Social impact pitch deck
Impact investors and grant makers have read many decks full of people reached. What moves them is evidence that lives changed, what each change costs, and a path to paying for it that does not depend on the next grant.
The numbers
Impact investors look for the same discipline as any investor, plus proof that the change is real. These numbers show both.
Outputs are what you do: people trained, meals served, devices given. Outcomes are what changed: jobs held, health improved, income raised. Critics of common impact metrics argue the sector has focused too much on outputs[1].
On the slide: the outcome, the time after the intervention you measured it, and how it was checked.
What it costs to produce one outcome, such as one person placed in a job, one child reading at grade level. It lets funders compare you with other ways of reaching the same goal.
On the slide: by cohort, with the trend as you scale.
The share of costs paid by earned revenue, such as fees, employers or government contracts, against grants and donations.
On the slide: by year, with a target for when earned revenue covers operating costs.
Whether beneficiaries stay through the programme and the change lasts. Drop-off often explains weak outcomes.
On the slide: completion rates and follow-up results at 6 or 12 months.
The same fictional organisation over four years. Employer fees grew as placement rates rose, reducing reliance on grants.
Measurement
Many impact investors use the Global Impact Investing Network's IRIS+ catalogue to compare companies. Its architect has described it as containing more than 700 metrics across 17 themes, used by close to 20,000 organisations[2]. Using its metric names where they fit makes your numbers easier for funders to read.
Critics, such as the measurement firm 60 Decibels, argue that common metrics lean too heavily on outputs and that the sector should measure more outcomes[1]. Strong decks do both: standard metrics for comparison, and outcome evidence that shows lives actually changed.
Show your theory of change in one line: what you do, what that produces, and what changes as a result. Then show the evidence for each step.
In the meeting
Slide by slide
The order follows the structure most investors expect, from Sequoia's original business plan outline[3] to Y Combinator's seed deck advice[4]. The notes are what changes for social impact.
Red flags
Investors give a deck a few minutes. DocSend found average review time fell to under three minutes in 2022[5]. These are the slides that use those minutes badly.
Astitva writes your investor story free from a short brief, in this order, then designs each slide in your own brand for 5 credits. A 12-slide deck is 60 credits.
No card needed. Packs from ₹299 or $3, no subscription.
Twelve slides in investor order with outcomes rather than only outputs, cost per outcome, how outcomes were measured and verified, revenue and funding mix, a path to financial sustainability and who pays as you scale.
Outputs are what an organisation does, such as people trained. Outcomes are what changed for people, such as jobs held six months later.
A catalogue of impact metrics run by the Global Impact Investing Network, widely used by impact investors to compare organisations.
Yes. Astitva writes the investor story free from a short brief and designs each slide in your brand for 5 credits. New accounts get 50 free credits.
Next: how to brand a social impact startup · all pitch deck guides
Figures from these sources were current when this guide was written. Rules and benchmarks change, so check the latest version before you rely on one.