How Do I Develop a Proposal for a Sponsorship?

Create a professional proposal to gain sponsorship dollars.

Contacting corporations is an important step to securing sponsorship funds for non-profits, events or cause-related marketing. Professionalism is your key to success when approaching potential sponsors. Also, corporations need to see the benefits of the sponsorship. It's a business deal, not a donation. You can put together a winning proposal to show corporations that they will benefit from the sponsorship.

Instructions

1. Provide a summary of your business and the reasons you need sponsorship dollars. Mission statements, facts and background information should be included. Potential sponsors want to see that your business is credible and run ethically.

2. Specify the benefits of the sponsorship. There are a variety of benefits to offer, such as logo placement, press releases, banner placement, complementary passes to event, booth space, direct mail pieces, email blasts and other ways for the sponsor to gain recognition.

3. Gather empirical data to support your proposal. Use facts such as event attendees, mailing list numbers, website traffic and brand impressions.

4. Create different levels of sponsorships for different dollar amounts. Each sponsorship level should provide different benefits. Allow potential sponsors to choose which sponsorship works for their organizations.

5. Add contact information to the end of the proposal. Include a call to action, such as 10 percent off the sponsorship if the company acts within five business days.

6. Ask an editor to review the proposal to catch any mistakes. The proposal should be professional and free of errors.

References

• New Century Marketing Concepts: Creating a First-Rate Sponsorship Proposal
• Our Community: Writing a Sponsorship Proposal