Corporate Sponsorships for Nonprofits | How to Boost Support

Today’s consumers are incredibly philanthropic-minded, incentivizing companies to connect with charitable causes and organizations. In fact, 85% of consumers have a more positive image of a company that gives to charity. For nonprofits, this trend highlights increased opportunities to secure corporate sponsorships.

However, securing corporate sponsorships isn’t always easy. You might have a few questions, such as:

This guide will answer these top FAQs. We’ll also help maximize your corporate sponsorship outreach opportunities by discussing best practices you can implement for your sponsorship solicitation process.

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How do corporate sponsorships work?

What do you imagine when you think of corporate sponsorships? Perhaps it’s a large corporation sponsoring a 5K run or a grocery store asking you to round up your purchase and donate to a cause. In reality, sponsorships can be much more varied and creative.

At their core, corporate sponsorships allow businesses to align themselves with a charitable organization or cause by providing financial donations or other forms of support. They’re an excellent way for nonprofits to bring in additional revenue for their fundraising events and campaigns without additional overhead or costs.

There are two main types of corporate sponsorships:

The two main types of corporate sponsorships, also listed below

  • Fundraising sponsorships support a nonprofit through specific events or campaigns. Corporations can donate money, volunteers, auction items, food & beverage, underwriting expenses, and more. These sponsorships can significantly boost a nonprofit’s bottom line by helping to offset operating costs and other fees.
  • Organization sponsorships support nonprofits year-round through regular giving and involvement. This includes corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns, program sponsorships, in-kind gifts, pro-bono support, and more.

In exchange for these benefits from sponsors, nonprofits are usually expected to promote, advertise, and highlight their corporate partners in a variety of their marketing materials and communications, including key fundraising campaigns.

How can a nonprofit obtain corporate sponsors?

Finding corporate sponsors can be a daunting task for nonprofits. After all, corporations might have hundreds of charitable organizations asking them for financial donations or other involvement.

So, how can a nonprofit stand out from the crowd? Here are a few ideas to get started:

A few ways to get corporate sponsorships for nonprofits, also listed below

Leverage your board members

Nonprofit board members are often highly connected, well-respected community members. Many hold full-time positions with thriving businesses and corporations. This makes your nonprofit’s board a great starting point when looking for corporate sponsors!

Map out your board connections: where they work, who they know, and so on. This potential sponsor network mapping is an easy way to formulate a quick but comprehensive corporate sponsor target list.

Build a sponsorship packet with important details and answers to top FAQs—board members can use this packet to secure an introduction or donation from their contacts, local businesses, and employers.

Talk to friends, family, and peers

Don’t underestimate the power of your personal connections! Social proof is a huge motivator in today’s charitable world—just look at the success of peer-to-peer fundraising, for example. People and businesses give to those they know and the causes their connections support.

Maybe your uncle’s company is looking for a charity to sponsor, or your cousin’s wife has a start-up looking to break into the corporate sponsorship world. Post on LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media sites to gauge interest from your peer circle.

Additionally, talk to top volunteers, donors, and employees about who they know and create a network of connections. Casting a wide net for personal relationships is important in fostering corporate sponsorships that help you grow your nonprofit.

Plan your outreach strategy

Compile a list of local or regional businesses with advertised or established sponsorship programs. Then, map it back to your connections network to see if you have any easy targets and where your connections are in the community. Businesses that belong to both these groups are your ideal first targets to contact for sponsorships, as they’re more likely to respond positively to your outreach.

Whether you reach out via email, phone, or personal connection, soliciting corporate sponsorships is all about creating value. Lead with your mission, create an emotional connection, and emphasize the value a corporation stands to gain by partnering with your nonprofit.

Offer various incentives

While most corporate sponsors have their own reasons for wanting to align themselves with a nonprofit cause (more on this later), sometimes they need a little incentive to take that first step. However, there’s no right or wrong way to handle this. Ask yourself: What unique benefits can you offer sponsors that will really catch their attention?

For instance, nonprofits generally promote their sponsors in their marketing materials. Here are a few promotion-related incentives you could offer:

  • Include your corporate sponsors’ logos on your online giving and ticketing pages. If you have tiered sponsorships (where gold is the highest giving amount, silver is the second-highest, and so on), feature different-sized sponsor logos for the different tiers.
  • Feature your sponsors’ branding on all event materials, including your mobile bidding interface, event scoreboards, and scrolling ticker messages. This digital visibility can be a massive value-add that attracts corporate sponsorships.
  • Create a dedicated sponsor page on your website, showcasing the logos of your most generous corporate partners. For a great example, check out how Crisis Text Line’s partnerships page prominently displays partners’ logos in distinct categories. Include CTAs encouraging companies to reach out and sponsor your nonprofit.

Other incentives might be based on their involvement. For example, if you’re hosting a fundraising event, offer free tickets to your sponsors. You might even organize a VIP after-party, where your sponsors, major donors, and board members can mingle with each other. This allows them to form other connections that can benefit their company, increasing the value of your nonprofit’s sponsorship opportunity.

Perfect your sponsorship letter

Writing personal sponsorship appeals is a tried-and-true way of securing corporate partnerships. However, when so many of these letters are coming through a corporation, nonprofits must be able to get to the point quickly and build a connection between the corporation and their philanthropic cause.

Create a sponsorship letter template that allows you to make a connection between your nonprofit, the company’s brand, and the impact their sponsorship can make. Clearly outline the tangible benefits that your partnership can provide to sponsors, and try to propose a plan that is as structured as possible. This will give both parties more ground to work out the perfect arrangement.

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What are the benefits of being a nonprofit corporate sponsor?

While corporate sponsorships are clearly beneficial to nonprofit organizations, they also offer unique benefits to the sponsors themselves. Nonprofit professionals must be aware of these benefits, as they provide great talking points when soliciting sponsors. Highlight them in your sponsorship FAQ packet and constantly update your sponsorship perks to keep long-term and new sponsors happy and involved with your organization.

A few perks corporations can gain from becoming corporate sponsors for nonprofits include:

Benefits of corporate sponsorships for businesses, also listed below

Brand Awareness

While event sponsorship might not bring in immediate business, it helps consumers associate a brand name with a specific cause—or at least with corporate giving and generosity. Additionally, corporate sponsorships put brand names in front of new audiences outside the company’s typical audience profile, which can increase the business’s brand awareness in new circles.

Financial Incentives

Many corporations engage in sponsorships and donations partly because of the available corporate tax breaks. Not only that, but partnering with nonprofits in other ways (by providing volunteers, supplies, or auction items, for example) can also lead to additional relationships and connections that the business can leverage to boost its future profitability.

Corporate Reputation

Corporate sponsorships can majorly impact a corporation’s overall reputation with employees, consumers, and other organizations. Just take a look at these statistics:

  • 77% of consumers want to purchase from companies with corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
  • 73% of investors look to invest in companies that improve the environment and society as a whole.
  • Nearly 70% of employees say they wouldn’t work for a company without a strong purpose.

Corporate sponsorships are an opportunity for businesses to align with philanthropic causes. Their audiences will associate their brand with a general sense of social good and the charitable cause itself, resulting in greater business success and more revenue.

Securing Corporate Sponsorships for Nonprofits

Attaining corporate sponsorships is well worth your effort. With a mutually beneficial partnership, nonprofits receive the support they need to further their cause, and businesses get a positive bump in reputation that helps them generate more revenue. A great sponsorship is truly a win-win—you just need to know how to communicate that to obtain a partnership successfully.

Interested in learning more about nonprofit fundraising and sponsorships? Check out these resources:

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