Advice on Attracting Corporate Sponsorship
"People give money to people," Mary Gomez said. "Attracting corporate sponsorship means doing some introspection because companies don't give money to companies -- the relationship is more personal than that." Mary, now the Executive Vice President of the New York City Association of Life Underwriters, and Kenneth Adams, President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, led the discussion at the October 11th [1995] Executive Directors'/Development Directors' Roundtable. Both Ken and Mary honed their skills in their previous jobs at New York Cares, and their advice was well suited to any nonprofit organization.
We have distilled their advice into six guidelines.
(1) Be introspective (and put it on paper). What are your assets, both tangible and intangible? Inventory your organization -- What can you put up for sale? It may be a series of workshops, a specific project, a special event, or it may be work you do regularly, such as a newsletter, a scholarship or a web page on the Internet, but in all cases you must carefully define what your organization has to offer a corporate sponsor. Tangible assets are ones where the sponsor has a very direct payoff, such as a name on a T-shirt or the cover of your brochure. Intangible assets are ones where the payoff is more in the form of good feelings that come from having contributed to your organization. When it comes to this, you need to think through your values and your boundaries, and decide what it is that you want before you start your research. Then, go out looking. Volunteers can be very effective in this search, in good part because they aren't paid employees of your organization. A phone call to a corporation from a volunteer will give your organization credibility.
Consider everything you do as a potential lead to a sponsorship; you may not be able to talk to the president of a large corporation, but you may find success with one of your vendors. Most important of all, start to build relationships now. It can take as long as three or four years to develop a connection. Also, don't forget to include boroughs other than Manhattan in your prospecting. Brooklyn, for example, has 35,000 businesses, from Mom and Pop stores to Brooklyn Union; the competition for them may be less than for large Manhattan-based corporations. Another idea is to think about the health care industry and associations, such as the restaurant association, as possible sponsors for your program.
(2) Define the natural media and vehicles that link your event to your sponsor. For New York Cares' coat drive, subway posters were a natural way to advertise the campaign. Television, radio and print ads, as well as phone kiosks and bus advertisements can be powerful ways to get the word out. Sponsors generally know where they like to advertise from their own experience, and you will need to negotiate this with them. Don't forget natural advertising links with your sponsor. For example, Chase Manhattan Bank may be able to advertise a program on their ATM receipts; Con Edison may be willing to do an insert when they send out their monthly bills,
(3) Define your natural audience. Think about your constituency and those who already know about you; then consider what market you bring to a potential sponsor. It's also worth thinking about the audience you could create. The answers you come up with will help both your research into potential sponsors and your ability to win them over.
(4) Once you have identified potential sponsors, tell them about your organization, but don't flood them with paper! Give a potential sponsor the information he or she needs to get to the next step -- which is to know more about who you are. Introductory events are one way to do this. At a breakfast meeting for potential sponsors, for example, your group can describe its services in a short, informal session.
(5) Think creatively about sponsorships. While you may have created a sponsorship plan and a budget for specific line items, don't forget to consider in-kind donations or donations of time.- Create the expectation that employees of the sponsoring organization will also become involved in your program or event.
(6) Once you have secured a sponsor, manage the relationship all year long. Err on the side-of inclusion and let your sponsor turn you down. Ask them what will make them feel satisfied with their relationship with your organization. It may be something as important as logo placement, but it may also be as simple as the CEO being publicly thanked for the company's contribution. Since the company representative you are, working with is probably not the head of the company, you can ensure success by asking what it is you can do to make her boss happy with the collaboration. An important part of maintaining a strong relationship with sponsors is to make them your fans all yearlong.
The most important thing Mary and Ken emphasized was to be ready at all times. Talk to everyone about your organization and "connect the dots." Your conversations and enthusiasm for your work can lead to surprising commitments from corporations.
Copyright 1998 Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York