It takes the right amount of attitude and attitude to get things done. This is also applicable in trying to attain financial backing from donors. A number of essential skills are required, and one of these is the ability to ‘sell yourself’ to land a deal.
One way of ‘selling yourself’ or your idea is through writing. Before any face-to-face meeting is established in any deal-making, there is always the preliminary of formal and matter-of-fact introduction and purpose that needs to be done. Writing a successful letter is a very good way of getting noticed.
Getting financial backup or sponsorship by the ‘big time’ businesses is something that should not be unplanned. The skills needed in creating a winning sponsorship letter are not at all difficult, but needs an amount of thinking to be effective. Below are what to consider when writing a sponsorship letter, and will help create a positive response from the organization you have chosen.
Consider this.
You should have a variety of candidate sponsors in mind that you want backing up your event; but also consider the interest each sponsor has. Similar interests among all sponsors should be targeted. Carelessly choosing any organization to sponsor your event will most likely generate bad results.
Research is essential in choosing sponsors. Taking note of the cultures of sponsors in relevance to your business or event is important and proves helpful when addressing key issues when writing your letter.
Another important point to consider is what the company will get in return if they decide to sponsor. You should understand that sponsorship is basically give-and-take, and the appeal of gain for corporations is a key in getting them as sponsors. Money is not just thrown away by big companies so it is ideal to consider what form of exposure they will get.
Your letter’s format
In putting together your sponsorship letter, it is best to be direct to the point. No one wants to read a letter and have to guess the reason for reading it. A short pleasantry followed by the ‘asking’ part will give immediately point out what you want and eliminate any wading that will merely board the organization.
Below is a breakdown on how your letter should more or less be arranged.
First Paragraph – This part should be an introduction of your event or business and the amount of money you want donated. It is essential to keep this brief and not too much word of flattery or embellishment.
Second Paragraph – This part should be a more detailed account on the benefits of your event that you provide, such as non-profit programs and the like.
Third Paragraph – This area in your letter showcases a personals story form one of customers or clients, letting the potential sponsor see the impact you make on those who patronize your business and the kind of good it brings them.
Fourth Paragraph – In this paragraph you should state the levels of sponsorship and basically discuss what the corporation will get in turn if they decide to sponsor your event based on different financial amounts.
Fifth Paragraph – Don’t beg, but be clear on stating your need for assistance. Re-state your reason for writing, the amount you prefer to be given and how beneficial it would be to them, you and your customers.
Last Paragraph – As with most letters of request, always include a ‘thank you’ part in the last paragraph. Thank them for taking the time to evaluate and considering the letter. Also provide in this area the means for contacting you, and your intention of staying in touch by including a follow-up call.
It is plain to see that small business organizations outnumber that of big-time corporations. The span of small business ventures are is very wide and most often have few means of marketing due to financial constraints.
Whether the business is that of a pet shop, a small grocer, or a bookstore, there is still advertising involved. Believe it or not, the tool that can be included in such advertising is corporate sponsorship. It doesn’t necessarily mean that this kind of sponsorship is only made for big businesses – if that were the case, then sponsoring wouldn’t be overall effective.
It is essential to understand that capital is not the base consideration for exposure. There are many attainable opportunities in the market for small business ventures, and corporate sponsorship can prove to be a profitable investment for such.
Small business can benefit from corporate sponsorship; and below are just some of the gains that can be acquired.
What small businesses can benefit
Business visibility
As with all businesses, being known is the forefront of advertising’s use. If a business is highly visible is a steep climb, but finding means for positive visibility is even more difficult. Small businesses, due to its size, tend to become wallflowers as opposed to those big businesses and their flashy lights. With corporate sponsorship, positive visibility is easier achieved, giving a small business the opportunity to put them in the right kind of sight.
This is only possible when the right match of between a sponsor and a business is made. A small business should align itself with a sponsor that has similar culture and ethics. If the partnership is mismatched, however, the small business can suffer greatly. So it is very important as well to consider the market trends when looking out for the right kind of corporate sponsor.
Cost-efficient advertising
Advertising is usually a big bite out of spending that is made in business big and small. It is a downside but more so for small enterprises since their funds are not that vast. Corporate sponsorship is then the tool to help in alleviating such costly means of exposure.
Businesses that are small have a chance to be exposed little by little through corporate sponsorship. It is through this sponsoring that a business is given more options on advertising cost. An example of a good and inexpensive way of exposure is through conventions.
Corporations often sponsor conventions that give small business the opportunity to showcase their products and/or services. Bake fairs, often sponsored by big-named food brands, allows people to sell their baked goods and give them the publicity they need to be known.
High status attainment
Partnering with a big time company, however small a business is will eventually attain itself a VIP status. Aligning with an organization that attracts or has many patrons will catapult a small business into the big-time scene as well.
This analogy is akin to the thought that sticking with big names will allow others to remember you. This is most often true, and a business that affiliates itself with a productive sponsorship will experience such an effect.
Increase in profit
With popularity comes the gain that every business aims for. The more people know about a certain product or service, the more sales that business will generate. This is the reason why brand exposure is necessary – so that sales will be high.
Being sponsored by a corporation allows a small business has access and visibility to a vast number of potential consumers and clients, which will in turn increase profits. One thing to keep in mind also is that sponsorship will not only be the bases for sales increase, but also the quality of the product and/or service that is acquired by buyers.
Image improvement
In addition to having more exposure to the public and becoming more visible in the market, small business that are corporately sponsored also enhances their image. When a business is backed up by the right kind of sponsor, it only signifies that the product or service being sold is something to take a look at and is worthy of notice.
It is no great shock when one gets into another country through illegal means. Illegal aliens have been present ever since, and it has always been an aspect for immigration centres world-wide to keep a keen look-out for such.
There is always a desire or need for someone to live in a foreign land – be it a business or personal reason. A number of ways have been offered in allowing this, from working visas, student visas, to tourist visas. One way that is also been practiced over the years is through immigration sponsorship.
Immigration sponsorship is when one person who resides in the desired foreign land backs up the immigrant candidate. This is usually done within families, like a son or daughter petition or through marriage. Whichever way, this type of sponsorship is not something that lightly taken, but considered to be a heavy responsibility.
Immigration application
Immigration fraud entitles one to severe penalties and should not be attempted at all. Once there is proof of fraud, this eradicates any chance for the person involved to ever become an immigrant.
Since a number of people have the desire to live in the United States, the immigration process stated is based on the form I-129F, the immigration sponsorship form. This form is used when someone in the US wants to sponsor their fiancé who is foreign-born to migrate to America.
The following parts of the I-129F are discussed below.
Information on sponsor’s biography – This part has questions that should be answered correctly, since it deals with basic but important information such as name, birth date, place of birth, address of the sponsor. It also asks whether the sponsor acquired his/her US citizenship through naturalisation or birth, and inquires about any prior relationships that resulted in marriage and divorce or annulment. This inquiry is very important so that any anomalies may be settled and any suspicion on ‘convenient-marriage-for-citizenship’ may be put to rest.
Information of fiancé or sponsee – This part of the form is addressed to the sponsee, and potential immigrant. The questions asked is similar to that of the sponsor’s, only with added questions. These added questions include any prior US travels that the sponsee may have taken; and whether or not he/she is currently staying in America.
By sponsoring the fiancé, it is the sponsor’s responsibility to make sure all fields that require information on the immigration form be correctly filled.
Existing children – Another part of the I-129F is the inquiry on whether or not there are existing children for either party. The children may be between the sponsor and sponsee, or from a previous relationship by either party. Any minor child between sponsor and sponsee usually allows that child the chance to accompany the sponsee when moving to America.
Crucial information
Crucial information that is always carefully looked over is whether the sponsor or sponsee are really a couple and that they have met prior to sponsorship. It is of the utmost importance that the two parties have met because this can be a major ground for immigration dismissal.
It may seem that the reigns on immigration sponsorship are too tight, but they are strict for good reason. Immigration frauds through marriage have happened one too many times. These guidelines make sure that these illegal processes are not tolerated in any way.
Sports sponsorship can be observed and dated back to Rome and Ancient Greece where prominent society members supported the arts festival as well as the sports played. By support, it didn’t mean the proper sponsorship or patronage that was considered as a marketing tool. It rather meant continuation of such festivals and athletic events for entertainment.
Today, however, sponsorship through sports has become one of the most popular kinds of sponsorship due to the amount of exposure it can get for both sponsor and sponsee. Sponsoring an athlete or sport means that the sponsor is exchanging products or money for the right to link and associate the company name with the sporting event or athlete.
Why do organizations sponsor sports?
Aside from the popularity tag sports sponsorship gives, a number of other benefits also appeal to the company’s interest. Some of the most common benefits are given below:
Added value to brand
Companies that sponsor sports want their product or range of products to have added value when attached to a sports event or group. By value, this points to product quality, price and/or content. Companies use sports as a leverage to stand out among other competitors, and in turn create for themselves a top position where consumers can remember the name, and possibly have permanent brand recognition.
So what exactly do sports have that other types of sponsorships don’t necessarily offer? To view in terms of goals – sporting events have always had one definite output, and that is there is always a winner in the end. There is always competition; a test of which team or athlete will overcome the other, proving who is superior.
Gold medals, trophies, world records, global awareness are involved in sports and are the symbol of status of teams or athletes in a particular sport. Winners become popular enough to become household names, and this is what appeals to corporations who want to give out sponsorships. They want their name attached to that household name – which will in turn become a household name.
Major corporations such as Gatorade have applied this kind of sponsorship and come out as one of the most popular brands for beverage products. They attach themselves with major sporting events and give relevance by pointing out the benefit of the product to the athlete. This then sticks to the minds of consumers and sports enthusiast about which sports drink is the one to stick to.
Sports sponsorship does not only apply to major companies, but also to small businesses as well. The general idea of brand awareness is still applied and the only difference is the level or scale it covers.
All in all, organizations support sporting events with specific objectives, each of which is addressed below:
• Brand Awareness – this objective seeks to let consumers become aware of the product name.
• Brand Image – this objective attempts to create a specific style and/or personality that distinguishes a brand from its other competitors, and in turn may give premium pricing
• Consumer relations – corporations support sporting events to directly involve themselves with consumers and potential clients, proving that their company is capable of providing proper services and/or products
• Community relations – A more altruistic approach is for this objective wherein the company is concerned about the welfare of a community; and so supporting a sports event can make themselves know to the community
• Employee relations – this objective for a corporation is to promote employee loyalty that will in the long term be very beneficial to the business
Sponsorship can be applied in many avenues, from businesses big and small to helping out a community and even through supporting an animal. Animal sponsorship is not at all new these days, but is slowly gaining more notice that before. With all the talk and concern about our environment, it is no surprise that animal preservation is part of it.
Animal sponsorship can either be for those of domesticated or wild animals. All in all, the same concept on sponsorship is applied and that is helping the living conditions of the sponsee. Domesticated animals include pets, while those of the wild are most often found in zoos or wildlife sanctuaries.
The process in animal sponsorship is basically that same to that of child sponsorship. The only difference is that the sponsee cannot be monitored through the usual programs that are applied to human communities.
Sponsoring an animal still includes three parties – sponsor, organization, sponsee. The sponsor donates funds to the organization responsible for helping out animals, and in turn uses the funds for the well-being of the sponsee, which is either through medical or survival needs.
Benefits does not only apply to the animal
As with every partnership, the benefits of sponsorship have an impact on the sponsor and the involved organization as well. For the sponsors, the reward for saving a life is usually enough, and most often is the motivation in helping the animal in the first place.
In more of a broken-down reason, sponsors either sponsor pets or wild animals that they feel need help but which the sponsor cannot directly give. For pet sponsoring, a donor usually does this when he/she doesn’t have the time or means to take care of a pet. The desire is there but the resources for care are limited. Animal sponsorship is their alternative for situations such as these.
Wildlife preservation also works this way. Only specialists can take care of untamed animals, and help can only be provided by an outside through financial support. This way the organization that takes the sponsorship is equipped to hand out the ‘taking care’ part to those who are experts at it.
With most sponsorship, sponsors are usually recognized through giving out certificates that take not of the help they have given. Other organizations also have newsletters that inform the sponsor on any updates on the sponsee.
Moving on towards the organization, the benefits they acquire through animal sponsorship are also immense. The most important and aspired benefit is to build rapport with the public and spreading their ‘message’ to everyone.
When a sponsor advocates through a chosen organization, that organization gains exposure and will help in advertising itself to other potential donors that may be interested in promoting their cause. With more funds, there is bigger means for helping the animals and the quality is better ensured as with little funding.
Animal sponsorship also creates doors of opportunity for such institutions to ‘step up’ their game and provide a more intricate system in helping improve the quality of life for the animals involved. Using the funds for better equipment, tracking and medical care would become less important so the quality becomes more on the focus.
The potential for bigger funding is also made possible and ultimately results in a three-way return of investment for all parties.
Sponsorship, by nature, is a business affair; and as with anything that is in the arena of deals, partnerships and mergers, a legal agreement is always in the works. This is most especially practiced in sponsorship, since its form of business is through partnering with an individual or organization as a tactic for market exposure.
Protection is the key word when drawings up contracts are presented between sponsor and sponsee. This is to prevent any anomalies or set backs that may occur in the event that one party doesn’t reach the agreed upon aims.
To help in creating a legal agreement, below are guidelines and key points to consider when formulating a letter of agreement or contract between a sponsor and sponsee.
A guideline in agreement
It is important to always take a sufficient amount of time and very careful consideration when drafting a contract. This applies to all business ventures other than sponsorship a huge number of companies thrive in having partnerships. In any relationship, it is most important to think through such considerations in order to have something to ‘fall back’ on.
In sponsorship, a letter of agreement will usually be enough to seal the deal between sponsor and sponsee, but this will highly depend upon the value of sponsorship and the size of the company that is involved. If the value is very high, like that of major athletes and big time corporations, a contract is the choice most would go for.
In creating an agreement or contract, it is important to take into account the following points:
• It is best to always get a commitment in writing. A handshake or word-of-mouth agreement will never suffice.
• Write down everything that is discussed and agreed upon during sponsor-sponsee meetings
• It is good to take advice on that commitment that a sponsor or sponsee is getting into. There are consultants that specialize in these kinds of partnerships.
• An organization or individual should never commit to anything it/she/he cannot be sure to deliver. In short, promises that can’t be kept should not be made
• An agreement should be simple and direct in writing. It is best to avoid too much legal terms, although at times this cannot be done without.
The crucial point to understand when it comes to legal agreements is to have a very clear statement of what the sponsor and the sponsee has agreed to. Usually a lawyer will always point out any necessary areas in which have to clarified and put into more detail.
In order to get a view on what should be clearly stated and defined in any legal agreement or contract, the following list bellows breaks down what usually is considered between sponsor and sponsee partnerships:
• The nature of both sponsor and sponsee – whether the former is capable and relevant enough to support a person or organization; and whether the latter can live up to the needs of the sponsor in return
• Cash and benefits – this should be clearly defined as to what each party will be getting out of the partnership
• The actions involved for both sponsor and sponsee – this area should list down the roles of each party within the partnership.
• The length or contract term – The agreement or contract should also state how long such partnership between a sponsor and sponsee should last, and the terms of which a contract can be stopped or turn invalid
• Early exit – this part of the agreement is more of a ‘back up’ plan for each party, wherein if either fails to comply with its responsibilities and obligations, then there is a chance for the other party to exit gracefully.
With every successful, big time company, comes the responsibility of involving itself with community welfare and support. Whether it is through the advocacy of the environment or to the society, this responsibility showcases the company’s ability to connect and partner itself with its customers and patrons. Caltex is no exception to this.
The Caltex brand, under the Chevron Corporation, is a leader in commercial and global market of automotive diesel fuels, kerosene, industrial and marine diesel fuels, and fuel oils. Their operations cover regions of Asia-Pacific, Africa-Pakistan, Latin America, North America, and Europe – which is basically world-wide.
In ‘connecting’ with the public, Caltex has vision in promoting assistance to those who are less fortunate. Partnerships made with the company are dedicated to help those who are in need; and to assist the disadvantaged improve their lives by through helping them reach their full potential and achieve their goals.
As with all community involvement of corporations, Caltex also takes part in offering and dealing with sponsorships. Aside from its society reach-out reason, the company takes sponsorship as one of its key marketing ways in communicating with its various customers and patrons. It is through sponsoring that the company is able to associate itself with partners that have the same, if not similar, values and characteristics.
A deeper look
Caltex views sponsorship as a way of business since it involves the trading of products, services and/or money for commercial value, brand recognition, and company exposure. The company deems this marketing tool as one of its most effective ways to reach out and build valuable partnerships with various target consumers and clients.
Usually, the type of sponsorship Caltex gives out is for those who reflect the brand’s value, which is all about renewing one’s drive momentum. This is in relation with their tagline ‘What drives you’; and seeks for sponsorship proposals that exude such kind of excellence and motivation.
In typical fashion, sponsorships in the past have been associated with sports that involve speed, focus, and concentration – all of which are key elements in winning. Some sponsorship that Caltex has done in the past include: Caltex Masters Golf Tournament in Singapore, Caltex Voet Van Africa Marathon, Caltex V8 Car Championships in New Zealand, and Caltex Delo Customer Car Show in the Philippines.
Sponsorship guidelines
In choosing viable events to sponsor, Caltex uses various criteria to evaluate proposals that are submitted to them. In a minimum sense, the proposal that the company seeks out are which have the following:
• A reflection of Caltex’s brand image – these include the best in Performance, People, Partnership
• The event should be able to maximize the presence and exposure of Caltex. This can be achieved through on-site branding, use of internet, and media coverage
• Media presence should be involved which means that the event is able to generate free publicity because it presents itself as a unique, popular, innovative event.
• The type of sponsorship requested is sole sponsorship, or any type which signifies the highest level of sponsorship
• The organization giving out the proposal has a good track record in terms of viewer-ship and attendance; and has a large base of loyal followers
• There is a ‘standing out’ effect in the event which topples over competitors and has Caltex as the dominant brand of the bunch.