Writing a sponsorship proposal

If your group decides to pursue sponsorship as a method of support and raising funds, it will need to write a proposal document it can use to attract potential sponsors.

Think about what you want to say to a potential sponsor

You want to say:

• How terrific your organisation looks.
  Promote your good image, your profile and your positive work. Potential sponsors will want to invest in that positive image and bask in its reflected glow a little.

• How skilled you are.
  Potential sponsors will want to be absolutely certain that your organisation is financially sound, legally impeccable, publicly ethical, and able to play your part in the partnership.

• How reliable you are.
  Firstly, ask yourselves how reliable you are, really? Have you worked out, for yourself, what the group implications are of servicing this relationship?

• What you're going to give them.
  Think over all the things that you might possibly offer. The more solid you're able to be about numbers, audiences, exposure, and display the better.

• How they can boast about you.
  They're going to have to work at this. It's a matter of them making an investment in your investment, starting before the project and going on afterwards.

• What kind of advertising could link them to your successes?
  Your proposal should include a menu suggesting possible ways for them to leverage their sponsorship investment.

• The bottom line.
  What can you say about the sales impact of the sponsorship? Think in their terms: how much money - in terms of sales or in publicity and marketing terms - is the sponsor going to get out of this?

Drawing up the submission

In drawing up your submission, work your way through this checklist. Touch briefly on the following points in your submission and expand on them in your attachments if and when necessary.

• Why should they pick you?
  List the reasons why they should pick you, as well as using data, media articles, supporting documentation and background information to back your argument. Also think about listing the ways your group could support a sponsorship arrangement - what can you offer a potential sponsor that would benefit them?

• What high-profile projects can you do with their money?
  Think about a project that will give your potential sponsor some real exposure through its high profile - possibly a mini-campaign or short sharp project.

• Sponsor involvement
  If you can think ahead to the kind of utilisation that the sponsor could carry out to sell their involvement, give a sketch of it here. Of course, the final decision on this is up to the potential sponsor themselves!

• The budget
  Give a cost breakdown that shows you understand the complexities and demands involved.

• Who they're dealing with
  Provide contact details of the people running your organisation, particularly the contact organiser.

Delivery

Set up a meeting to take them through the submission.

If you can, take your selling point with you. For example, if you are wanting sponsorship for a local anti-discrimination campaign you might bring publicity information and promotional material from similar successful local campaigns overseas, e.g. the 'Like Minds, Like Mine Project' in New Zealand.

You could also bring information and artefacts from local campaigns -for example, the Batty is Beautiful T-shirts or the 'Nothing about us without us' material.

Then, follow up a week later, by phone.

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