Get Funded: Strategic Fundraising and Investment Pitching Certification

Being able to access capital or funding is essential for businesses to grow. Many companies would like to have members of their team who are well versed in the skills of fundraising. However, few people in the various fundraising roles of a company possess the appropriate skill sets to effectively convince organizations, investors and grant programs to write an investment cheque. This course will provide team members with the knowledge, application and practice necessary to become persuasive fundraisers so your company can achieve its funding needs and focus on business.

Team members will learn:

• The fundamentals of positioning a business as the best solution in the marketplace
• How to write a brand story that distinguishes you from your competitors
• Due diligence that must be completed before asking for money
• Create a data room, which is where all of the company’s key documents are held
• How to prepare a compelling presentation and pitch deck
• Public speaking and presentation skills necessary to call the audience to action

By the end of this course, team members will have everything they need to confidently make the ask and get a yes.

Day 1 - Auditing an Organization's Positioning in the Market

Instructor led from 9am-12pm (12 pm lunch)
Individual Work (1pm to 4pm)

Trainees will learn to evaluate a company's brand messaging for consistency and impact. They will develop skills to audit a company's marketing and evaluate it against the vision, mission and core values. Identifying a company's deficiencies and needs helps them lay a solid foundation to build a brand story, presentation for investment, pitch deck and a compelling ask for funding.

1-4 pm: Individual work

Unit 1 – Marketing Fundamentals

• Identifying the ideal customer and their pain points
• Positioning a product or service as a solution to the customer’s pain
• Creating your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
• Creating a compelling call-to-action

Unit 2 – The Importance of Brand Messaging Consistency

• Evaluating the story developed and relayed in  the marketing collaterals
• Aligning marketing with vision, mission and core values
• Creating a vision-driven brand story to align marketing messaging

Unit 3 – Conducting Due Diligence Studies

• Preparing for due diligence
• What an investor needs to complete their due diligence
• The checklist of documents a company needs to be ready for due diligence
• Conducting corporate market analysis and comparisons
• How to best structure your offering so that is attractive and clear for investors

Unit 4 – The Power of Testimonials and Case Studies in Marketing

• Using customer success stories to attract more customers
• Asking customers for testimonials
• Critical components of a customer success story
• Developing Interviewing skills

Individual Work (1 pm to 4 pm)

• Case Study–Company to study will be selected during class time
• Perform an audit of the company’s marketing collateral
• Gather documents company needs for due diligence exercises
• Review testimonials and case studies and comment on effectiveness and impact
• Be prepared to present findings in the next class

Day 2 - Crafting a Brand Story

9 am - 12 pm: Review of previous day and instructor led units 5-9

1-4 pm: Individual work

On the second day of training, trainees will learn why a brand story is a powerful tool for companies who are looking to convince others that they are different, and what elements are needed to craft a compelling brand story.

Unit 5 – The Elements of a Brand Story

• Learning the elements of storytelling from Hollywood blockbusters
• The role of the customer in the brand story
• Taking the customer on the hero’s journey
• Positioning the company as the guide in the story

Unit 6 – Unpacking a Brand Story

• Case studies of successful pitch decks
• Analysis of the components in their brand story
• Breaking down each element and its impact on the story
• How the elements have been incorporated into the deck

Unit 8 – Building Trust in the Story with Social Proof

• Follow-up on individual work from Day 1
• Turning an interview into a success story
• Crafting testimonials and case studies

Homework from 1pm to 4 pm

Case Study Work

• Complete brand story worksheets using your company as a case study
• Compile answers with the team
• Choose top answers

Creation of Final Brand Story

• Create a final version of your company brand story using the template provided
• Prepare with team to present the brand story during the next class

Day 3 - Preparing for Investors

9 am - 12 pm: Review of previous day and instructor led units 10-141-4 pm: Individual work

Purpose:Investors & funders are very discerning with who they provide funding to.  As such, organisations need to be prepared and have a good strategy when asking for capital.  In this section, we will teach trainees how to identify and approach investors, how to create a data room for their documents so the investors can conduct their due diligence, how to create an investment offering that stands out, and how to prepare for the tough questions investors will ask.

Unit 11 - Creating a Data Room

• How to effectively create an investor data room with your company’s documents
• Which critical documents investors need to conduct due diligence
  • Financial Statements & Projects
  • Contracts and legal agreements
  • Intellectual property (IP)
• Best practices on how to format and prepare the documents for easy investor analysis
• What technology tools can be used to create a data room

Unit 12 - Building a Strong Defence for Your Pitch

• Learn typical investor questions and how to craft answers that will impress.
• Concepts that must be explained clearly and concisely
  • Business model
  • Management experience
  • Ability to execute
• How to respond to additional questions around:
  • Financials
  • Risk
  • Opportunity

Unit 13 - Creating the Investment Offering

• How to stand out from the crowd.
• How investors look for gaps in the story
• Building a solid pitch that you can defend
• Making your ask

Day 4 - Creating an Effective Pitch Deck

9 am-12 pm: Review of the previous day and instructor-led units 15-19

1-4 pm: Group work

On this day, trainees will build on their previously developed skills and learn how to take a well-crafted brand story, add in investor considerations, and ultimately create a highly effective pitch deck.  The pitch deck presentation is the key vehicle to communicating your organization’s “ask,” making the deck one of the most important factors in successful fundraising.

Unit 15–Key Elements of a Great Pitch Deck

• The 5 elements of a great pitch
• The “must-have” slides for every pitch deck
• Creating an attention-grabbing opening
• Clearly and effectively demonstrating your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
• Closing with a powerful call to action

Unit 17 - Framing your Ask

• How to make your investment opportunity stand out from the crowd
• Creating scarcity so investors feel like they might miss out
• Showing investors exactly what to do next
• Pre-emptive follow-up while the investors are hot

Unit 18–Formatting Your Deck

• Must have slides
• Pictures and diagrams
• Text size and ratio
• Slide do’s and don’ts
• How to create the proper “look and feel”
• Top mistakes to avoid

Unit 19–Pitch Styles

• The “Problem - Solution - System” approach
• The Narrative Approach
• Who’s it for? What’s in it for you? Why are we different?
• Choosing the best style for the audience/event

Group Work 1pm to 4 pm

• Create a pitch deck for your company
• Prepare to present your pitch in the next class

Day 5 - Delivering a Compelling Presentation

Full Day, 9 am to 4 pm: Instructor led with hands on application of skills

Purpose: Once the pitch deck has been crafted, the next challenge is to actually present the material to investors.  On this day, trainees will learn important presentation skills, including how to prepare for and deliver effective presentations.  The day will end with students presenting their pitch decks to the class.

Unit 20–Knowing Your Audience

• Getting the background on the event
  • Single investor
  • Multi investor
  • Competition
• Who’s in the audience
  • Researching the investors
  • Finding their sweet spot
• Positioning your pitch and ask to the audience

Unit 21–Preparing for Your Venue

• In person versus online
• In person
  • Scoping out your presentation area
  • Positioning yourself in front of the audience
  • Positioning yourself with respect to the screen
  • Identifying the mechanics of “your stage”
• Online
  • Choosing your backdrop
  • Setting up your camera
  • Getting the lighting right
  • What to wear so you show up well
  • How the screen works back to front