Alternative Sponsorship Fulfillment for Cancelled or Changed Fundraising Events

UPDATE: Get our COVID-19 fundraising event toolkit HERE

Public health and weather-related concerns occasionally cause nonprofits to cancel events or consider alternatives, like holding a virtual fundraising event. Either way, these concerns can present challenges in fulfilling your commitment to sponsors—key relationships in your work.

Sponsors want to partner with you to follow best practices established by public health officials, along with policies that fit your organization. Here are some steps to consider taking to best serve your sponsor relationships:

Communicate Early

Whether you’re considering cancelling or postponing your event, or shifting to the virtual event model, communicate as early as possible. Sponsors understand decisions are often made quickly. But where possible, they appreciate hearing of these decisions directly from their nonprofit partner ahead of public announcement.

Additionally, the messenger matters. Consider who the right person is to share this message with the sponsor. The person at your organization with the strongest relationship with your corporate partner is best positioned to inform them.

Lean into Relationship

Be straight forward with your sponsor. Let them know what challenge is impeding your event and invite them to partner with you to identify the solution.

It is beneficial for nonprofits to maintain the anticipated revenue despite the change in plan. Sponsors need to ensure that funding priorities are being met in spite of that change. Leaning on the relationship you’ve established and navigating the challenge together is key to maintaining the partnership.

Build the Plan

It’s helpful to identify in advance some alternative ways you could fulfill their sponsorship benefits. If you’re cancelling your event, possible fulfillment opportunities include:

• Writing an article about partnership in an upcoming e-news
• Highlighting them on social media channels
• Acknowledging their sponsorship on your website outside of the event
• Fulfilling agreed upon recognition at your next planned event

If you’re considering moving to a virtual event, possible fulfillment opportunities include:

• Using banner overlays to show sponsor logos
• Bringing a sponsor onto live feed to speak about their program
• Sending guests a digital version of the print program so that sponsor ads and recognition can still be seen

Don’t be afraid to open the conversation up with your key sponsors. Clear communication and collaborative partnership will help you maintain relationships through challenging times.

We reached out to some of our sponsor partners and here was their key advice:

“Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need from your partners. We recognize these are trying and challenging times.” – Bob Speltz, Sr. Director of Community Relations at The Standard

“I would always advise that a nonprofit communicates major changes to a funder ahead of a public announcement, unless the decision is so timely that staggering communications would cause safety or other challenges. This lets your funder know that you view them as a partner and not just as an underwriter.” – Nicole Frisch, Sr. Director of Community Engagement at First Tech Federal Credit Union

“In order to retain a strong partnership, it’s about direct, timely communication.” – Brenden Butler, Community Development Officer at Umpqua Bank