The latest writings from our team
How to Get Film Festival Sponsors
Before you dive in, if you are interested in festival sponsorship, check out these titles in our “sponsorship for festivals” series:...
Common Sponsorship Proposal Mistakes to Avoid
A sponsorship proposal is your key to getting a sponsor onboard and generating guaranteed revenue. Writing up a well-structured proposal...
Nine Steps to Cause Marketing Success
In my post “A Tale of Two Cause Marketing Campaigns” I talked about the differences between two companies and their cause marketing strategies. I also talked about how those strategies played out, leading to a significant difference in money raised.
Sponsorship Common Mistakes: Charity Edition (And How to Fix Them!)
Sponsorship is an essential components of any corporate fundraising strategy. If you aren’t doing sponsorship as part of your fundraising plan, you should be! When working with clients, I see some some misconceptions come up again and again, and while this post is targeted at the small shop, I think all shops can relate. Before you dive in, if you are involved with a charity or a non profit looking for sponsorship, check out these titles in our “sponsorship for causes” series: Cause Marketing versus Corporate SponsorshipDefinitive Guide to the Sponsorship ProposalThe Biggest Problem with Sponsorship and How You Can Fix ItThree Things Missing From Every Sponsorship PackageCorporate Social Responsibility a Users Guide for NonprofitsHow to Start a Sponsorship Program for Your Nonprofit3 Most Common Barriers To Good Cause SponsorshipThings Sponsors Say: “We Don’t do Sponsorship”What I Wish I Knew at the Beginning of My Sponsorship Career
The Custom Sponsorship Proposal
In my post “How to Get Sponsorship Dollars this Fall” we unpacked the sometimes complicated world of corporate sponsorship. I promised in that post that we would dive a little deeper into building the sponsorship proposal, how to get the prospecting meeting and how to move it forward successfully.
Sponsorship Activation, Fulfillment and Renewal
How nice would it be to open your next fiscal year with 80% of your sponsorship dollars already confirmed? And to have your sponsors help you write next year’s sponsorship package? When done properly, activation, fulfillment and renewal will make you stand out above all others in the sponsorship space and will also help you close more revenue for your next fiscal period. Sponsorship Activation Sponsorship activation is, at its most basic, making sure that your sponsors take advantage of every asset they paid for in your custom sponsorship package. Imagine how frustrated you would be if you paid for upgrades in a new car only to find that they aren’t there when you got the car. The same applies to sponsorship, but it’s more complicated than just allowing your sponsors the opportunity. You have to activate it (hence the term). What does this mean? Well, if you allow your sponsor to speak at an event, put their logo on your website and have a table at your gala then you want to make sure they take advantage of these opportunities. If you are offering your sponsor ad space, free product placement and a booth at a conference, then it’s up to you […]
How to Estimate the Cost of Sponsorships?
This post was originally published by the good people over at Eventbrite. You can check out the original article here. How much should you charge an event sponsor for a logo placement? What about a mention on social media or a speaking opportunity? Are you charging too much? Or too little? Deciding how much to charge for sponsorship — commonly referred to as sponsorship valuation — can be an elusive step in the process of selling event sponsorship. The good news is that estimating the cost of sponsorships is less complicated than you might think.
Eleven Questions for Every Sponsorship Prospect
Once you’ve identified your sponsorship prospects, your next goal is to set up a discovery session. This first meeting doesn’t always take place in person, especially anymore. You can have the discovery session on the phone or through Facetime, Zoom, or any other popular video-chatting platform. After you break the ice with that well-timed and well-practiced joke, it’s time to talk business. The following eleven questions will help you pinpoint whether your prospect could be a viable partner. Who Is Your Target Audience? The first question pertains to your prospect’s target audience. As a note, if you’re not already crystal-clear on your own audience, then this question is as good as useless. The whole point in asking about the prospect’s target audience is to see if any of your audience segments match. You can’t do that without having priorly segmented your audience. You know me, I recommend niching your audience down as much as you can. Think of your audience as an ingredient that you’re putting through a strainer. If the sieve holes are large, that’s a broad audience segment. By using increasingly smaller strainers, you get very fine particles, which are akin to your segmented, niched-down audience. This post […]
Fundraising Event Ideas: The Golf Tournament
I have been getting some great feedback from readers who followed my fundraising event ideas: sponsorship series with requests for more information around specific types of events. Since virtually every charity and corporate entity thinks of galas and golf tournaments when they think fundraising events (and I have run my fare share), why not start there!