Sponsorships

What it is

Instead of one big event, your club offers sponsor slots with a name and a price: adopt a month, a park bench, a scholarship, a supply line, a page in the program. Businesses, churches, groups, and families pick a slot and give once, monthly, or yearly. Your club keeps an up-to-date list of open slots, collects the money, and thanks every sponsor on time.

Typical net: $1,000 to $20,000 a year (rough estimate only. A few monthly or yearly sponsors who renew are worth more than many one-time gifts.)

Step by step

Getting ready

• Decide what sponsors can adopt and give each slot a short name
• Set an amount and how often (one time, monthly, or yearly) for each slot
• Decide how many of each slot you can offer
• Agree on how sponsors are thanked and recognized

First asks

• Make a list of businesses, churches, and groups to ask, and who will ask each one
• Ask last year's sponsors and your members' employers first
• Print the open-slots list to take on visits
• Visit in person or call; follow up within a week

Every month

• Record money as it comes in
• Check that monthly sponsors paid; call anyone who missed a month
• Send thank-yous to everyone on the needs-a-thank-you list
• Review the sponsor list at your club meeting

Every few months

• Send sponsors a short update: what their gift did, with one photo
• Update the open-slots list and share it again

End of the year

• Print the sponsor recognition list for your newsletter or banquet
• Ask each sponsor to renew for next year
• Note which slots were hard to fill and adjust them

Tips that work

• Give every slot a name people can picture: a month, a shelf, a bench, a scholarship.
• Show the open slots. People like to see what is still available, and they like to take the last one.
• Ask in person, with the printed open-slots list in hand.
• Thank every sponsor within a week, and again at the end of the year.
• A monthly sponsor who stops paying usually just forgot. Call the first month it is missed.

Who does what

• Sponsor chair: Keeps the slot list and the sponsor list up to date
• Askers: Each takes a short list of businesses, churches, or families to call on
• Treasurer: Records sponsor payments and gives receipts
• Thank-you writer: Sends notes and calls within a week of each gift

What to have ready

• One-page sheet that explains the slots and amounts
• Printed open-slots list
• Thank-you cards and stamps
• Receipt book or printed receipts
• Recognition list, sign, or plaque

Receipts and rules

• Give a written receipt for every gift. Donors may need it at tax time.
• If a sponsor gets something of value back (dinner tickets, ad space), the receipt should say what it was worth.
• Ask your treasurer or accountant how your club's tax status affects what sponsors can deduct.
• Get a sponsor's OK before you put their name or logo on a sign or online.

General tips, not legal advice. Check with your city, county, and state.

Getting the word out

• Personal visits and phone calls work better than letters
• Bring the open-slots list so people can see what is still available
• Thank sponsors in your newsletter, on social media, and at meetings
• Ask happy sponsors to introduce you to one more

Sample announcement

Be a part of it! The [Club name] is looking for sponsors for [project]. Adopt a [slot] for $[amount] a [month/year] and your name goes on [recognition]. Open slots are going fast. Call [name] at [phone] to pick yours.

Each time a sponsor says yes

• Record the sponsor, their slot, and the amount right away
• Give or send a receipt
• Send a thank-you within a week
• Add them to the recognition list (with their OK)
• Put a reminder on your calendar to ask them to renew