Sponsorship packages, sometimes also called sponsorship proposals, almost always consist of a sponsorship proposal letter and an accompanying document describing the sponsorship levels that you are offering. Although both of these documents are important, the sponsorship proposal letter is where you will do most of your convincing. If you cannot quickly convince a prospective sponsor that your organization deserves their money, the sponsorship levels document will never come into play.
Sponsorship Proposal Letter
Because it’s the first thing your sponsors will see, your sponsorship proposal letter is the lynchpin of your pitch. If your sponsorship proposal letter cannot grab your sponsor’s attention immediately and convince them that you are worthy of consideration for sponsorship, your sponsorship request is likely to be rejected in favor of others.
Remember that prospective sponsors must wade through far more requests than they can possibly fund, so they are unlikely to spend time on requests that do not instantly stand out.
In many ways, looking for an event or organization sponsor is a lot like looking for a job. Your sponsorship proposal letter is the functional equivalent of your resume cover letter.
Sponsorship Levels Document
If you do manage to get the attention of a prospective sponsor with your sponsorship proposal letter, they will eventually want to know more about what you are offering in exchange for their money. Remember that sponsorship isn’t the same as “free” money. Sponsors always expect to get something, typically some combination of advertising, public accolade and VIP treatment, in exchange for their financial support. Sponsors who decide that you deserve some of their funding will want to know what levels of sponsorship are available and what they can expect to in return for their investment. This information will factor prominently into their decision about how much of their overall budget to grant your organization or event.
Knowing what levels to include in your sponsorship levels document may seem tricky at first, but ultimately, it’s a function of the entire body of benefits you can offer and how much total funding you need to generate in order to meet your goals.
Conclusion
Creating a sponsorship package is an art that requires a clear vision of what your organization stands for as well as a keen sense of who is likely to be interested in becoming a sponsor. Sponsors have limited budgets and cannot fund every organization that requests sponsorship, so they must be selective. A convincing, professional sponsorship proposal will give prospective sponsors a very clear idea of who you are and why they should fund your organization over others. Often the difference between securing a corporate or private sponsorship and being passed by in favor of another organization is the effectiveness of your sponsorship package.
Your sponsorship proposal should give prospective corporate and private sponsors several sponsorship levels, so they can choose the level of sponsorship that best suits their budget and level of interest.