There are plenty of benefits to securing a sponsorship or sponsorships for your next events. Sponsorships can help provide much-needed funding for your event. The right sponsor can elevate your brand and your event. The right sponsorship can expand the reach and success of your event. It all starts with writing an impactful sponsorship request letter; the first step in mastering corporate sponsorship. An effective sponsorship request letter can be the first step in securing a partner for your event that can work for the mutual benefit of both. Make no mistake, securing event sponsorships can be very competitive. Your organization will need to stand apart and demonstrate a value to the potential sponsor. Your request should include some specific elements, details, and benefits. Here is how to create an effective sponsorship request letter that will generate a positive response. What Is a Sponsorship Request Letter? A sponsorship request letter is a written, formal request for funding sent frequently by a non-profit organization to a for-profit organization. Rather than a request for a donation, a sponsorship request letter seeks to build a relationship between the two organizations in the form of a sponsorship of a specific event. In exchange for funding for the event, the sponsoring organization receives certain marketing and other benefits that can help enhance the sponsor’s image and brand. A sponsorship request letter should explain the details of the proposed sponsorship and the benefits to the sponsor. It should also detail the amount of money requested in exchange for the sponsorship. Sponsorship request letters can be written to small, local businesses or to large national sponsors. Requests can range from large “Title” sponsors to smaller participation sponsorships. The amount of funding requested in a sponsorship request letter will generally parallel the amount of value proposed in return for the funding. How To Ask for Sponsorship for an Event Making a request to a prospective sponsor should be thoughtfully and carefully planned. Verify Your Request Is Directed to the Appropriate Person If your request is directed to the wrong department or a person who is no longer at the company you are reaching out to, it demonstrates a serious lack of due diligence. It is absolutely critical your request for a sponsorship letter gets into the right person’s hands at the outset. This may take reaching out to the organization several times to verify contact information. Personalize Your Letter Make the effort to personalize your outreach to the person and company you are reaching out to. A little extra research can pay dividends. Create a Target List of Potential Sponsors Not every company may be a good prospect to be a sponsor for your event. Select companies that align with the mission of your organization or the event. The sponsorship should make sense for both parties and the sponsorship should be logical. Research prospective sponsors, so the sponsorship has obvious value. Elaborate On Sponsorship Benefits Consider and list the specific benefits of each sponsorship, including name and logo placement, signage at the event, inclusion in social media, booth space at the event, and more. Each and every valuable element should be detailed. It can be helpful to place a value on each benefit. Create a Website Odds are, details surrounding your event and their benefits can be extensive. It can be helpful to place the full details of your sponsorship proposal and all options in one place. This can allow you to provide more detailed info via a link in your email request. Follow Up It is unlikely any request for a sponsorship will receive an unprompted positive response. Expect to follow up when asking for sponsorship. Listen carefully to concerns and questions. Take notes. Don’t feel compelled to make an immediate response. It may be prudent to take some time and carefully assess your prospects concerns. Work to demonstrate you are willing to be flexible in working out a sponsorship that can be acceptable and beneficial to you both. How To Write a Sponsorship Letter: A Step-by-Step Guide While theories and principals regarding sponsorship requests have value, a step-by-step guide can be simpler and more practical. Consider this step-by-step approach to writing your sponsorship request letter. 1. Use a Personalized Introduction As mentioned earlier, personalizing your sponsorship request may make a difference in whether your proposal even gets a thorough look. Personalizing the introduction is critical to getting the attention of your reader. 2. Introduce Your Event/Project Significance A key to composing a successful sponsorship request letter is making sure it promptly explains the magnitude and significance of the event. Who will it impact and how? How many people will be exposed to messaging? How long has the event been in existence? You want to be careful about over-selling or exaggerating while placing your best foot forward. 3. Customized Benefits One of the best ways to polish your proposal and really make it shine is by explaining the customized benefits of the sponsorship. These can range widely and offer exceptional appeal. Customized benefits can include naming rights, couponing opportunities, inclusion in and on marketing and promotional materials, private or social events, premium seating, VIP areas, product demonstration ability, product visibility, access to attendees, and more. These benefits can make it appear your sponsor is helping to put on the event without their manpower or internal staffing. 4. Sponsorship Levels With Clear Value Propositions An excellent way to improve the response and success rates of a sponsorship request letter is to offer alternatives to your higher levels of sponsorship. Give them options at various price points that may allow them to participate at a level they may be more comfortable with. If you have done your research and properly targeted prospective sponsors, they may not always be your largest sponsors, but they should be a fit somewhere. 5. Credibility Through Testimonials and Metrics Use previous results and testimonials to build trust and credibility for your event. Show how sponsorships have benefited previous organizations. Use event participation projections and branding exposure estimates to build a case for value. 6. Call to Action With Incentives Of course, you will want to include a strong call to action with reasons and incentives to respond quickly. Quicker response can lead to greater/longer exposure, product exclusivity, discounts, and premium placement. In short, make a request for action and provide reasons to act now. 7. Gratitude and Next Steps At some point, your request for a sponsorship letter should express your gratitude for the reader’s time and consideration. It should also include the next likely steps they can take and even suggest follow-ups that you will make. 8. Additional Materials and Contact Information It is important you leave the door open for further contact or to get additional information. This is where you can demonstrate a flexibility to adjust your proposal for their specific needs. You may even be able to help them in achieving certain goals revolving around their current branding or promotional efforts. Make it easy for them to contact you and request further information. Keep in mind that even if a request for sponsorship is unsuccessful currently, there will likely be opportunities in the future. Keep good notes and comments. Template Below is a template for a versatile sponsorship request letter that can be customized for your event. “SUBJECT” Partnership/Sponsorship Opportunity for “EVENT NAME” Dear “RECIPIENT,” Hello! My name is “YOUR NAME” and I represent “ORGANIZATION NAME” and our exciting upcoming event, “EVENT NAME.” The event is scheduled for “DAY DATE TIME” and “VENUE.” Our organization is dedicated to “BRIEF STATEMENT OUTLINEING YOUR ORGANIZATION AND ITS PURPOSE.” The goal of our event is to “BRIEFLY DESCRIBE EVENT PURPOSE.” We feel your company “COMPANY NAME” would be an exceptional fit as a sponsorship partner for our event. Your sponsorship support can pay dividends in multiple ways. It can help bring about networking opportunities and branding visibility, and it would demonstrate your leadership as a corporate citizen. We have crafted a number of sponsorship opportunities at various budget points. When your organization partners with us for this event, you will receive various sponsorship benefits. These could include: Logo Placement and Visibility on Promotional Materials, Signage, and Within Our Mobile Event App Mention and Recognition in Press Releases Prior to, During, and Post Event Exclusive Sponsor Access to Our Event Attendees and Social and Networking Events Live, Verbal Acknowledgment During Event Opening and Closing Ceremonies and Remarks Opportunities to Distribute Printed Materials to Participants Throughout the Event I am attaching our sponsorship package details that provide further information about each available sponsorship level and the benefits they include. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss these options with you and to further explore how we can partner for our mutual benefit. I will make myself available to you at your convenience to discuss these options and any other questions you may have. Thanks for your consideration of this opportunity to support for this important event. Your sponsorship would help solidify the success of our event and your position as a community leader. I look forward to working with “COMPANY” and making this a positive, memorable event. Please feel free to reply to this email or call me at “CONTACT NUMBER” to discuss our collaboration further. Sincerely, YOUR NAME/TITLE/POSITION YOUR ORGANIZATION ChatGPT Prompts To assist you in composing a sponsorship request letter that is more specifically tailored to your organization, event, and sponsor, we have included some CHATGPT Prompts below. These prompts are to serve as examples of how to get started and to serve to inspire your own writing. “Suggest 20 companies who may be prospective sponsors for an event organized by ORGANIZATIONS. Please write an email to POTENTIAL SPONSOR to explain YOUR EVENT and why sponsorship opportunities may be valuable. We are sponsoring an event at PLACE DATE AND TIME and are seeking like-minded sponsorship partners. Please write an email explaining the event and the benefits of being associated with it. Please craft an email to local businesses asking them to help sponsor our event on DAY DATE TIME. Explain some benefits to sponsoring such an event. Compile a list of potential sponsors who have a history of supporting events in our field. Create a short email introducing our upcoming event to potential sponsors. Mention that we will be sending further details and following up in the coming days. To improve results, take the time to make sure CHATGPT has details of your organization, its mission and purpose, and the reasons for the event. The more details you can provide about your target audience and how they align with the target market of your potential sponsor, the better your results may be. Take Your Sponsorship Opportunity to the Next Level Sponsorships are a powerful way to provide fuel for your next event or fundraiser. Sponsorships are now a part of conventions, conferences, seminars, and charitable events. If you aren’t fully taking advantage of sponsorship opportunities that may elevate your event, here are some ways to increase this important resource. Expand Your Horizons Consider local, regional, and national sponsors. Some local franchises may have access to corporate support to help them participate in your event. Avoid eliminating companies as a prospective sponsor by pre-judging them. Create Multiple Sponsorship Levels to Appeal to All Types And Sizes of Sponsorship While there may only be a few potential prospects as a Presenting or Title Sponsor, make sure you have opportunities for smaller companies. Consider all the aspects of your event that can be sponsored. These can include a welcome ceremony, website, raffles, your vendor area, and more. Explore All Sponsorship Resources Along with commercial sponsors, include non-profit and educational sponsors on your prospect list. Colleges and universities, medical facilities, and even some government entities have budgets available to sponsor events in their wheelhouse. Explain Charitable and Marketing Resources Some organizations have resources to make charitable contributions along with marketing budgets. These two pools may be able to be accessed in a single organization to facilitate a major sponsorship. Amplify The Value of Your Audience Sponsorship opportunities are not just about the raw numbers but also the quality of the audience you may be able to deliver. Emphasize the value of those you are reaching, including whether they are well-educated, high-earners or “shakers and movers.” This is particularly important if your audience is otherwise hard to reach through traditional marketing efforts. Use and Promote Technology If you have member management software or utilize event planning software, let sponsors know. They will appreciate that you are managing your event through technology and that digital marketing, social media, event communications, and apps are a part of the event. Elevate Your Member and Event Management Capabilities Member and event management software helps your organization take full advantage of the data available to you. This includes details surrounding sponsorship efforts. It can help ensure all contacts, comments, and data are kept accessible and organized. It can help build confidence within your organization and with the sponsors who are supporting you. To learn more about MemberClicks and our software solutions for organizations of all types—start a conversation with us today! Experience firsthand how we can help take your organization to the next level.