How To: Manage Your Sponsorship Relationships

Securing sponsors for your event is imperative for your fundraising success. Getting sponsors to say ‘yes’ to your proposal is just part of the work, however. Properly managing your sponsors and your relationship to them is essential. It’s the hard work that will make their experience of working with you beneficial to their organization, and will help you more easily bring them on board year after year.

While all communications with donors and sponsors should be tailored to match your organization and be written in the tone with which you speak to your supporters, we offer the following system and communication examples as a way to frame your event sponsorship management. Creating a system of mindful stewardship will enable you to create the passionate support your mission and work deserve.

 

A sponsor just said YES, what should you do?

Step 1:

• Communicate! You’re excited to have them, and they’re excited to support you. You should be clear about the relationship so everyone knows what they’ve agreed to.
• Immediately send a written communication to your sponsor that includes:

1. A BIG THANK YOU.
2. Confirmation of their sponsorship level and benefits, make these specific to the level they’ve agreed on.
3. Payment amount and due date, this should reflect any possible payment plans you’ve put in place for sponsors or that they’ve requested. Including an invoice is a great idea.
4. Request for their guest list, guest contact info and a deadline.
5. Details of expectations around information, logos, etc. for print deadlines. These should be tailored.
6. This written communication should be considered a contract so that your sponsors know they’re agreeing to something specific, and that you both know the terms.

• Enter all the information into your database. This allows you to track the process.

 

You’ve sent a confirmation to your sponsor and haven’t heard back, what should you do?

Step 2:

• Don’t fear additional follow up, they may not have received it or it may have gotten lost in the shuffle of business.
• After 30 days of no word or payment, send another confirmation. Perhaps verify who the confirmation should be sent to.

 

It’s getting down to the wire, what should I be doing with sponsors?

Step 3:

• Guest lists, guest lists, guest lists! Start really hounding your sponsors 3 weeks out. You’ll need these names and confirmations that your sponsors are using all of their seats for catering headcount and final seating charts.
• Note final outstanding payment amounts, and communicate these and deadlines to sponsors who still have outstanding balances.
• Follow up on logos for event slide shows, table tents, etc. These requests should be specific to the sponsor and the benefits of their sponsorship level.
• In all of these communications, convey how excited you are about the event and that they’re on board.

 

The event is over, what should you do now?

Step 4:

• Following up with sponsors post-event to fill them in on your, and their, success is HUGE.
• Make the post-event communication and a possible renewal communication two SEPARATE things. Your sponsors should revel in the success and not only hear from you when you’re asking them to commit to you financially.