Getting to speak to the correct person with regards to sponsorship is always key. The two departments that are responsible for for sponsorship are the Marketing Department and the Corporate Social Investment/ Responsibility Department. (CSRI)

Finding these people either takes many hours trawling the company websites or phoning directly and asking the receptionist-whichever works for you is best. 

After about my 425th cup of coffee, aching eyes and tired ears from listening to the same responses, I realised that the best department to go through is the marketing department. The reason being is  that they have to somehow market the benefits of what they are doing/donating on behalf of the company so even if it does end up going through the CSRI department, Marketing will still have to be involved. Marketing is also the better option because they are keen to listen as they’re always looking for new marketing angles and idea.

During every phone call I’d jot down any bit of information related to the person and company that I was speaking to. The contact details are a must, but also some of the decision makers-related to proposals-only meet every quarter. It is good to find out this information and send through a courtesy mail or call just before the meeting. It’s also good to make contact afterwards to find out the progress. I also found that I started out speaking to one person but by the end of it I was dealing with someone totally different and in another department. I’ve now come to know many PA’s to MDs all around the country. 

Write down the details of every person you speak to and their direct numbers so as to avoid possible screening in the future. It’s also good to write a short note after the call-if someone promised to forward the proposal to another person-get their name and write it down for future reference.

So now I get through the relevant person and give him/her my blurb about what I’m wanting. I can’t remember the amount of times I heard “Sorry this doesn’t fall under our responsibility banner”,”Sorry but our funds have been allocated for this year” or

“Please forward us your proposal and we’ll consider it.”

I’ve now come to realise that I’m not the only one who is out there seeking sponsorship and companies are inundated with calls from the likes of me.

Initially I thought my proposal was so hot that I just contacted one company and forwarded the proposal to the decision maker whom I knew- and sat back and waited for a positive response. 4 weeks later you can only imagine my disappointment when the answer I was hoping for  never came. In fact they refused it outright. A couple of gloomy days followed from there on but I soon realised that  it’s better to go after as many potential sponsors as possible- because sponsorship can always split over more than one company. It is a numbers game and the more companies approached the more chance of success.

As mentioned previously the sponsoring company needs to get something out of it and they want a detailed proposal. This is usually emailed but some foundations ask for it to be posted.

Below is  the content headings, which mapped out my proposal. But before we go there I just want to say that there are foundations that assist in sponsorship and here are two links worth looking at. www.firstrandfoundation.org.za and www.tshikululu.org.za

Below is my contents heading page:

PROPOSAL

(SPONSORING COMPANY)


Table of Contents

Pg

History of Calm In Storm                                                                                        3

Calm In Storm’s Aim                                                                                                3

Strategy                                                                                                                      4

Proposal                                                                                                                     4

Object and Goals                                                                                                      5

Indicators of Success                                                                                             5

Key partners and links to other organisations                                                  6

Current Sponsors                                                                                                     6

Specific Project Needs                                                                                           6-7

Project Budget                                                                                                           7

Financial Statements                                                                                                8

Project Sustainability Plan                                                                                      8                                        

(SPONSORING COMPANY)’s Role                                                                          8                

Project Implementation                                                                                           8

Banking Details                                                                                                          8

Registration Details                                                                                                  8

Contact Details                                                                                                           9

Appendix 

AI’s – The Magic that’s Ours

AI’s – The Power that’s Ours

Book reviews -The Magic that’s Ours

Book reviews- The Power that’s Our

Talk Reviews

Workshop details

List of schools Gary has spoken at

 

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