Negotiating Sponsorship

Leading up to Momentum's two annual events the Pink Ribbon Ball and Melbourne Cup Luncheon we've dedicated a large amount of time into securing and promoting sponsorships. Some times it seems as if we send out hundreds of sponsorship proposals only to receive little or no response. While this can be disheartening when you spend hours researching sponsors and personalising sponsorship proposals it's the reality for a charity organisation.  Although this has given me the opportunity to improve my writing skills and learn how to write a good sponsorship proposal that will attract potential sponsors.

The tips I have learned are:

• Don't use the words charity or sponsorship first in an email else it will be deleted.
• Personalise every sponsorship proposal directly to each potential sponsor.
• Always start with who the organisation is and what they are doing before flattering the potential sponsor.
• Always make sure sponsorship proposal conditions are correct else sponsors may be confused about what they should receive in return and demand more benefits.
• Never email all sponsors together without BCC all their addresses as you reveal your contact list and invade their privacy.
• Follow up on all sponsorship proposals to keep them aware of who you are and what you do.

But even if you write a good sponsorship proposal it doesn't guarantee anyone will sponsor you because there are numerous charities all vying for sponsors attention and companies only want to sponsor events or causes that will be beneficial to them. Momentum's CEO Barbara McNaught understands this as everyone is a business first and foremost so nothing is for free. This fact surprised me as I believed sponsors would donate items for free to the auction at the Pink Ribbon Ball but actually sponsors receive the reserve price back and the rest goes to the charity. But without these sponsorships Momentum would be unable to run these events to raise funds for any of their worthy causes. Therefore sponsorship contracts need to be mutually beneficial to ensure Momentum can support their cause and the sponsor can receive their moneys worth back in publicity. This involves actively promoting their association in all marketing materials and promoting their services to Momentum's members.

I conclude that sponsorship requires strategic negotiation but is extremely valuable when the right organisations come together.