Fete Sponsorship

Sponsorship is possibly the most overlooked and underestimated ingredient to a successful fete, by offsetting the cost of running your fete (sometimes completely) and increasing your revenue.

Sponsors can provide:

• financial assistance by donating cash to pay for equipment hire or reimburse volunteers
• in-kind help such as paying for signs or printing marketing materials
• vouchers and prizes for raffles and auctions.

But be aware: you won’t be the only one seeking support. That means you will need to start early, know how to ask and what to offer in return. It’s also important to be open-minded when searching for sponsors - no business should be considered too big or too small, or because you may think their product/service isn’t immediately relevant. Finding the perfect sponsor is about being creative.

In-kind Sponsorship

‘In-kind’ Sponsorship is an alternative to cash sponsorship, and can often be more achievable for small businesses who might not have the cash flow to hand over $500 to your fete.

‘In-kind’ sponsorship involves goods and services - all the ‘stuff’ that’s needed - that reduce your costs and contribute to your bottom line. This can include:

• coffee machine hire
• electrician services
• sausage sizzle food
• promotional flyers
• graphic design services

These, and many, many more goods and services, including stall volunteers, could be provided by local businesses as ‘in-kind’ sponsorship.

Remember though, a sponsor wants more than to feel good about supporting your event. There needs to be a quantifiable ‘something’ in return: help to reach a particular market segment, raise its profile, and sell more of its products or services.  Stats on school or club enrolment numbers, catchment area and demographic breakdowns can help your case, as can examples of past success.

Sponsorship Proposals

Be prepared and professional when approaching businesses. Have a detailed proposal document ready which clearly outlines:

• The details of the fete- time, date, location
• What levels of sponsorship you are offering and what they get in return
• Precise details about when money needs to be deposited, bank account details, where to deliver prizes
• Contact details for the Fete Convenor, Principal and Sponsorship Coordinator
• Place for them to sign and provide contact details 
• Your policy on competing businesses - will certain levels of sponsorship ensure exclusivity? Ie. if a real estate agent is a Gold Sponsor (say $1,000) does this mean they will be the only real estate agent allowed to be a sponsor?

TIP: Never rely on a verbal agreement. Always get your commitment in writing and provide your sponsor with a signed copy of the agreement so if the original contact person leaves the business, their replacement or colleagues know that they need to honour the sponsorship commitment.

Make sure you keep an accessible and central record of all approaches and outcomes, especially if you have more than one person looking for sponsors. There’s nothing worse than a company being contacted more than once for a donation. Similarly, it’s helpful information to pass onto the next organising committee - so they can have a clear idea of which businesses said yes and no. However, remember that just because a business was able to sponsor your event one year, doesn’t automatically mean they will be able to do it the next time.

Levels of sponsorship

It’s common to offer multiple levels of sponsorship, with greater prestige and promotion for higher-level sponsors. How much you ‘sell’ the Gold, Silver or Bronze levels for will depend on your event budget, and what they get in return will also vary from school to school.

Be creative when seeking sponsors - small businesses might not be able to sponsor your event for $1,000 but they might be able to donate $50 or $100 in return for something unique and relevant to them. A hairdressing salon might be able to sponsor the Crazy Hair Stall, while a Pet Supply Shop might sponsor a petting zoo and a nursery might sponsor a Succulent Stall.

TIP: ‘Brown’ level sponsorship: sponsor a Portaloo. We thought it would be fun to have signs on each portaloo door with the Brown (or Yellow) sponsors with some toilet humour. For example, “Toilet paper - what a rip off! Portapotty sponsored by ABC Plumbing'' or “Did you hear the joke about the toilet? Never mind, it’s too dirty. Portaloo sponsored by The Pool Cleaning Guy''.

Typical offerings include:

• Logos on Fete promotional material and signage
• The opportunity to display flags, signs and promotional material during the event
• Promotion and shout-outs on social media
• Mentions in school newsletters
• The opportunity to have a stall or stall naming rights
• A chance to advertise directly to school community (via flyers, newsletters, emails or an event)
• VIP treatments (a sponsors tent, dedicated parking, meal voucher, rides pass, gift basket)

Sponsors within the school community

Always start by searching for sponsors within your community (for example, the families who make up your school. Parents, carers and grandparents can contain a goldmine of hidden talents, and unless you ask, you will never know who owns a catering company, whose Dad is an electrician, who lives next door to a real estate agent and who is handy with hammer and nails and can build some sideshow alley games.

Sponsorship is different from volunteering, and it will be up to your committee to figure out where the line should be drawn. Will a $50 donation of chocolate for the Lob-a-Chocolate stall be considered ‘sponsorship’ and earn that family’s hairdressing studio advertising rights on the stall, or would they need to supply hair products and a $200 cash donation towards the crazy hair stall?

When seeking sponsors from within the school community, you can ask for cash donations and prizes, or in-kind support such as:

• A parent who owns a catering business might be able to supply food items at wholesale prices or donate the use of a mobile coolroom for the day.
• A parent who works in a large business might be able to provide bundles of token prizes such as stickers, balloons, pens, caps or water bottles.
• A local dentist might provide a cash donation (sponsoring the sweet stall for example?)
• A family who owns a restaurant might donate a voucher for a meal that can be raffled or auctioned.
• Someone who has a construction business might be able to arrange portaloos or portable spotlights at heavily discounted prices.
• A parent who is an electrician might offer to do all the electrical checks.
• A parent who is a professional photographer might offer to donate a package for a prize and take photos during the event.
• Someone’s parent who is in a band might be able to perform and supply all the PA and speaker systems for the day.

TIP: Thanking sponsors is of the utmost importance. Karen took this to a whole new level by inviting sponsors to the fete. She requested that they come at a certain time and then offered drinks and canapés in a ‘Sponsors’ tent’ as a show of appreciation. This seasoned fundraiser wasn’t only being appreciative: she was ensuring sponsors had no hesitation in saying ‘yes’ to continued support! And of course, their generosity was recorded in the fete manual.

Things that make sponsors happy

• Nurturing your relationship and encourage loyalty to the sponsors by promoting them within your group through the year and in non-fete years.
• Updating sponsors on event progress
• Publicly thanking your sponsors before, during and after your event
• Being seen to be using the sponsors’ goods and services
• Inviting them to be a part of your fete – presenting a prize, drawing the raffle, giving a speech. They might be ‘businesses’ but now is the time to treat them like friends - perhaps with a voucher for a free meal, or a rides pass for their kids
• Including your sponsors’ names in media releases and promotional materials – and send a copy to the sponsor
• Doing ‘shoutouts’ on your socials
• Living up to your part of the deal, without exception. Display signage, use the logo—whatever you said you’d do, do it well. If there is months and months between signing your agreement and the event, go back back over your paperwork and remind yourself what you promised sponsors
• Following up after the fete - make sure sponsors receive a short report on the event, copies of any publicity, photos from the event and, at the very least, a handwritten letter (or certificate) of appreciation.

TIP: Don’t promise sponsors they can make a tax deduction if you don’t actually have  Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) Status. However businesses might be able to claim the amount as marketing expenses. Get advice from an accountant if necessary.

Real Estate Agents as Sponsors

Real Estate Agents often get a bad rap, but just like any local business they want to be on good terms with as many people as possible in your community so it would be remiss to disregard real estates as potential sponsors.

When you get your fundraising sponsorship team together (that’s right, I said team) make certain you have a strategic discussion about working with real estate agents, in particular about whether you will be offering exclusivity at the ‘platinum’ or ‘gold’ levels of sponsorship. Charging more at the higher levels needs to be weighed up against the potential for receiving support from multiple agents… It can be tricky, but work out what is best for your group.

Real estate agents can provide the following kind of support:

• Cold hard $$$$ (hot tip - always go for the cash!)
• Signage for your event
• Printing flyers
• Marquees
• Donation of an auctioneer for your live auction
• Supply their company car that you can fill with balloons for a ‘guess how many’ competition
• Promote your upcoming event in their own mail outs and marketing

In return, you can provide them with:

• Valuable connection to your community
• Speaking opportunity (introducing a special guest, a 2 minute spruik at an event, the opportunity to MC)
• The usual: newsletter/ website/ facebook promotion/ signage at your event
• Stall at your event
• Logo on your team t-shirts
• First right of refusal the following year
• Thank you certificate (or even better, a pic of a bunch of kids holding a sign saying ‘thank you’ that they can put on their wall and also share on social media – just get creative) 

The Potential of AI for Sponsorship Proposals

In today’s fast-paced world, securing funding for school and club projects is a critical task for volunteer committees. Writing persuasive and engaging sponsorship proposals is essential in order to attract potential sponsors and donors. However, crafting a compelling proposal is often a time-consuming and challenging task for these committees. Enter AI writing software – a powerful tool that can help school and club volunteer committees create well-structured, persuasive, and appealing sponsorship proposals with minimal effort.

AI writing software has advanced significantly in recent years, making it a valuable resource for various writing tasks, including sponsorship proposals. The benefits of using AI writing software for volunteer committees include:

Time-saving: AI writing software can generate proposals quickly, reducing the time it takes to write one from scratch. This allows committee members to focus on other important tasks, such as planning events or engaging with potential sponsors.

Consistency: AI-generated proposals maintain a consistent tone and style throughout the document, ensuring a professional and polished final product.

Customisation: AI writing software can be tailored to suit the specific needs of the committee and the target audience. It can easily incorporate the committee’s goals, objectives, and background information, making the proposal more relevant and appealing to potential sponsors.

Editing and Proofreading: AI writing software often comes with built-in editing and proofreading features, ensuring that the final proposal is free of grammatical errors and typos.

Accessibility: AI writing software is easily accessible and affordable, making it a viable option for school and club volunteer committees with limited resources.

How to use AI to help with Sponsorship Proposals

To harness the full potential of AI writing software for crafting sponsorship proposals, follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Choose the Right AI Writing Software

Research and select an AI writing software that best fits your committee’s needs and budget. Popular AI writing tools include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Jasper, among others. Compare their features, pricing, and ease of use before making a decision.

Step 2: Input Key Information and Guidelines

Once you have chosen the software, input essential information about your school or club, such as its mission, objectives, achievements, and target audience. Be sure to include specific details about the project or event for which you are seeking sponsorship.

Step 3: Customise the Proposal

Tailor the AI-generated proposal to suit your committee’s needs and the preferences of potential sponsors. Incorporate relevant statistics, anecdotes, and success stories to make the proposal more engaging and persuasive.

Step 4: Edit and Proofread

Take advantage of the AI writing software’s built-in editing and proofreading features to ensure that the final proposal is free of errors and inconsistencies. Additionally, have a committee member or an experienced volunteer review the proposal for any remaining issues or areas that need improvement.

Step 5: Add a Personal Touch

To make the proposal stand out, add a personal touch by including a heartfelt message from the committee, expressing gratitude for the sponsor’s consideration and emphasising the positive impact their support can have on the school or club.

As AI technology continues to evolve, its applications in the realm of sponsorship proposal writing will undoubtedly become even more indispensable, ultimately transforming the way volunteer committees communicate their needs and aspirations to potential sponsors.

Next Chapter >> Fete Volunteers