Events are an integral part of any nonprofit. They both help strengthen your bonds with your community and add monetary value to your organization. To get the most out of your nonprofit events, you might want to consider getting event sponsorships. We at Raklet have compiled for you three easy and helpful steps that will guarantee sponsors.
However, before we delve into the steps on getting an event sponsorship, let’s first learn what “event sponsorship” means:
What is an Event Sponsorship?
Event sponsorship is exactly what it sounds like: It’s when a person or organization sponsors your nonprofit event. This helps you reach more people with your events, while also giving your sponsor certain benefits and recognition.
Event sponsorships can be done in multiple different ways, but two types are especially popular. The first is financial sponsorship. It’s the most common type of event sponsorship, and it’s probably what most people think is the only type of sponsorship. This is when your sponsor gives you a certain amount of money to help organize your event. It’s easy, direct, and preferable in many ways.
The other most common type is a “value-in-kind” (or just “in-kind”) sponsorship. It’s when your sponsor donates physical goods or services instead of money. It’s still simple and direct, but can be quite limiting when it comes to event planning. That’s why you need to determine what goods or services you need very clearly before asking for sponsorships so that you can still organize the best events that you possibly can. Some of the most common in-kind sponsorships are with venues, volunteer work, food, and merchandise.
There are many benefits to getting event sponsorships for your nonprofit organization. Some of these include:
- Having a secure event budget so you can create bigger and better events,
- Building positive relationships with businesses, which can turn into long-term support,
- Showcasing these relations to other potential sponsors,
- Being associated with sponsors can increase your recognition, credibility, and event attendance,
- Added resources, goods, and services for your events,
- Assistance in growing your organization and supporter base, etc.
These are certainly not all of the pros of getting event sponsorships — the list goes on! The market is fluctuating, and new types of sponsorship offer surface every day. Make sure you stay informed about current offers and how they can help your organization.
Who Sponsors Nonprofit Events?
This is another common question when it comes to event sponsorships. And the answer is actually simple: For the most part, event sponsorships are done by corporations. Businesses want to support a specific cause, while also marketing themselves to your community. Not to mention the additional benefits it has regarding tax exemption. And in turn, you get monetary or physical support. It’s truly a win-win situation for both parties!
To learn more about corporate sponsorships, why they happen, and how to get them, you can read one of our other articles: “How To Get a Corporate Sponsorship for Your Nonprofit [4 Easy Steps]”.
Now, let’s move on to our curated list of 3 steps that are guaranteed to get you event sponsorships.
Getting an Event Sponsorship in 3 Easy Steps:
1- Identify a clear event strategy before doing your research.
First and foremost, you have to come up with an event strategythat will help you attract sponsorships. This is an important step because sponsors want organized and marketable events. You need to decide on details as to where your event is going to be, approximately how many people will attend, what activities there will be, etc.
After figuring out your event strategy comes the sponsor research.
To determine what corporations or people can potentially be your sponsors, you need to research based on your nonprofit’s scope, as well as what your audience wants/needs. Here are a few questions to ask yourself during this process:
- How much revenue does my nonprofit get, and how much more do I need for the event(s)? Are there any sponsors that can provide me with that amount?
- What do I want my event to be like? What does my audience want/need from my events?
- Are there any previous events that worked/didn’t work well? What can I change or improve?
- Do I need anything other than direct financial support? (General help, venue, volunteer work, catering, item donations, merchandise, etc.) Are there any sponsors that can provide me with these?
- What can I offer my sponsors in return?
- Have these potential sponsors sponsored any similar nonprofit before? What are their wants and needs from a sponsorship? Are they within my reach, or too far-fetched?
Keep in mind that there are many resources available online that can help you connect with potential sponsors. You can find some examples, including one that is exclusively for event sponsorships, in one of our other articles: “Getting a Nonprofit Sponsorship 101”.
2- Have convincing sponsorship proposals.
Now that you have an event strategy and a list of possible sponsors, it’s time to send out your sponsorship proposals! This can be a tedious process, as most of it is done through what are called “sponsorship proposal letters”.
After writing your sponsorship letter, you need to send these out to your preferred companies, and essentially wait for a response from them. Since this can feel too insincere, some nonprofits prefer to hold sponsorship meetings face-to-face with corporations. This is up to whether the company representatives accept this, and whether you are in the same place.
Writing a fitting sponsorship letter is one of the most important steps in guaranteeing an event sponsorship. Like with the last step, there are many resources online that can help you write the best proposal you possibly can. You can easily find templates, writing assistance, and helpful sites for this process.
3- Please, feature, and thank your sponsors.
Having written a great sponsorship proposal letter, you’ve surely received help from a sponsor! Now, you need to create and host an event that is up to their standards. After all, empty promises and failing to please them will only result in disappointment. Make sure to fulfill everything you promised to do on your sponsorship agreement, as well as thank them whenever you can. Let your attendees know who your sponsors were, and feature them all over the venue/your website. Strengthen your bonds with them to potentially form long-lasting relationships.
Nonprofit Organization & Event Management Software Raklet
Your nonprofit organization and event management needs are all very easy to fulfill, thanks to Raklet’s extensive features. All of the processes mentioned above and beyond are very easy to do with our all-in-one software for nonprofit management.
Manage your supporters and volunteers with our free CRM, plan your email outreach, create online or face-to-face events, collect and track donations, have free or paid tickets, engage with discussion boards, and more — The sky’s the limit!
Check out our website for more information, and schedule a demo if you want to learn more.
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