Have Your Cheez Doodle and Eat it Too

I recently was following a Wise Snack truck and on the back there was a "seal" claiming that they were the official "Cheez Doodle" of the Boston Red Sox. Who knew? This is not an uncommon sight in this location. I've seen the official yellow pages, office supplier, and tire company to name a few random ones. The Red Sox are very good at selling sponsorships for the team and there is obviously no end to what you can be the official sponsors of!

Non profits can learn a lot from this model. If you've got it--sell it! So often, the non profits that I work with on fundraising are afraid to ask for money or do sponsorship programs outside of the traditional. But I have found in my experience that by finding creative items to sell as part of a fundraising event you are able to cross several price points ($5K and $10K sponsors are harder to find) and make it more fun for the purchaser. Yes the companies purchasing are wanting to support a worthwhile cause, but why can't they benefit in the equation. In essence, have your cheez doodle and eat it too!

Here are just a few fun sponsorships that have been selling very well on our events:

Signature Cocktails--allow the sponsor to select and name a signature cocktail and team it with branded napkins

Photo Opp--create a large scale banner to have at the entrance of your event (who doesn't want to have a red carpet experience) and sell logo space on the banner. Their brand will be in every event photo.

Snack Attack--at an upcoming golf tournament we sold branded, reuseable snack bags that will be given to each golfer to nosh on during the 18 holes. You can sell water bottle sponsorship in addition.

Limelight--for potential sponsors that would enjoy time in the limelight, you can sell the ability to present an award or other on stage acknowledgment.

If in doubt, ask your potential sponsors what they would like to sponsor or how they would like to bring their expertise to your next event.