What is a corporate sponsorship?
Corporate sponsors appear to be all over the place in today’s world. Take the World Cup, for instance. Hard to envision what the soccer field would look like without those pervasive Adidas, Coca-Cola and Sony banners. It’s not just the big events that draw sponsors, however. Local events like 10k runs, local festivals, and local shows typically have a huge number of corporate logos marketed in their collateral. Why are corporate sponsorships so prevalent? Because it makes money. Done accurately, it can profit and build essential connections. Done poorly, it can cost money and waste time.
Here is a comprised list of the most common questions asked about corporate sponsorship:
- Why does my organization need it? 50% of nonprofits fail within 3 years due to causes such as a slow economy, dependency on donations, and lack of diverse revenue streams. Your nonprofit simply can’t survive with the lack of funds. You can’t depend on fundraising forever, corporate sponsorship can really help you maintain your visibility within the community while marketing value and a tax deduction are given to the sponsors.
- How do I attract a business to sponsor my nonprofit? Have a clear-cut answer to what the company will benefit from supporting your cause, event and/or nonprofit, have a clear strategy on how your marketing strategy aligns with theirs, and focus on building a relationship with that sponsor.
- How do you approach a potential sponsor? Have a well-written donation and sponsorship request letter, cold-call, meet in person, and start building a relationship.
- Isn’t this the same as a donation? Corporate sponsorship should be seen as a business deal rather than just a donation. A relationship should be considered in this sort of exchange.
- Corporate sponsorship will taint our organization’s image, why should I do it? Poor partnerships can hurt your organization’s image, therefore if you’re considering a corporate sponsors, you should aim at finding a compatible sponsor that is related to your cause. For example, if you are an organization that helps animals, you should look at local or national pet stores as sponsors.
