Sponsorship can offset the costs associated with running your event, such as paying for equipment hire, reimbursing volunteers who bake and cook, supplying ingredients and donating prizes. Here are my top tips to make sure you are successful when seeking sponsors.
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Be prepared. Have a proposal document ready to hand to potential sponsors with some information about who you are, what you’re doing and why you’re seeking sponsorship. Make sure you have researched the company before you approach – even a basic Google search. Also be ready to answer the question ‘what’s in it for me’. It’s a reasonable question when you’re being asked to hand over money, and you need to be prepared. What can you offer in return? Be prepared and professional.
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Forget businesses are made up of people. When the event takes place don’t treat sponsors as a business, now is the time to treat them like friends. Extend a personal invitation to your event, or send some complimentary tickets (this doesn’t have to be part of the agreed package, just a nice gesture). If they are gold level sponsors you might want to create a VIP package which can include anything from a guaranteed parking spot, vouchers for games and rides for their kids, dinner/drink coupons, even some ‘virtual’ dollars to spend at the silent auction. Be creative. Make sure your sponsors feel a part of your event.
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Get it in writing. Make the last page of your sponsorship proposal a pro forma where your new sponsor can provide their name and contact details, the details and terms of the sponsorship and a place to sign. Make it clear the date you expect the cash to be deposited or the goods to be donated. As soon as you can, scan or copy the form and email/post it to them so they (and the rest of their business) understand that a sponsorship agreement has been made (useful if your original contact leaves the business). Never rely on a verbal agreement.
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Assume that just because a business has supported you one year they can support you the next. Sometimes a certificate of appreciate and the ‘’warm fuzzies” from helping kids is not enough to make a small business part with their hard earned dollars. This is a relationship – you need to nurture it and invest in it, just like any other. If they choose to end that relationship, respect their decision. Nurture your relationships with sponsors and support their businesses like they support you.
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Consider letting your entire committee/community be responsible for finding sponsors, rather than just a single person. Businesses are more likely to say ‘yes’ to people they know and have relationships with (and who are their existing customers). Your third grade teacher whose next-door neighbour owns a printing shop might have more luck in getting heavily subsidised signs than the P&C Fundraising Officer who is a complete stranger. Sponsors will be more likely to say yes to someone they know.
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Limit businesses to cash-only sponsorship deals. In this current climate finding spare cash is harder than ever, but a business might be able to donate some excess stock which can be sold at a market stall or auction, send a team of volunteers to help paint the sports shed, or act a mentor for players or students. Sponsorship is not just about cash, but also in-kind donations (supplying goods and services) as well as accessing the skills and knowledge of the people themselves. Sponsorship can be in the form of cash, goods, services and access.
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Think outside of the box when seeking sponsorship. Don’t just go out with an open wallet and ask people to fill it. Ask yourself ‘what do we actually need?’ and ‘is there another way of getting it?’ If you are wanting to replace the old playground equipment, rather than just approaching businesses for cash to pay for a new playground, approach other groups who might be able to help you reach your goal in other ways – approach the local men’s shed about building you a new wooden bench, ask the local tree lopper for huge logs that can be used as a Natureplay centrepiece, approach the local hire company to loan you a cherry picker or dingo for the day. Think outside the box and look for non-traditional sponsors.
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Don’t forget to fulfill your end of the bargain. There can sometimes be six months or more between accepting sponsorship for a major event and the event actually taking place. The team of people may have changed in the meantime so make sure you know exactly what promises you made as part of the sponsorship package, and ensure you fulfill them. Go over the paperwork and make sure you don’t leave anything out. A handwritten note or card thanking them after the event is also a nice touch in a digital world. Make sure you fulfill your obligations to the sponsors.
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Make sure you understand the difference between sponsorship and donations. Sponsorship implies a partnership where the business gets something in return for their donation and may imply a business expense. A gift comes with no strings attached.
Sponsorship = You will be asked for a Tax Invoice = the business can claim GST as a legitimate business expense
Donations = You will be asked for Tax Deductible Receipt* = The business can claim a tax deduction as a donation to charity
*There are various ways an educational facility can get Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status such as certain residential institutions and for religious instruction. But the only way a government school can get DGR status (for some donations anyway) is to establish a building fund.
Don’t tell businesses they can claim a tax deduction for a charitable donation if you do not have DGR status.
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Don’t forget to keep a record of all sponsorship approaches and the outcome (even for businesses that say ‘no’), and make sure it is kept in accessible place for future committees. It would be frustrating for different people to approach the same small business every year, and be told the same thing (‘no’) every year, and because no one knows the history, people keep going and asking. Keep a long-term, accessible documents of all sponsorship approaches and outcomes.
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Make sure you let everyone know who your sponsors are – this includes teachers/coaches and staff, kids and parents, the school board and P&C. Whether it is a verbal mention, a note in the newsletter, a logo on a program or a shout-out on Facebook it’s important that they are properly recognized.
Acknowledge your sponsors and inform your community.
