Succeeding With Sponsorships

The top six emerging sponsorship areas according to the IEG Sponsorship Report:

• Education
• Health & Wellness
• Green Initiatives
• Youth & Families
• Women’s Empowerment
• Social Entrepreneurship

Visit sites like Sponsorship.com to examine the profiles of the companies that have dollars available for sponsorship. Determine if your organization represents an area of interest, and be sure to differentiate your nonprofit/program from others in the marketplace.

From predicament to partnership
Right now there is a gap. Nonprofit organizations have merged, expanded and even disappeared. There's a reason why your organization has weathered the storm, and you should be publicly promoting your successes to your potential sponsors and strategic partners.

Sponsorship and strategic partnership programs can help you close your fundraising gap, but you have to be the creative force that makes this happen. To succeed at sponsorship fundraising, nonprofits must understand that cultivating corporate donors requires the same savvy relationship building as individual donors. It takes a commitment to understanding the value that the corporate brand will bring to your organization and being able to step up your marketing campaigns using social media, events, PR and personal communications to drive your message and mission home. Personal notes, invitations to upcoming events and even attending their events go a long way to moving your name up on the contribution list.

Succeeding with sponsorships
Collaborating for a Cause: iStar Charity Foundation hosts its annual iStar Charity Shootout on June 21 at Madison Square Garden. It partners the Jay and Kelly Sugarman Foundation with corporate leaders to benefit four great charities. They change the game by getting clients, donors and beneficiaries on the court each year. istarcharityshootout.org

Celebrities: Magic Johnson (magicjohnson.org) promotes health-related issues and champions entrepreneurship in minority communities with a roster of corporate sponsors adding to his own contributions, and Joe Torre (joetorre.org) leads the campaign to educate to break the cycle of domestic violence, and invites his celebrity pals to join in the effort.