During this depression, companies have completely pulled back on their sponsorships because they no longer have extra money to donate. Many charities, without sponsorship dollars, have either funded their events out-of-pocket, earning nothing, or next to nothing, at their events or have decided not to put on their fundraisers at all until the economy is more stable. This situation hurts each party concerned; it’s time to reevaluate the process.

Instead of just asking for money, charities need to understand their events’ value to a sponsoring company. How many impressions will the company’s logo or product receive? Who are these people? How does the event encourage guests to subscribe to or purchase the company’s product or service? Once the charity knows the answers to questions like these (and many, many more), they need to put together a professional sponsorship deck to give to potential sponsors. To read more about asking for sponsorships, visit http://whohastimeforthis.blogspot.com/2005/11/how-to-not-write-business-plan.html. In his blog, David Cowan offers his insight on putting together an effective presentation to get funding. (In his case it’s from venture capitalists, but the format is the same.)

The second part of this equation is the corporate sponsor; the recipient of this deck needs to evaluate it as it would any advertising or marketing opportunity. Often, charity events are a much less expensive way to reach a target audience; where else could you find a whole room full of people who have extra money to donate and are completely driven by something (and you know exactly what that something is).

For example, if an environmental charity is hosting an event, which will be attended by 500 of their biggest donors from the Seattle area, green companies should be jumping at the chance to get their product into the hands and/or minds of those people. These people are the voice of their consumer base and will reach far more potential customers than the company ever could on its own for as much money.

The charity – Charities need sponsorship dollars to reach their financial goals. Many charities couldn’t raise funds at their events without sponsorship dollars. In order to maintain momentum for their cause, many charities have continued to host fundraiser events though they have brought negative event profits.

The company – Especially with the economy the way it is, companies need to see large returns on their investments. A well-thought-out sponsorship plan can give a company far more than a traditional marketing or advertising plan.

The public – The public likes to learn about products or services that are applicable to them.