tities that are interested in sponsorships and are a match with the
audience and type of event you are producing. When you begin to
brainstorm for potential sponsors, you must be aware that sponsors
are everywhere; they are not located just among the large multina-
tional corporations but also can be found at the corner store. Do not
eliminate sponsors from your list because you think they are too
small. Depending on the size and scope of the event, it is some-
times more cost effective to have several smaller sponsors than one
or two large sponsors. You must remember when you are looking
for sponsorship one of the first rules of thumb in budgeting is that
everything has a price. This includes sponsorships. Again, the
sponsorship is not a donation. It is a business deal where you are
agreeing to promote the sponsors’ goods and/or services in return
for the value of your event to them. Not only does the servicing of
this agreement have a price tag that impacts the expense side of
your budget, it also has costs associated with it. Budgetary issues
then become one of the first items to review when looking at po-
tential sponsors. Is the ratio of expense to revenue to service the
agreement worth the effort to secure the sponsorship?
The next step when working with an organization to develop
potential sponsors is to ask “Who are your friends?” and “What
are their interests?” The best opportunity to develop a relationship
with a potential sponsor is to already know someone involved
with the sponsor. Organizations may not even realize the potential
Identifying Sponsorships to Financially Support Your Event 93Who Are Your Friends?
Several years ago, a client was looking for sponsorships
for a start-up charity sports event to help fund a nonprofit
foundation. In the initial meeting, the client was over-
whelmed with the finances needed to undertake the task
of building a first-time event from the ground up. The
question, “Who are your friends?” was asked. It turned
out that the client’s next-door neighbor was the CEO of a
software firm that deeply believed in the work this non-
profit foundation did. He was more than happy “to help
out” by not only signing on as a sponsor but endorsing
the project in referrals to other firms with which his com-
pany did business.