How Do I Create an Effective Sponsorship Package?

Sponsors are an integral part of making any event successful. But how do you create the best sponsorship package for businesses and organizations in order to get their attention and support?

According to Chris Baylis, President and CEO of The Sponsorship Collective, and an expert in sponsorship strategy, you should try the Goldilocks approach to find out what type of sponsorship package is ‘just right” for each event and organization.

 

The Rigid Sponsorship Packages

Often times, sponsorship packages that offer the usual “Gold, Silver, Bronze” benefits are too rigid and this can lead to potential sponsors declining your request. Businesses do not always want those exact benefits that are listed under each category, so it is important to be flexible with your packages.  It also could be too pricey, therefore discouraging businesses who cannot support at those levels.  Providing a variety of options at varying monetary levels will help businesses decide what they can do. Not too many though – you do not want to overwhelm them!

 

The Philanthropic Sponsorship Packages

There is nothing wrong with providing information about your great cause. However, if your sponsorship package is overwhelmed with your mission, vision, financials, pictures of beneficiaries, and so on, not only will this add up to a large sponsorship package, this can also show that you are entirely focused on your own organizational needs and not so much how your potential sponsor will benefit. Focusing on the benefits will help the potential sponsor make a decision faster.

 

The ‘Just Right’ Sponsorship Packages

The ‘just right’ sponsorship package goes beyond the “Gold, Silver, Bronze” categories, and does not include excessive information that may be redundant to the reader. Consider including statistics about your audience and event attendees – who it is that your potential sponsor will have exposure to, where their logo will be, etc. The power of audience data in a sponsorship package will surprise your possible sponsor, and will give them more leverage for their dollars spent. A lot of the time, the ‘just right’ sponsorship package is customizable based on the needs of your prospective sponsor. This does not mean you cannot create a “Gold, Silver, Bronze” package… We simply recommend being flexible with the benefits your organization provides! “Sponsorship sales is all about them, not you,” says Chris Baylis, “get to know your prospect’s needs, goals, target market, and what they want to achieve.”

 

Balance and flexibility are keys to building an effective sponsorship package. Do not assume what is important to the sponsor or tell them how they should do their business. Finding a great compromise for benefits, budget, and other factors will always be a win-win for both parties!

Furthermore, it is also important to double-check that all important information is listed in your sponsorship package. Do not forget key pieces such as the contact information, the event date, time and place, the overall summary of your event, and any other logistical details. This will eliminate any confusion and extra work for your organization.

Here’s a quick checklist to make sure your sponsorship package has all the information your potential sponsors need:

  1. Contact name (who to respond to)
  2. Contact email (preferred) or phone number
  3. Date of event
  4. Where is the event – Put the address, as people will Google it!
  5. Timing of the Event – Set out an itinerary if needed.
  6. Who to make the cheque payable to and where to mail it, OR set up a confidential way of accepting credit card information (online is best and easy)
  7. Costs – Do they include tax or not? It is best to be clear!
  8. A place to put attendees’ or registrants’ names

NOTE: The easier you make it for the sponsor to send their sponsorship dollars, the faster the sponsor will send you their sponsorship dollars! 🙂

 

At RLB, we are proud community supporters and we would love to help your organization out! We’ve created a simple Sponsorship Request Form online for you to fill out.  Questions or concerns? Feel free to email me at louise.frost@rlb.ca.

 

Happy fundraising!

 

Want more information? Read these articles:

https://charityvillage.com/Content.aspx?topic=Goldilocks_and_the_three_sponsorship_packages_Creating_a_just_right_sponsorship_proposal#.WTb0nesrJhE

https://charityvillage.com/Content.aspx?topic=The_most_powerful_asset_in_sponsorship#.WTb8besrJhE