The Power of Partnership

1
The Power of Partnership

• Getting people to give stuff to your organization.

2
The Six Steps

• Determine who is in charge of overseeing
  sponsorship acquisition, and provide them with
  support.
• Determine What do we need?
• Determine What can we offer?
• Determine Who is most likely to give us what we
  need, or want what we have to offer?
• Establish a plan of action to get what you need.
• Execute the plan.

3
Who is in Charge?

• Sponsorship acquisition is the responsibility of
  an executive member.
• The coordinator of a specific event is
  responsible for acquiring sponsorship for that
  event.
• Someone is hired/elected/appointed to be
  responsible for sponsorship for the organization.

4
Determine what you need

• Three major types of sponsorship support
• Financial Support
• Product/Supply Support
• Media/Promotional Support

5
Determine what you can offer

• List all the promotional opportunities your
  campaign events and initiatives will create.
• Think about sponsorship opportunities outside of
  events (bulletin boards, plasma screens, frosh
  kits, etc.)
• Explore the possibility of your student union or
  other groups helping to expand the promotional
  opportunities you can offer

6
Who will give itwho will want it

• Businesses someone has a personal connection
  with.
• Businesses who are losing in their market in the
  area.
• New businesses in the area.
• People who have supported you before.
• People who the university spends a lot of money
  on.

7
Establish a plan of action
Potential partners need to look at your proposals
with their marketing/promotion budget in mind,
not their charitable donation budget.
8
Establish a plan of action

• A handful of companies (about 13 of the
  corporations in Canada) are responsible for the
  vast majority of the corporate donations in the
  country every year.
• Corporate donors often get over 20,000 requests
  each year thats one every ten minutes.
• Approximately 95 of corporations claim no
  charitable donations at all.
• Overall, corporate giving is less than one
  percent of pre-tax profits.

9
Establish a plan of action
You dont want to be seen as someone looking for
a donation, you need to be seen as someone
offering a unique marketing opportunity.
10
Establish a plan of action

• Use the term partnership proposal instead of
  sponsorship request.
• Refer to your supporters as partners not
  sponsors.
• Utilize the word opportunity as often as
  possible in your materials and when dealing with
  potential partners.

11
The Jerry Maguire philosophy
Fewer clients, more personal attention
12
Cultivating Prospects
Demonstrate how a partnership could work. Give
them something for nothing.
13
The Letter
1. Personally addressed as well mention
below, NEVER use to whom it may concern. Know
where it is going, and who should be seeing
it. 2. Get to the point in the first
paragraph, identify who you are, where you are
from, and what you are asking for their help in
accomplishing. Use their company name in this
paragraph. 3. Tell them who you are, and what
your organizations mission is. Then introduce
the specific event/initiative you would like
supported, and indicate why you feel it is
important.
14
The Letter
4. Make the ask. Be specific. 5. Outline
the intangibles of supporting you. Indicate
why partnering with you is a better move than
partnering with the many other organizations who
will request their support this year. 6.
Outline the specific benefits you can offer.
This can be in the letter itself, or if you have
packages, you should refer them to further
enclosed information. Dont forget to indicate
youre flexible on everything and will work
with them to satisfy THEIR needs and goals.
15
The Letter
7. Open the final paragraph with their name.
Re-iterate the impact they can have on PEOPLE by
partnering with you, as well as what theyll
receive in return. 8. Indicate you will be in
touch with them in the near future to follow-up.
Provide contact information in case they wish to
reach you for any reason.
16
The Package

• Basically three types
• Gold-Silver-Bronze
• A la Carte
• No package at all

17
Do Your Research!

• Know the contact person for each potential
  partner.
• Make clear EXACTLY what you would like from them.
• Know how much advertising, and what kind, they do
  in the community.
• Find out how much that advertising costs, compare
  that cost with what youre offering.

18
Supporting our organization will get you better
quality exposure than if you had simply taken the
money and purchased advertising with it.
19
Execute Your Plan

• Do it in person, in pairs. Come in to drop off a
  partnership proposal and personalized letter, and
  ask if you can come back in a week to discuss it.
  Have a series of dates and times ready to
  suggest.
• Train your askers. Spend time in mock meetings
  before you go in. No matter how prepared you
  think you are those things will be a huge help.
• Spend the vast majority of your time in these
  meetings listening. Spend time planning and
  training to ask questions that lead the potential
  sponsor to reach the conclusions you want them to.

20
DELIVER ON WHAT YOU PROMISE. THEN GO FURTHER.
21
Ten Principles of SolicitingBy John D.
Rockefeller, Sr.First published in 1891

• When making a solicitation, dress well in costly
  clothes, immaculate linen, and well-brushed
  shoes. See also that your hands are clean.
• Hunt in pairs. A call by two persons makes more
  impact than one, but only one should talk. This
  has greater dignity.
• Both people should have an elegant personal card
  to present at the door.
• At the outset, ask only for a few minutes of the
  persons time, and by plunging into the subject,
  create the impression that the call will be
  short.
• Enter the room in genial and radiant good nature.
  Allow no provocation to disturb this good
  humour. Keep your victim also good natured, and
  this throughout!

22
Ten Principles of SolicitingBy John D.
Rockefeller, Sr.First published in 1891

• 6. If you find him big with gift, do not rush too
  eagerly to the birth.
• 7. Let him feel he is giving it, not that it is
  being taken from him with violence.
• 8. Appeal only to his nobler motives. His own
  mind will suggest to him the lower and selfish
  ones. He would not wish you to think that he has
  thought of them.
• 9. Let the victim talk freely, especially in the
  early part of the interview, while you take the
  opportunity to study his peculiarities.
• 10. Never argue or contradict him. Let him talk,
  talk, talk. Give the fish the reel and listen
  with deep interest.