Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE’s Post

Sponsors should be a significant revenue source. Engage your corporate and business community by starting sponsorship conversations early and focusing on partnerships rather than standard sponsorship packages. Tailor sponsorship opportunities to align with the goals and interests of potential sponsors, offering them customized packages that provide value. Highlight the benefits of sponsorship, such as brand visibility, community goodwill, and networking opportunities. Maintain open communication with sponsors throughout the planning process and ensure they receive recognition during and after the event. Strong sponsor relationships can lead to long-term partnerships and increased support for future events. This tip comes from this month’s FREE webinar, “Sponsors: How to Find Them & Create a Win-Win.” You can register for FREE via the link in my bio. #fundraising #nonprofits

Event sponsorships can be a game-changer for nonprofits, but how do you get started? In this episode, Mariah Monique, MPH and I are diving into sponsorships and breaking down: ✅ Why sponsorships are invaluable for nonprofits AND sponsors ✅ Foundational steps to secure sponsorships successfully ✅ Tips for identifying, reaching out to, and building strong sponsor relationships ✅ How to craft sponsorship packages that stand out—even for smaller events If you're ready to unlock the potential of event sponsorships, don’t miss this episode TOMORROW! Have you explored the world of event sponsorships yet? Share your experiences in the comments—what’s worked, what hasn’t, and your biggest takeaways. Let’s learn from each other! #NonprofitTips #EventSponsorships #Fundraising #NoMoneyNoMission

Carrie McIntyre and I cap off our Sales Tips for Purpose Driven Organizations series with a discussion around sponsorship proposals. We talk about common red flags we see as well as share best practices that help your proposals stand out from the competition and generate interest from your decision maker. Implement just one or two of the suggestions from this episode to make a big impact in your proposal conversion rates! Growth Owl, LLC Growth Owl Academy Link to this episode in the Comment box below ⬇ #corporatesponsorship #sponsorshipproposals #sponsorshipsales #nonprofits #associations #b2bsales #salestipsforpurposedrivenorganizations

Research shows that brands actively involved in social impact initiatives attract new customers and cultivate stronger relationships with existing ones. When you can effectively communicate how your organization can help them achieve these goals, your corporate sponsorship campaign will be well-positioned for success. #CorporateSponsorship #nonprofits #fundraising

Navigate's Carrie McIntyre and I are excited to present the first in a series of Sales Tips for Purpose Driven Organizations! These tips are perfect for any nonprofit, association, or purpose driven organization looking for guidance in the area of sponsorship sales, partnerships, and general resource support! This first episode is a quick under 2 minute watch: Understanding the Importance of Your Organization's Value before Soliciting Sponsors! We'll be posting a new tip each week throughout the Spring! We hope you find these tips beneficial as you enhance your organization's sponsorship efforts! Link to the first episode is in the comment section below. ⬇ Growth Owl, LLC Growth Owl Academy #sponsorshipsales #corporatesponsorship #nonduesrevenue #associations #sponsorshipsalestips #nonprofits #sponsorshiptraining

📢 Attention Association Leaders! Failing to understand how your corporate supporters make funding decisions can be a costly mistake. In our Q3 2024 article collaboration, Bruce Rosenthal and I discuss common mistakes to avoid and tips to prevent losing out on corporate support opportunities due to bad timing. 🎯 Don't let misaligned timelines hinder your sponsorship efforts. Learn how to engage your sponsors effectively and maximize their support. 💡 We'll tackle common mistakes like: *Renewing Sponsorships Too Late *Reduced Support Due to Timing *Late Conference Sponsorship Requests *Repeated Requests Leading to Flat Budgets *Assuming Existing Sponsors will not Want to Hear about New Initiatives *Unclear Value Proposition Access a link 🔗 to the full article in the comments box below ⬇ #Associations #NonProfit #Sponsorship #CorporateSupport #CorporateSponsorship #AssociationLeadership #Fundraising #EngagementStrategies Growth Owl, LLC Growth Owl Academy

Tap into the network of your board members. They are more connected than you know it. Some have worked with some of the biggest corporations you know of. Others are connected to CEOs, CSR directors, business owners etc. They may also be related or acquainted with these groups of business executives. Without harnessing this rich source of sponsorship network, you may end up leaving quality funding, resources and support on the table. In business, there's what we can the low-hanging fruits. These are your low-hanging fruits. You need to harvest these opportunities before spending resources on reaching out to prospects outside your circle. A Houston school campaign organization I worked with was able to meet its entire annual budget by simply using this strategy. How then do you harness your board member’s network? Simple! Create a sponsorship portfolio for each board member. This should contain their official emails, marketing messages to their network, fundraising appeal letters and emails, sponsorship proposals with their names on them, etc. You can even go as far as working with them to create a list of business owners they know. They can begin to reach out to these individuals daily using the tools you've provided them. This way, they can support your sponsorship campaign and actively contribute to funding the organization. Reach out to your board members and get them to start supporting your campaign today. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. #sponsorship #nonprofit #fundraising #funding

Association’s foundations need revenue and revenue diversification. However, generating sponsorship revenue can be challenging. Therefore, I was delighted to speak at the Association Foundation Group’s EDGE Conference yesterday. Topics in my presentation included: ⏩ Understanding sponsorship trends ⏩ Conducting a sponsorship self-assessment  ⏩ Identifying association foundations’ and association members’ needs ⏩ Conducting exploratory interviews with prospective sponsors ⏩ Identifying value propositions for sponsors ⏩ Developing a sponsorship strategy See link to AFG in first Comment. #nonduesrevenue #nonprofitfundraising  #sponsorships #corporatepartnerships #associationmanagement  #corporatesponsorship #corporatepartners #associations #fundraising Paula Eichenbrenner, MBA, CAE, Brynne MacCann, Luke Driscoll, David M. Coyne, CFRE

Part of my responsibility in enhancing the corporate sponsorship program of an association involved compiling a comprehensive list of competitors. My intent was to create one “Competitive Analysis” PowerPoint slide with information I gleaned from my research. The list grew to two slides; the list continued to expand so I decreased the font size. The final compilation included a 75 entries, a testament to the breadth and diversity of competitors vying for the attention of both the association's members and potential sponsors. We addressed ways to mitigate the impact of competition on associations during the recent webinar “How the Competitive Landscape has Changed for Associations and What to Do About It”. See the link to access the recording in the first Comment. #nonduesrevenue #nonprofitfundraising  #sponsorships #corporatepartnerships #associationmanagement  #corporatesponsorship #corporatepartners #associations #fundraising Mary Byers Mary Amos Augsburger Tina DeNeen, EdD Fonteva Erin Lemons Jay S. Daughtry, M.Ed.

Is There Room on Your Board for One More? Recently, I had an insightful conversation with a sponsorship colleague about how they approach nonprofit partnerships differently from for-profit ones. Curious, I asked, "What does [a national bank] prioritize when deciding which nonprofits to sponsor?" Her response was eye-opening: 𝙒𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 '𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚'—𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙. 𝙒𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙚’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥." Intrigued, I followed up: "How many organizations do you support annually, and how many are new?" She shared: "𝙒𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 150 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙖 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 3-4 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨." That got me thinking, so I asked: "What makes one organization stand out from another?" Her answer surprised me: "𝙒𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧-𝙪𝙥𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝘽𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙. 𝙄𝙛 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙, 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣." I wondered why that mattered, and her response left a lasting impression: "𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆." This perspective shifted my thinking. It reminded me that sponsorship isn’t just about visibility or brand alignment. For many companies, it’s also about leadership development and strategic involvement. When approaching sponsors, it’s essential to understand their deeper motivations, whether that’s growing their leadership, aligning with their values, or supporting a cause they believe in. Get to know your sponsors the same way you would a friend—by understanding their true priorities. #NonprofitLeadership #SponsorshipStrategy #BoardMembership #NonprofitSuccess