Three Sponsorship Tips

Sponsorship is a key part of event management, especially non-for-profit event planning (which happens to be something we’ve done a lot of). Most businesses get asked for sponsorship more often than they can commit to, so they are forced to pick and choose what organizations they can support. How do you set yourself apart? Here are three tips to help you with your event sponsor plans:

1. Know your demographic.
   What do you know about your event guests? Do you know who engages with your cause and why? Where do they live? What are their interests and how do they spend their free time? The more you can communicate to your potential sponsor about who will be engaged in your event, the better your event will look to the business who’s goal is to market to those people.
2. Communicate your event goals.
   Are you being specific about the event and what your goals are? The more you can share with the potential sponsor, the better. Are you raising funds to purchase needed equipment or fund a specific program? How will the funds be used and how much are you hoping to raise? Transparency is key these days and businesses are interested in learning more before becoming involved.
3. Recognize sponsors in a unique way.
   Too often, organizations are not clear about how sponsors will be recognized prior to, during and after the event. Don’t forget about tagging sponsors and donors on social media and work towards finding unique ways to recognize sponsors at the event. Think outside the box and look into custom ice carvings, logo’d guest favours or take advantage of all the exciting options technology provides us with these days!