats the root causes of Human Trafficking by implementing a comprehensive and holistic prevention strategy. Emphasising Prevention, Purnata also conducts Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration efforts – offering Education & Job skill training initiatives to the rescued.

Tamahar Trust works with children with disabilities. Their holistic developmental intervention approach encompasses Core intervention, Functional Education, Pre-vocational training, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Physiotherapy, Music Therapy, Yoga, Arts, Dance, and Sports. They provide customised holistic interventions designed to improve their developmental needs, with a unique pedagogy catering to their social, cognitive, self-care and communication needs.

Tiljala Society for Human and Educational Development is a grassroots-level NGO working for the underprivileged and marginalised people of Kolkata, especially the rag-pickers community which has been neglected for a long time and socially ostracised by society in general. Tiljala runs education programmes for children of rag pickers and supports women to start self-help groups (SHGs) for livelihood.

Vanavil Trust supports children of two Nomadic communities, Boom Boom Mattukarars and Narikuravars in Tamil Nadu. They support multiple projects of innovative educational models, nutritional support and livelihood creation; which have created historic changes and development for the nomadic tribal communities.

At the Fast Pitch event, NGOs present their work to a panel of judges who are experts in the field of social impact and fundraising. The judges evaluate the ideas based on their potential for impact, scalability, sustainability, and overall feasibility. The winners of the competition aer awarded a cash prize, and all participants receive valuable feedback and exposure to potential donors. 

Catch the 12 exceptional NGOs pitches on Thursday, 25 April 2024 starting 5.30pm.

Register Here