Generating Corporate Sponsorships Can Be Fun and Rewarding
In my last blog, I outlined two steps to determining a sponsorship structure for your event. After you’ve determined your sponsorship levels and benefits, it’s time to start approaching local businesses about becoming corporate sponsors. This can be daunting for some people (it was for me, at first), but follow these tips, and you might find that generating corporate sponsorships is a rewarding and enjoyable part of planning a charity event:
Develop a targeted list of businesses to approach. If you target your list to businesses that show real promise of becoming corporate sponsors, you’ll spend your time and energy more wisely. Your list should include businesses who have donated in the past as well as companies who have already expressed interest in sponsoring, although they haven’t committed yet.
Also include businesses from sectors that likely have an interest in your cause. For example, when I organized my local Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk, my list included nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day care centers, home health care agencies, hospice agencies, hospitals, geriatricians, neurologists, and long term care insurance offices. The list was plenty long, but it was still targeted, and I felt like my time securing sponsors was well-spent.
Schedule personal visits with potential sponsors. This is important. It’s also one of the more interesting parts of the process. Especially in today’s economy, businesses are bombarded with requests to sponsor charity events, and they can’t donate to every cause. Your chances of securing a sponsorship greatly increase if you schedule a brief meeting (15 – 20 minutes will work) with the person in the company who will make the decision about whether or not to donate. Don’t just drop in – it’s too easy for you to be turned away without an appointment. Bring a light (i.e., not overwhelming) packet of information about the event and sponsorship opportunities, and make your pitch brief yet personal. Be sure to explain how sponsorship will benefit the company and how the organization will be rewarded for its generosity.
Make it easy for them. Provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a sponsorship form so that the business knows exactly what to do next. Follow up your meeting with a phone call if you haven’t heard from the business in a week or two. Offer to drop by and pick up the check. Once the business has become a corporate sponsor, be sure to send a thank you note and confirm the benefits the sponsor will receive at the appropriate sponsorship level.
Follow through on your promises. The best way to please your sponsors – and keep them coming back year after year – is to follow through on your promises to award increasing benefits at each sponsorship level. Keep your corporate sponsors happy, and you’ll find that generating sponsorships can be an enjoyable part of the charity event planning process.
No comments yet.