Sponsorships for Non-Profits

Click Here for Image Source

As I’ve been out in the community recently I have realized that there are a lot of misunderstandings about sponsorships and their purposes especially amongst the non-profits in the community.  Hopefully I can give you some insight into sponsorships so that you can increase your success in this area.

Sponsorships serve two purposes and fall into two basic categories when it comes to Non-Profit Organizations.

There are sponsorships that come from your donors – or better said evolve out of relationships that you make with your donors.  These are people who love your cause and want to support you any way that they can.  They will buy an ad in your season program, or purchase a table for your gala and bring some friends.  They are “donating” to you and sometimes attaching their business name to it because they love you and your cause.  It’s what I call a “feel good” sponsorship.  These are great sponsors and relatively easy to attain if you have done a good job with relationship building.

The other type of sponsorship is a marketing sponsorship.  This comes from a different budget than the foundation/donation side of a business.  These sponsorships are really designed to grow the brand or the client base of the potential sponsor.  The money should come out of advertising or marketing rather than community donations.  The sponsorship should be created to help achieve their marketing goals whatever they are.  Return on Investment plays a huge role in how long term the sponsorship will thrive.  Since it’s basically advertising expense, the amount is fully tax deductible as a business expense (as opposed to the first type which is generally a donation).

Marketing sponsorships take time and relationship building as well.  It’s vital to understand the goals of the sponsor and to do your best to fulfill their goals with a sponsorship for your organization.  The key to success is start early, find businesses that are a good match for your organization that would benefit from the relationship, and do what you promise you will do for them.

Good luck with your sponsorships for 2014.  Please share your tips for successful sponsorship acquisition too!  We are all always looking for more ways to engage the community.

*** NOTE: We are transitioning our blog to wordpress please follow us there at: http://planaheadeventsboise.wordpress.com/