Business Strategies For Sponsoring a Charity Event

Corporate sponsorship is big business, but you don’t have to be a multinational company with millions of dollars to spend in order to benefit. Even small sponsorship deals – for example, a niche event, local individual or small charity – can be an effective way of promoting your company, providing you reach your target market.

Sponsorship is somewhat different than donating to a non-profit or charity. With a cash donation you get a receipt and if it is substantial maybe a mention in the program as a gold level contributor.

If your company has limited funds, you can donate talent. This can be a good way to network your business.

For example, my business is donating consulting time to a charity to raise contributions and fund awareness of its cause. In contributing time and talent, the business has been able to network with many professionals who fit our demographic target market and at the same time, help a great cause.

Sponsoring, on the other hand, means you provide cash or a product in exchange for marketing promotions displaying your logo, web link and company name.

Here are four areas to focus on when considering a sponsorship of an event or organization:

Identify objectives
Before choosing a sponsorship target, define your objectives. What do you want to get out of this deal in the short and long term? If you are considering sponsoring an event, your short-term objectives might simply be to reinforce your company image among customers and attract interest from potential customers. For instance, maybe you want to hold a blood drive at your business.
Long-term, you may seek a continuous sponsorship deal whereby customers learn to associate your company with the event (or person, or charity). This can be an effective branding tool, instilling in customers a sense of longevity, reliability and familiarity with your company. An example here would be to sponsor a soccer team for the season.

Select your demographic target
You may have a particular sponsorship target in mind, or you may wait to be approached by various charities or event organizers. Before choosing what or who to sponsor, ask yourself the following questions:
• Does it reach your target market?
• Approximately how many customers or potential customers will it reach?
• Will you have exclusive sponsorship, or be one of a number of sponsors? For instance, will you be the only automotive sponsor?
• Are there different levels of sponsorship, with different fee structures?
• Does it have a good reputation within your industry or locality?

Budget your money and time effectively
Work out your budget for the sponsorship before entering negotiations. Eliminate unreasonable expectations on either side by brokering a properly planned and realistic financial agreement between your company and those you are sponsoring.
You will also need to have an internal budget to capitalize on the sponsorship. Costs such as entertaining, promotional products and publicity will all have to be allowed for to make the most of the opportunity.
If you are going to have a display make sure you have people assigned for specific times during the event. In other words, you should budget time as well as money.

Leverage your investment with marketing
Develop a marketing plan in conjunction with those you are sponsoring. Ensure that you provide them with your company logo and literature to include on any publicity they send out.  Also develop your own marketing tools, such as:
• Send out a press release – focus on those you are sponsoring but make sure you mention your company’s involvement.
• Organize promotional merchandise. Today most events have take away bags or as they are better know, swag bags. Decide if t-shirts, mugs, pens, etc would be appropriate. If you are a service business possibly consider a discount coupon or something like a bottle of wine with your logo on it or business card attached to it. Be creative.
• Advertise – take out an ad in your local/trade newspaper or magazine, pointing out your involvement.
• Give the event organizers your company logo so it can be put on their marketing material as well as their website.
• Competition – set up some sort of competition to strike up interest in your company.
• Invite your existing customers and/or suppliers to attend if you are sponsoring an event.
• Follow-up – Get a list of attendees from the event organizer and use the sponsorship as a way to contact customers or potential customers, taking advantage of the ‘feel good’ factor.

A properly executed charity event sponsorship will provide exposure for your company and your team will feel good about the experience.

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