http://www.thefrontlinefundraiser.com

1. MY ELEVATOR SPEECH TEMPLATE
Goal is a story no longer than two minutes.
Your Elevator Speech is a third person telling about someone or something impacted by your mission and those
programs for which you are seeking support. You should have it ready in response to the question you hope your
constituents will frequently ask you, “Tell me what’s new at (organization).” or to deliver to an audience at a
meeting or reception.
 Select a priority program or project on which to focus your speech.
 Identify a need or opportunity and specify it, tailor the speech to your audience when possible.
 Individualize -- focus on an individual person, a specific animal, a particular conservation project if possible.
 Explain what you observed or learned, how it impacted the subject of the speech.
 Tie the speech to your mission, the particular program/project you are citing.
 Cite several points of pride, maybe pertinent statistics, (keep it brief and focused; remember that the clock is
ticking)
 Explain why it matters, the difference it makes.
 Know your audience/listener (With whom do you anticipate sharing this information?).
 Extend an invitation to your listener(s); seek a next step.
A Tale of Two Speeches -- Which would you prefer to hear?
THIS
A recitation of mission statement and the strategic plan, a lengthy litany of statistics and factoids, attendance &
service statistics, financial data, upcoming events, etc.
OR THIS
I spoke yesterday with a gentleman who volunteers in the First Year Experience Program, to help freshmen with
various academic deficiencies. He told me that, over the course of this semester, he has watched Michael, a young
man with several academic deficiencies and terrible study skills, grow in various ways as his grades improved. The
volunteer explained:
(You might read this from a notecard to illustrate that is a quoted statement) “When I first met Michael he could barely look
me in the eye. During my visit to the study center last week Michael met me at the door and showed me his mid-
term English paper on John Milton. As important as the B grade was, I was more impressed by Michael’s
excitement as we had a real, lively conversation about why he chose to study Milton.”
Michael is learning to think while he improves his grades. This is learning on multiple levels.

2. This special tutoring program is regularly attended by 75 struggling freshman students each week. Faculty and
volunteer tutors help with study skills, homework assignments, time management, and personal counseling. On
average, a student’s grade point average will improve by a full point over the course of the first semester, and the
student retention rate has improved by 15%.
I would love to tell you more and ask for your advice and ideas. When next week are you availableto meet?
An expanded version, addressing a group audience, might run up to (no longer than) five minutes, and includean invitation for questions
and discussion. Be prepared to invite individual follow-up conversationswith those who express interest.
THIS
A recitation of mission statement and the strategic plan, a lengthy litany of statistics and factoids, financial data,
attendance & service statistics, upcoming events, etc.
OR THIS
During my interactions with our clients and the staff who serve them, I regularly see how the quality of life
improves for people with disabilities as they achieveindependence and reach their full potential. Ispoke recently
with the mother of a little boy, Jason, who can’t speak. Jason’s Mom shared this story with me:
(You might read this from a notecard to illustrate that is a quoted statement) One day, a therapist told his mother to ask Jason
if he loved her. The mom was hesitant because she very well knew he couldn’t talk, but she asked. Jason hit a
switch on a hand-held communication device we’re teaching Jason to use that activated a prerecorded voice that
said, “I love you.” The mom was teary eyed – it was the first time her son was able to say he loved her, something
she never thought she’d hear.
We are focusing this year on our programs that build and enhance life skills, that teach independence for our clients,
particularly our educational and therapeutic programs for children. We currently provide services for 120 children
ages 4 – 18 and have had a 94 % success rate in job placement for those completing our vocational training. These
are just a small part of our overall mission of providing services to persons with disabilities, through which we serve
more than 400 clients annually.
I would like to tell you more about our educational and therapeutic programs for children. I would like to invite
you to visit and meet some of them.
An expanded version, addressing a group audience, might run up to (no longer than) five minutes, and includean invitation for questions
and discussion. Be prepared to invite individual follow-up conversationswith those who express interest.