Attracting corporate sponsorship for your event can significantly increase your fundraising ability. Many businesses have a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, encouraging them to get involved in their communities and consider their business decisions’ social and environmental impacts. A common way to do that is by providing sponsorships for charity events.
So, if you want to know how to get corporate sponsorship for a charity event, keep reading!
What sort of charity event are you holding?
A charity event has two primary objectives: raising awareness about a cause or issue and raising funds. Event creators typically focus more on one or the other. Before contacting potential corporate sponsors, decide what type of event you’re hosting. Sponsors like to know how charities will use their money.
Have your event plan ready as an asset to take to potential sponsors. And don’t forget to remind them about the tax benefits they can receive for their charitable donations, including sponsoring your event.
What is a corporate sponsor?
A corporate sponsor is a business or organisation that supports your charity event. The amount and type of support vary – they can donate funds, time, or other resources. Examples of what a corporate sponsor can provide are:
- A one-off donation
- Donation matching 1:1 (usually up to a limit)
- Resources like chairs, flyers, or a venue
- Company volunteers – value adds to their CSR
- Donating products or services to raise money e.g., raffle prizes
More prominent sponsors often work together in partnerships to value-add and ensure the charity event has everything necessary for its success.
Contacting potential sponsors
Want to know how to ask for sponsorship for a charity event? It can sometimes be tricky. Most organisations receive multiple requests throughout the year, so timing is important. Your goal is to contact the right organisations at the right time and make your upcoming charitable event stand out. Read on for hints and tips on how to do just that.
How to identify potential corporate sponsors?
Don’t start by randomly emailing multiple organisations. Instead, make a comprehensive list of potential sponsors and narrow them down. Not every organisation on the list will be an ideal fit, but the list lets you refine the businesses that best suit you. You want to focus your time and effort, and having a list ensures you don’t miss an organisation that might become a major sponsor.
Here are a few ideas of where to start looking for potential corporate sponsors:
- Local businesses
- Businesses that have a similar goal to your charity
- Firms that can offer you a service/resource needed for your event
- Companies that have previously sponsored similar events
Don’t be afraid to look for sponsors close to home, especially if your charity event benefits the local community.
When should you begin contacting corporate sponsors for your charity event?
Give corporate sponsors plenty of time to decide if they’re a match for your charitable event. Start contacting potential sponsors as soon as practical or about four months in advance. This gives them time to plan their budgets and respond. Having sponsors locked in early will also give you peace of mind.
What are the steps to contacting potential corporate sponsors?
You can aim to set up an appointment with a corporation’s CEO or CFO, but unless you are a well-known name in the event and fundraising industry, busy corporation heads may pass on meeting with you.
You’re more likely to receive a positive response when you follow these steps to contact a potential corporate sponsor.
- Identify the sponsorship contact at the organisation. Most companies have an employee or department dedicated to supporting the community and other charitable causes. These are the individuals you want to contact.
- Create an opportunity to discuss your event. If you can’t meet the sponsorship contact in person, arrange a scheduled phone call. You may need to set up the appointment with their assistant, but it ensures you have the contact’s undivided attention.
- Personalise your pitch to them (more on that later). Plan your pitch to match their level of support. For example, some organisations are better suited for supplies, while others can provide financial or support staff resources.
- Send emails with all of the details. It doesn’t matter if a corporate sponsor provides supplies or finances – they’ll want to know all the details. Your email should therefore include all the relevant information about your charitable event.
- Expect to send a follow-up email. Corporations may want to help sponsor your event, but if they’re busy, be prepared to send a follow-up email.
- Keep the sponsors updated right up to and after the event. Your sponsors like knowing how their resources are being used, so keep them updated with regular emails. Clear and thorough communication can help secure them for sponsorship of an event down the track too.
- Provide post–event analysis to keep them on-side for next time (more detail on this later in this article). Let the sponsors know how your event went. You don’t need to send the post-analysis within hours of the event ending, but do send a follow-up email within a few days.
Developing your sponsorship pitch and presentation
Your sponsorship pitch needs to grab the attention of potential corporate sponsors. The goal is to stand out from the other requests. Here are a few tips on how to develop a successful sponsorship pitch.
- Include all the details about your charity event. What group, cause, or issue are you supporting?
- The demographics of your attendees are important to include in your sales pitch. Most sponsors look for events that match their customers’ age groups and target audiences. Remember, your charitable event is also an advertising opportunity for corporate sponsors!
- Include images from previous events to get potential sponsors’ attention. Visuals are powerful tools.
- Include impressive data and analytics from previous events. This reassures sponsors your charity is capable of hosting successful events.
- Always provide potential sponsors with details of your event’s website. Include links to your corporate social media profiles and your contact information.
Sponsorship packages for your charity event
Creating sponsorship packages for potential donors encourages them to donate more than they initially planned.
You could have silver, gold, and platinum tiers, each requiring a more significant donation. Multiple tiers allow different-sized businesses to participate.
An example of sponsorship tiers includes offering naming rights to the event – think of sporting events where there’s often a sponsor’s name headlining. If you don’t want to rename the event, use the sponsor’s name on a booth instead. Always request permission to use sponsors’ logos when they come on board.
Working with your corporate sponsors
Once you have your sponsors locked in, it doesn’t mean you should stop communicating with them. Include your sponsors in all future communications about the event and let everyone know who they are. The Toowoomba Hospital Foundation does that by listing the sponsors for its annual charity golf days on a dedicated event page on Eventbrite.
Include the names of your sponsors in your marketing campaigns and social media posts – and mention that you will be doing this in your sponsorship pitch deck so that all parties are aligned. Allowing sponsors to include your event on their websites is also great marketing – it helps build their community profile while generating interest in your event.
Don’t forget to give your sponsors free or reduced-priced tickets to the charity event; after all, they’re part of your success!
Social media collaboration
Social media is a valuable tool for multiple reasons. You can use it for advertising your event and getting your sponsors to do the same. Having your event appear on various online sites generates interest in your event and raises awareness about your cause or issue.
Corporations often have social media influencers with thousands of followers. Encouraging your sponsors to share your media assets will generate interest in your charity event.
After the event
Even though the event is over, don’t lose touch with your sponsors. Sending an email detailing the event’s success reassures sponsors their donations are worth their time and effort. They’re then more likely to support you with future events. You can even reach out again to organisations that declined sponsorship to ask them to support your next charitable event.
Analyse and share your data
Analysing your data after the event will help you plan and improve for your next one. Even if everything ran smoothly, there could still be areas for improvement.
Sharing the data with your sponsors does more than reassure them – it provides them with a new customer base. While following privacy laws, sharing attendee information is often one of the motivating factors behind your sponsors’ support. Eventbrite makes it easy to share event data with a suite of tools.
Now you’re ready to get some corporate sponsors for your charity event
You now have the information to secure corporate sponsors for your charity event. Eventbrite has a host of tools for every type of charity event, and we can also assist with attracting corporate sponsorships. Head to Eventbrite and discover how to put your event on the track for success.
