SponsorPark Offers Organizations 10 Key Tips to Finding a Sponsor for Their Next Event or Program

OMAHA, Neb., July 16, 2009 — Finding a sponsor for an upcoming festival, fair or non-profit program has become a lot more difficult with the downturn in the economy. Not only are corporate sponsors more limited in the amount of dollars available for potential sponsorships, but they are also more careful in measuring a return on investment from their sponsorship and charitable donation dollars.

Omaha-based SponsorPark helps event and program organizers seeking donors to more effectively put together a proposal and submit it to potential sponsors across the nation. In order to help bridge the gap between sponsor expectations and organizations seeking sponsors, the company offers event and program organizers ten easy tips to be more effective in the sponsorship solicitation process.

1. Write a relevant initial proposal – This is not the final customized piece (which comes after you have already established interest). The initial proposal communicates the most relevant information up front; which quickly established whether a partnership is realistic. SponsorPark has developed a proposal template that walks you through this information.
2. Offer tiered packages / benefits – When you communicate the benefits of partnering to a sponsor, a quick way to kill interest is not to offer options, or worse, no insight at all as to what your asking price might be. Your tiers should also be cascading – make it worth a sponsors while to offer more support in exchange for a more extensive package of benefits.
3. Cast a vision – Clearly as one who represents a sponsorship opportunity you have a passion for what you are doing, paint that picture for why it’s a big deal - tell your story. But be careful to pair feelings with thinking. Pair qualitative with quantitative reasoning.
4. Quantify your value in as many ways as possible – While there are some benefits you can’t assign a number to, such as popularity or the loyalty of your customer base; there are many things that you can, such as: target audience information, media and broadcast exposure, and category exclusivity you could offer. The economy has made consumers more aware of corporate spending and required accountability with decision makers. Make it clear and easy to defend as to why they should partner with you.
5. Pursue those who have reason to be interested in you – This means you will need to do your homework and be sure to know something about what that company is doing and where they are going. SponsorPark does this for you by sending your proposal out to sponsors who have already indicated their interests and established search criteria.
6. Build a strong network – If two equally beneficial opportunities are presented to a sponsor, they are going to pick the one that they have existing ties with. Connect with as many people as possible – a great time to start this is with current sponsors!
7. Consider using an agency or connecting resource – Agencies generally speaking get paid when you see results, so they are working harder than ever right now. Best of all, SponsorPark allows sponsors to use our outsourcing tool for free – present yourself where sponsors are looking!
8. Give yourself plenty of Time – Sponsorship can take 4-6 months to connect with the most appropriate person, negotiate a partnership, and sign a contract. The larger the sponsorship deal the longer it can take to close. This is also why it’s a good idea to pursue more than one sponsor at a time. Work smarter not harder!
9. Don’t sell yourself short – Even in a world where you might have to add perks you wouldn’t normally add to sell the sponsorship, or consider additional assets to bundle for more package options, make sure your pricing aligns with the value you’re offering a sponsor. When the economy bounces back, you don’t want to be stuck in a rut because you undersold your sponsorship previously.
10. Ask your sponsor what they want out of the Partnership – Once interest has been established and an initial meeting set, ask your sponsor what they want. At this point you have done enough research to know the basics about what they might consider a goal of the partnership, but stay on top of the ever-changing corporate world. Who knows, they might come up with even better ideas than you initially considered.

“Some homework can really go a long way to not only securing more sponsorships for events and programs, but also more long lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships,” said Emily Taylor with SponsorPark. “The key is really to understand what sponsors are looking for, which we’ve outlined in the ten tips, and delivering it to them in a clear and concise way. This can be really hard work, which is the beauty of SponsorPark – we connect likely partners based on cohesive and complementary interests. SponsorPark can help drive your organization’s sponsorship outreach to an entirely new level.”

The comprehensive web tool at www.sponsorpark.com is currently free to help sponsors and sponsorship opportunities to connect. The company is focusing initially on the arts, entertainment, sports, causes and festivals/fairs, but any profit or non-profit organization needing a sponsor or looking for a sponsorship opportunity is welcome to participate.

To check out the current list of organizations seeking a sponsor, or to register your sponsorship opportunity, please check them out on the web at www.sponsorpark.com.