People Give to People

Photo by Rosemary Ragusa

We are often asked, “What’s the secret to sponsorship?”

There’s one easy answer: talk to your potential sponsors don’t just send them paperwork.

That’s both the bad and the good news in fundraising.

It’s the bad news because you can’t hide behind a great sponsorship proposal that you send far and wide and just wait around for all the yeses to start rolling in.

It’s good because it means that having actual conversations with potential sponsors that you have a connection to will often get you so much further than paperwork.

One resonant conclusion keeps coming out of research done on giving and philanthropy: people give to people.

Think of the times in your life you’ve really been compelled to support an organization. Likely it’s because you heard a personal story that turned your head. Or you know someone who is devoted to and passionate about a cause and they ask you to join in.

Photo by Andie Petkus

Your sponsors are people. Yes, many of them have official channels to process sponsorships and that’s where a great sponsorship proposal packet is the follow up. But the initial contact is so much more fruitful when it starts as a conversation.

So when you are prospecting sponsors, don’t make an abstract wish list. Make a targeted list that you and people in your organization have a connection to in some way. Spending time on this list and cultivating these supporters will prove so much more effective in both the short and the long term for your cause than pursuing the big fish that you have no ‘in’ with.

You are passionate about the organization you work for, bring that energy and spirit to your conversations with potential sponsors. A form letter will get put in a pile. Person to person contact will not only help you cultivate sponsors and get them excited about your cause, it makes your potential sponsors feel included in what you’re doing which helps secure them long term.

For more resources about cultivating sponsors join us for our upcoming Sponsorship Class on May 23.