A practical guide for nonprofit galas, golf outings, banquets and prayer breakfasts, from the people who process sponsorships for them.
Most sponsors decide in under a minute. Give them a small number of clear choices with a visible step up between each one. A common shape is a single presenting or title sponsor at the top, a few gold or table sponsors in the middle, and an affordable supporter level that a small business or a family can say yes to.
Name the tiers after something your guests will see, such as a table, a hole, the dessert course or the program, rather than after metals alone. A sponsor can picture "Dinner Sponsor" in a way they cannot picture "Silver".
Scarcity sells sponsorships. There is one title sponsor and there are 18 holes on a golf course. Put a fixed count on each tier and show it, so a sponsor who waits knows they may miss out. Leave the bottom tier open so nobody is turned away.
Most sponsors want to attend. Build tickets into the tiers: a full table with the presenting sponsorship, a foursome with a hole sponsorship, two seats with the supporter level. The sponsor should be able to buy the sponsorship and register their guests in one checkout instead of being emailed a separate link.
List the recognition each tier earns: logo on the registration page, mention in the confirmation email, signage at the event, recognition from the stage. Specifics close sponsorships; "recognition" on its own does not.
When a sponsorship includes dinner or a round of golf, the sponsor received something in return, and in the United States a gift over $75 that includes goods or services needs a written statement of their value. Decide the fair market value of what each tier includes and put it on the receipt, so the sponsor's accountant knows how much is deductible.
Many businesses pay by check or need an invoice for their accounts payable team. Let them choose an invoice at checkout, and record the payment when it arrives, instead of holding the sponsorship until the money clears.
Sponsors budget months ahead. Open sponsorships before individual tickets, and close them once your printer needs the final logo list.
Tickets, tables, sponsorships and donations all go through one checkout, and your sponsors hear from you, not from us about other events.
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