How to Write a Sponsorship Letter

Sports teams and other organizations need sponsorships.

Many nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, youth sports teams and schools rely on donations from corporate sponsors to help them meet their needs and goals. It can be intimidating to write a sponsorship request letter. You might be requesting money or in-kind contributions. Write a polished and professional letter to achieve the desired results.

Instructions

1. Research possible companies, private sponsors or organizations that are a good match for your organization and what you are about. Find someone who should share your group's interests. A sports equipment or clothing store or department store that sells sporting goods might be willing to donate money or sports equipment to your team or your charity run.

2. Find the names of the people within the companies that you will address your letter to. Look at company websites or call the businesses to find out who should receive your letter.

3. Use your organization's letterhead. Create professional letterhead stationery if your organization does not have one. Word-processing programs have templates that allow you to create stationery.

4. Provide detailed yet brief information about your organization. Include what your program does and who benefits. Include details about your event, such as your special guests, what publicity sponsoring companies will receive. Show how the potential sponsor can benefit by association with your event.

5. State what you are doing and the specific reason for the request. Be specific about where the funding or material donations will go.

6. Politely request the sponsorship. You can give options and prices, if possible, such as different levels of sponsorship. Perhaps a Gold Sponsor would contribute the most money, but would be treated like royalty at the event, receive a lot of publicity and would receive several free passes to your event. If you are holding a raffle, you can ask for a specific item or an item within a desired dollar amount.

7. Enclose a sponsorship form for the business to fill out. Make it convenient by including a fax number or allowing the forms to be filled out and submitted online.

8. Thank the potential sponsor and sign your letter personally, by hand, with ink -- not with a computer-generated signature.

Tips & Warnings

• Follow your letter up with a phone call within a few days to ask if the company's decision maker has had a chance to read the letter and if she has any questions.

• If your potential sponsor declines, be gracious and polite. You never know when they will be offering sponsorships in the future.

• If your potential sponsor declines, be very polite. You never know when they will be offering sponsorships in the future.

References

• Letters for Business: Writing an Effective Sponsorship Letter