SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
- May 30: Pitch Proposal Due
- May 31: Proposal Review
- June 3: Pitch Finalists Selected & Notified
- June 6: Nonprofit Pitch Presentations (during lunch from 11:45 AM to 1:45 PM at $GBG Conference)
- June 6: Winners selected & announced at Ice Cream Social at the end of $GBG Conference
ABOUT
The Denver Office of Nonprofit Engagement, in partnership with Xcel Energy, Environmental Protection Agency Region 8, Waste Management, GRID Alternatives and the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency, is presenting its 5th Annual $ave Green Be Green Conference. The conference, developed by the EPA and D-ONE, aims to give attendees insights and resources on saving money and smarter facility management.
The Pitch Competition’s purposes are to motivate participants to attend, to provide real world examples of nonprofit energy efficiency projects and to fund a small number of nonprofits’ energy efficiency projects.
HOW THE PITCH COMPETITION WILL WORK
- Nonprofits start by reading through the requirements.
- After reviewing the requirements, if organizations have questions, they can email their questions to the D-ONE Team. Answers to these questions will be posted to the website.
- To ensure that projects are in the appropriate range of scope and allotted funds, participants are be given a list of example upgrades below. For example, with the $2,500 prize, depending on the facility, small projects like lighting, weather-stripping, or a water heater replacement could be done. A portion of space in the building could also be upgraded.
- If nonprofits are interested in participating, they should complete the application.
ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS
This competition is aimed at nonprofits and faith-based organizations that own or manage the facilities they operate out of. Furthermore, your organization must:
- Be in Good Standing with the Colorado Secretary of State
- You must be a registered 501(c)3 organization with the Internal Revenue Service or have a legal fiscal agent
- Your organization must be Denver-based and/or serving Denver residents
- The majority of clients served must be Denver-based (60% or more)
*Note: Organizations currently receiving NEEP funding will not be eligible as they have or are in the process of receiving upgrades through funding.
ELIGIBLE PROPOSALS
- A completed application must be submitted, A completed application consists of:
- Completed application
- Budget outline, consisting of the narrative and table. These should be emailed to D-ONE@denvergov.org with the subject line: 2024$GBG Pitch_Organization Name
- Miscellaneous documents (any documentation that may support your proposal – e.g. previous audit results for energy efficiency upgrades that were never done; EPA treasure hunt results if you organization has done one). These should be emailed to D-ONE@denvergov.org with the subject line: 2024$GBG Pitch_Organization Name
- Proposals that address the following will be considered eligible:
- Energy efficiency upgrades
- Descriptions of how the upgrades will help their organization
- Examples of proposal activities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Lighting (switching all light bulbs in facility)
- Weatherization
- New boilers
- HVAC systems
- Demonstrates and explains how funding for energy efficiency upgrades will help save money that can be re-allocated to other organizational needs. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
- By saving money on utility bills, we will be able to…
- Have after-school programming in our meeting rooms because we can afford to keep lighting on and building operations going later in the evening. This after school programming could include…
- Have more congregational gatherings such as monthly bible study meetings and quarterly potlucks. These social events are crucial to our church’s success because…
- Use those saved dollars for marketing so our church/organization can improve its fundraising amounts. Fundraising has been a struggle for us in the past and by directing more dollars into marketing we can….
FUNDING REQUEST AMOUNTS
There will be four grants awarded in total.
- First Place: $10,000
- Second Place: $5,000
- Third Place: $2,500 (Sponsored by Waste Management)
- Fan Favorite: $1,500 (Sponsored by Waste Management)
AWARD SELECTION PROCESS
All proposals will be reviewed by a five-person panel consisting of government personnel and energy experts.
This panel will review proposals and will decide on four proposals to advance to the proposal presentation phase at the conference. Notice of advancement will be sent to finalists. Organizations must confirm their participation before the conference.
At the conference, the proposals that advanced will be presented to the panel during lunch. Each proposal presentation will be 10 minutes and the panel will have five minutes to ask questions, totaling 15 minutes per proposal.
The panel will convene after all presentations have been given to determine the final award amounts. The winners for each amount will be announced at the conference’s Networking Reception.
AWARD SELECTION CRITERIA
All applications should address the following:
- Project Proposal
- Strong explanation of what they intend to use the funds for (project proposals)
- Strong budget table and narrative
- Organization
- Thoughtful and clear explanation of how the proposed energy upgrades will help their organization
- Community Impact
- How these funds will ultimately help the communities they serve
Preference will be given to those organizations that best demonstrate how their building upgrades will further energy equity in the City and County of Denver, specifically for the communities they work with.
6 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING
Regardless of whether you win or not, pitch competitions can be a positive experience for participants and their organizations. But be clear…you should enter this competition to win!
So how can you increase your chances of prevailing against the competition? Here are a few tips for improving your pitch competition presence.
1. BE CONCISE
In any pitch competition, you’re going to be sharing the spotlight with many other nonprofits. Attention will be at a premium, so you want to make the most of whatever time the judges will have their attention focused on you. Refine your elevator pitches: short, snappy and to the point. Make sure the basic concept of your idea is easy for someone outside your area of specialty to grasp. Focus on what you want the person to take away from your conversation or presentation.
2. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Jargon is a bugbear plaguing any number of highly specialized fields. While you are around people in your field, it may allow you to communicate ideas more precisely and signal your belonging to the tribe. However, your specialized lingo may sound like completely alienating gibberish to someone outside of your field. Know when to sound like a specialist and when to sound like a human being.
3. MAKE CONTACTS
You may have the best idea in the world, but that doesn’t mean much if you can’t get access to the resources you need to realize your vision. Building a good rapport with other contestants, judges and even the audience can make an enormous difference in how your idea is received.
4. APPLY EARLY
You may think you have everything you need ready to go for your application, but maybe you missed some small little clause hidden deep within the website or documentation. Some people do well under intense pressure, but you’d generally be better off spending time refining your application pitch than scrambling at the last minute to make sure you submit a high-quality application.
5. BE READY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
Assume you’ll get a lot of questions about your idea. Have some snappy, easy-to-understand answers ready. Be familiar with the types of questions you’ll be asked, so you won’t be caught completely off-guard.
6. IGNORE ONLINE ADVICE & BE UNIQUE
The problem with lists like these is that you’re not the only person reading them. In fact, we can guarantee the other contestants have read the exact same advice that you have. That means that sometimes it’s better to be memorable than to appear competent but predictable. If you’re a person of exceptional charisma or quirky enough that people can’t stop talking about you, use that to your advantage and make an impact!
SUBMITTAL PROCESS
In order to submit an application, proposers must answer all of the questions. To be considered to present at the conference, our office needs to receive the budget and budget narrative via email as well.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
2024-SGBG-Pitch-Competition-FAQs.pdf(PDF, 256KB)