5 Tips for How to Acquire Sponsors for your Fundraising Tournament

Written by Tyson Johnson, Regional Tournament Director | Los Angeles and Orange County

Happy Memorial Day! Acquiring sponsors for your tournament is one of the most important steps to hosting a profitable tournament fundraiser, and if you follow these 5 tips, you'll be well on your way to sponsorship success!

1. Pre-planning

Do research to find out what companies and organizations will be a good fit for your tournament, and whether your tournament would be a good fit for them. When selling sponsorship it is important to recognize that you are selling advertising. With that in mind, you want to approach companies whose target markets will be at least a portion of the people playing in your event. If your player demographic doesn't fit their target market, it can be more difficult to convince them to take part in your event.

2. Create multiple sponsorship packages

Not all sponsors are created equal! If you only offer one level of sponsorship, you're missing funding opportunities. Some sponsors may only be able to afford $50-$100, but others may be willing to donate $500-$100,000. If you approach both with a $100 sponsorship offer, you may land both sponsors, but you might also lose out on scoring a larger sponsorship because you didn’t offer a higher ticket option. Remember, if you do offer multiple sponsorship levels, there needs to be a higher value in the benefit for the larger sponsorship to make it enticing.

 3.   Attack on multiple avenues

There are many ways to seek out sponsorships, and you will have the most success if you diversify your approach. The most common tactics are: Mailing letters, calling directly, visiting in person, social media, and even inviting sponsors to your meetings in order to showcase your organization and mission. You'll obtain better results the more ways you seek out sponsorships.

 4.   Be persistent

Often, you will not be successful the first time you ask for sponsorship from any given company or association. But don't give up! It may take multiple attempts or even more than one year of following up before you land that sponsor. Nearly all companies have money set aside for donations either yearly, quarterly, or semi-annually. You might have approached them at a bad time, when they just emptied their donation fund, or when they needed to wait until the next term. It is important to remember that “no” might not be permanent. It may just be the wrong time. Keep following up and you have a good chance of eventually landing their sponsorship.

5.   Keep it Local

When seeking sponsors, the easiest sell will be to local companies and associations who will be able to see an immediate impact from the advertising they buy. Be sure to connect with anyone who is aligned with or affected by your charity or fundraising group, as they will most likely contribute because of their direct connection to the cause.