Every day we see more nonprofits using Haiku Deck for fundraising presentations that tell the story of their cause, inspire donors and deliver results. When we saw Alice Ferris’ Haiku Decks, we knew she could offer great insight and inspiration to help even more NPO’s with their presentations.
Alice is founder of GoalBusters, a consultancy that helps small to mid-size nonprofit organizations build resources and do better with what they have. With over 25 years of experience, Alice and her team provide hands on fundraising services, strategic planning, and customized training throughout North America. She’s also a huge fan of Haiku Deck.
Guest Q&A
What inspired you to first start using Haiku Deck?
Like a lot of people, I have some pet peeves when I am in presentations. One peeve is too many words on the screen, made even worse if they read them. The other peeve is the clearly identifiable PowerPoint template. I was looking for something that I could use that would be more visual, and stumbled upon Haiku Deck.
What are some reasons you that recommend Haiku Deck to nonprofits?
As much as the general public thinks that fundraising is about money, it isn’t. Fundraising is really about building relationships and sharing stories. And stories are more powerful if they are visual! Haiku Deck gives organizations an easy tool to tell their story in pictures…in fact, I like that Haiku Deck practically forces you to think visually!
I also like that Haiku Deck is simple. Too many times, I’ve seen nonprofits stymied with creating a visual story because they have too many options. Analysis paralysis! With Haiku Deck, there are easy templates so that organizations can put together a presentation quickly and effectively.
Fundraising for Small Shops – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires
What advice do you have for nonprofits when it comes to sharing their story and inspiring their communities?
First thing is to identify who your audience is and what their connection is, or might be, to your story. That way, you can focus on what words and images will resonate with them, rather than what works for you. The other thing that I share with organizations a lot is, don’t be afraid to put yourself and your listener in the story. It’s a way for you to connect with your listener by sharing a common perspective or feeling.
What are some tips you offer to nonprofits for using technology to better market their organizations?
Technology is not the magic bullet, but it is a very useful tool. There are so many good tools that are inexpensive or free that can help with marketing. That’s not to say that you should never pay for marketing–in fact, organizations should have a marketing budget. We like to focus on what’s the best use of those resources. Most of the time, if you invest in the right person to craft the message and create the campaigns, you can use inexpensive technology to distribute the message. You have to have the right content!
If you had to sum up the benefits of Haiku Deck for nonprofits, what would you say?
Haiku Deck helps nonprofits tell their story in a easy to create, compelling, visual way.
Here’s one more of our favorite presentations from Alice, on creating a plan for a healthy and sustainable development program for your nonprofit organization.
Holistic Fundraising: Creating a Plan for a Healthy and Sustainable Development Program – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;
Thank you Alice for sharing your experience with us! To learn more about her work, follow Alice Ferris on Twitter and visit her website. To view more of Alice’s Haiku Decks, visit her Haiku Deck user profile page.
Do you use Haiku Deck in your nonprofit? Email us your story!
Don’t currently use Haiku Deck with your nonprofit? Join us! Send us an e-mail at nonprofit@haikudeck.com to get set up.
(Did we mention that we offer a 50% nonprofit discount?)
Want to set your presentation to automatically advance or loop? This is a feature request we hear frequently from customers who want Haiku Decks to automatically play at a trade show booth, on a lobby monitor, or even at a 
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