The purpose of seeking sponsorship from a company or individual is to convince them to provide the monetary funding for a special project you are involved with. Since you are requesting money from them, you must make every effort to convince them that funding your project will be a valuable asset for them.
Before you start writing your sponsorship letter, you need to determine several items to present to them. Firstly, you need to establish just how much funding you will be needing from their company. An open-ended “anything you can spare” letter will come across more as begging than as a business proposal.
Once you have started your letter you should clearly and briefly describe your organization and what benefits it provides to the people it is serving. Links to other successful efforts you have made with this project will help establish your credentials and responsibility. If this is a new effort you are seeking sponsorship for then you will need to explain who this project will help and why. Explain why you feel this venture will be a success. You should also let them know exactly how you will use the funding to forward your cause. This will ease their concerns that they are not just giving money away for nothing.
The biggest factor in seeking sponsorship from a company is to show them how this will be a value to their business and community image. Invite a representative of the company to any news or photo opportunities that are being done for your project. Getting them involved as a visible supporter will increase your chances of them using your project as a good public relations venue. Offer to work with their public relations team to give them best exposure as a concerned and caring company. Adding their logo to your project stationery, advertisements and promotions can be a good start. If you already have a reputable sponsor that is not a competitor, then it can help to mention the high profile groups they will be joining if they become a member of your philanthropic team.
If it is possible and you know someone in the organization, you can utilize them as an extra reference or go between to convince the company of the benefits they can garner from supporting you. A corporate officer or board member can make an effective ally for your cause. Make sure they are willing to help espouse your project to their employers before mentioning them however.
Take the time to review and rewrite your sponsorship proposal letter. Make sure you are saying all that needs to be said without losing focus or adding unnecessary detail that will only make your letter a burden to read. Double check your spelling and grammar with a good spell checking program like MS Word. Even the best letter can be sabotaged by poor spelling or sentence structure. Make sure to separate each subject clearly so your document is easy to read. The added advantage to this is for ease of modification when rewriting it for multiple potential sponsors.
However much you want to say to convince them of your worth, you should keep your letter short enough to fit on a single page. Businesses are constantly being asked for sponsorships and will usually not take the time to read a long letter. Make sure to give accurate instructions for how to contact you and that you are willing to answer any questions they may have. A friendly easy-to-approach contact person on your team will greatly increase your chances of convincing the company to sponsor your project.
Follow up on your letter with a phone call after a few days. Inquire if they have had time to review your request first and be willing to set up later appointments with them at their convenience to discuss further details of the proposal. Having your details organized and handy for the follow-up potential meeting is of the utmost necessity. It is not likely the company will sponsor you merely on the merits of one letter. So use it to the best advantage to get them interested so you will be able to convince them of your worth face to face.
