For each non-profit project or organization, the question is urgent: "How to find sponsors?" In order to get the right answer, you should clearly understand the goal, pursuing which the financing party is ready to provide funds. As soon as this task is solved, it will become possible to identify the area of potential partners whose interests will be satisfied through this project. In the article you can find the answer to the question: "Who is the sponsor?" The main types of financing parties will also be described, recommendations will be given on their search and attraction.
What does the word "sponsor" mean?
A sponsor is an individual or legal entity that promotes the implementation of a project, both to support the latter and to advertise certain goods, services, its own activities, or itself. The financing party contributes free of charge to the budget of the organization in need of assistance. At the same time, the sponsor has no preemptive legal rights in relation to this object.
The actions of a person who wants to become a sponsor, in most cases, are aimed at attracting the attention of the relevant target audience. Moreover, the activities of the financing party does not imply income.
After receiving the answer to the question "who is the sponsor?" it is time to consider the main types of donors.
General Sponsor
This type of sponsor provides the recipient of gratuitous assistance financing in the amount of 50% of the event budget. At the legislative level, there is a ban on the intervention of the benefactor in the activities of the organization to which he allocates funds. However, the reverse situation is widespread in practice. Often, the general sponsor influences the facility to which assistance is provided.
Transport, the fencing of the sports arena and other equipment of the event are often made out in the palette of official colors of the general financing party. This happens when the event does not have a title sponsor. This type of funder is described below.
Title Sponsor
Its funding is approximately equal to the general sponsor. What is the difference between them then? The title sponsor may not interfere in the internal policies of the organization to which assistance is provided, either by law or in practice. The main advantage of this type of financier is the obligatory placement of its logo on the uniform of all persons associated with the project. Often his name is contained in the name of the sponsored event.
Thanks to this, the target audience has the impression that the main sponsor of the project is the title one.
Official sponsor
The official sponsor provides free assistance to the project in the amount of 10 to 25% of the budget of the planned event. Depending on the size of the contribution, each of these funders receives an appropriate amount of popularization. That is, when the sponsor provided free assistance in the amount of 10%, the number of advertising services provided to him will be minimal. But this is not at all bad. After all, if an enterprise that wishes to become a sponsor belongs to a medium or small form of business, it will be completely satisfied with the fact that its logo will appear next to the emblems of business giants.
Special sponsor
Who is a special sponsor? This type of aid provider receives its own advertising volume, and in return finances some highly specialized cost item. For example, auto racing often has a technical sponsor. It provides fuel and lubricants in the required quantity and provides various services for the maintenance and servicing of automobiles. A sports sponsor often has a beverage sponsor. When a competition is held, a party often allocates funds for the main prize. There is a sponsor for the screening of a film or broadcast on television.
Information sponsorship is widespread when the media offer the placement of articles and notes on their electronic and printing expanses, broadcast broadcasts in radio and television formats.
The amount of funding for a special sponsor depends on the agreements reached between the person providing the free assistance and the organization accepting the sponsorship fee. The cost of the goods and services provided is calculated at wholesale purchase prices, their volume in money terms is 10% or more of the planned budget of the event. The volume of advertising services provided will depend on the size of the contribution, as is the case with the official sponsor. However, the status of “special” creates the illusion of the particularity and significance of this particular funder.
Partner
With the cooperation of the person providing the free assistance and the organization accepting the financial contribution, a sponsorship agreement is compulsorily drawn up. There are situations when the correct conclusion of such a contract is impossible. This happens when the sponsor is an organization whose services are not legally included in the category of gratuitous assistance. Then the question of mutually beneficial partnership is raised. An example would be a bank through which transactions related to gratuitous financing of an object will be conducted. Or the partner insurance company provides its services in relation to the participants of the competition, festival or competition. It can also be a printing house that produces all printing products related to the event.
Partners provide services to sponsored facilities at loyal prices, without interest and commissions.
Sponsor for a girl
Another type of financial aid provider is a sponsor for a girl. This concept arose relatively recently. Who is the sponsor for a girl? First of all, this is a rich man who has already taken place in life. Most often, he has his own business or works in a large organization. This man understands that a girl needs funds for beauty salons and gyms, beautiful clothes and expensive cosmetics to maintain her attractiveness. Such a sponsor is ready to pay all these expense items for a particular girl in return for her warmth and affection.
Now you know who the sponsor is and how you can classify this concept. It is time to answer the question: "How to find and attract such a funder?"
How to find a sponsor?
To find a potential sponsor, you need to research the market. If the organization that needs help is young, and its staff is not numerous, then the sponsor should also be involved. In this case, it is not worth sweeping, for example, at Gazprom. It is recommended to pay attention to smaller organizations. This will lead to positive results faster.
Next, you need to collect as much information as possible about the selected potential sponsor: location, target audience, size of the advertising budget, competitors of this organization, who have already acted as the financing party.
The next step should be a personal meeting with the person responsible in the selected organization for marketing or advertising. First, it is recommended that you send a letter that briefly describes a project that needs sponsorship. After seven to ten days, you should phone an authorized representative to arrange a personal meeting.
In live communication, the main goal will be to interest the potential sponsor and jointly discuss the existing project. Before the meeting, you need to study as much information as possible regarding the activities of this organization. For each of the questions posed, you should be ready to answer. You can not hesitate and demonstrate a lack of self-confidence.
Now you know how to find sponsors. The next step should be to attract them.
How to attract a sponsor?
There are 6 effective rules for attracting sponsors. Consider each of them:
- To convince the potential financier that after the event, she will have new contacts of potential clients. For example, inviting a car center to sponsorship, you can arrange a test drive with pre-registration of those who wish. This will allow you to get the coordinates of interested car owners.
- Allow the sponsor to run their promotions during the event. For example, the festival sponsor can place stands with his exhibition at the venue of the entire process.
- The activities of the sponsor should be consistent with the theme of the ongoing project. For example, you cannot invite an IT company to finance the arrangement of a children's New Year’s town. After all, such a sponsor will not find its target audience at such an event and will be disappointed with the project.
- Each sponsor must be effectively represented. Printing a logo is sometimes not enough. You can make an emblem of fresh flowers, sand, ice or fire. Funds for the production of such spectacular logos can be laid in a sponsorship fee.
- A sponsor must be notified if its direct competitor has also acquired a sponsorship package. Each of the sponsoring parties is recommended to allocate its time and place in the event in order to avoid their intersection.
- At the end of the project, a letter of thanks should be sent to the sponsor, to which it would be nice to attach a report on the use of funds and statistics related to the event.
