A guide to raising sponsorship

You might be thinking about how to cover the costs of holding an event or some other activity which can't be funded from your budget. Sponsorship may be one way to help your organisation carry out a project that you could not otherwise afford.

Sponsorship can be an effective marketing and communication tool for many businesses and organisations, regardless of their size. It should be remembered however that sponsorship is not the result of some form of corporate generosity. Sponsorships are not donations, and the sponsor will expect their sponsorship to provide them with a measurable financial return.

The worthiness of your cause is not enough in itself to convince an organisation to sponsor you. When a business is approached with a sponsorship request, they will want to see a solid business proposal that will help them to meet their business goals.

Guiding principles:

• Both partners in a sponsorship arrangement have needs which must be met. Sponsorship is a business relationship, which offers sponsors some rights and association that may be used for commercial advantage, in return for providing your organisation with funds, resources or services.
• Weigh up the cost and the benefits of any sponsorship. Some sponsors can be very demanding, and in any case, time and effort will need to be spent in looking after the needs of your sponsor or sponsors. You will have to balance this effort against the resources, money or assistance your sponsor offers.
• Sponsorship must only be used for the purpose for which it is obtained, eg conference sponsorship must only be used for that particular event.
• You must let ALIA National Office know if you are planning on approaching an organisation for sponsorship in order to ensure that organisations are not approached by a number of different people for different activities. ALIA NO keeps an updated list of sponsors and activities.

This information guide will provide you with some tips about how to target potential sponsors, and should give you some insight into what sponsors expect in return for their sponsorship dollar.

Finding a sponsor

Begin by looking at organisations in your local area, especially those with strong community links or those companies which you deal with on a regular basis. Although you will probably be less likely to secure sponsorship from a national or international organisation, occasionally larger companies who you deal with regularly may be interested in getting involved in your local event or sponsorship activity.

Ask people within your own organisation for ideas and leads. The aim of this process is to start with a larger pool of potential organisations who may be interested in sponsoring your activity, rather than pining all your hopes on one target business.

Make sure to thoroughly research your potential sponsors - and make sure that you actually want to be involved with them. A poor or inappropriate sponsor could detrimentally affect the credibility and reputation of your organisation. Background research will also provide you with a good basis for customising and 'pitching' your sponsorship proposal.

The sponsorship proposal

The most commonly accepted way of seeking sponsorship is by writing a sponsorship proposal and forwarding it to potential sponsors. Each organisation you approach will have different requirements and it is likely that they will ask that you provide specific information in your proposal. Many organisations in fact provide guidelines to assist you in putting your proposal together, and often these can be found on company and business websites.

Remember that your sponsorship proposal is essentially a business pitch, and your first and best opportunity to put a case to a potential sponsor about what the business benefits will be for them in sponsoring your organisation or event. You should aim to keep your proposal as brief as possible, and try to address the following basic points:

1. Provide some background information about your organisation, including your main activities and goals, and an overview of the project or event for which you are seeking.support. Don't assume that potential sponsors know all about your organisation or your industry sector - you have to sell the idea.
2. Include the benefits that your organisation or event can offer a sponsor, and demonstrate how these benefits align to the sponsors business goals and activities. Possible benefits could include:
   • Logo exposure on event marketing materials, event signage and website;
   • Inclusion of sponsors promotional materials in attendees registration kits or satchels;
   • The opportunity to make a presentation to attendees at an appropriate time in an event program;
   • Tickets or passes to events;
   • Participation in partnership publicity and media events.
3. Provide a realistic estimate of how many people are expected to participate in your event - who are the target audience, and who will your event reach? Potential sponsors will also want to know who is going to be working on the project from your end, and what you will be doing to make the project a success. You should always provide a contact name for coordination, promotion and publicity. This person will ensure that all aspects of the sponsorship agreement are kept.

Timing your request

It is always important to plan ahead. Sponsors can often take many months to assess sponsorship requests. The time taken will vary according to the size of the sponsoring organisation, the amounts being requested, and the overall complexity of your proposal. Negotiation from first contact to signing of a contract and receipt of cash will almost always take longer than expected and this needs to be factored into your projected budget.

Implications of sponsorship

Sponsorship is a legally binding arrangement where your organisation provides prearranged benefits to the sponsor in return for an agreed level of support, whether financial or 'in kind'.

Accordingly, it is important that you negotiate a realistic and mutually beneficial sponsorship agreement, and clearly establish all obligations, conditions and benefits. It is always a good idea to have a written agreement, to ensure that the possibility of misunderstandings or disagreements is minimised.

If your sponsorship amount is relatively small, then a letter of agreement and attached sponsorship proposal should suffice. If, on the other hand, your sponsorship arrangement is complex or involves a large amount of money, it is worthwhile getting professional legal advice to assist in preparing or reviewing the sponsorship agreement.

Always remember that your agreement, either written or verbal, is a legal contract.

During the sponsorship

It is in your interest to establish and maintain a good relationship with your sponsor. Good sponsorship partnerships in fact start long before any money is received and continue long after the particular event or activity is completed.

One of the keys to a successful sponsorship partnership is good communication. Keep sponsors informed during the process and ensure that everyone in your organisation knows about the sponsorship, so that they are aware of the importance of your sponsor. Take every opportunity to publicly thank and acknowledge the sponsors involvement in your event or activity.

Most important of all, you must make sure that you fulfil your obligations under your sponsorship agreement. It is your responsibility to deliver everything you have promised your sponsor, and more if possible. The best proposal in the world means nothing if your organisation does not deliver. If, for example, you said you would get your sponsor increased media coverage, then demonstrate this by sending them copies of media releases, articles and news stories.

And afterwards

After your event or activity, always follow up with your sponsor to review and make sure that they are happy with the outcomes.

This is now your opportunity to strengthen your relationship, and to sound them out about the possibility of further mutually beneficial sponsorships in the future.