how to write a good proposal and sponsorship letter for a event

[alanelf]

hi i'm new here and i need some help, can anyone share with me how to write a good proposal and sponsorship letter for a event.... i organizing a charity battle of band for fundraising...i hope that you all can help me up on this

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

Though there are probably white papers about this, let me give you a few suggestions offhand:

1) Learn the format for an actual business letter. You'd be surprised how few people know that kind of thing, and appearance can make a big different. Having some kind of team letterhead is very helpful, even if it's just a logo printed on top of a page.

2) Have details of your event in the letter, and invite your sponsors to attend! Make sure they know that you are an active team, tell them about your past competitions/events, and if you are a rookie, tell them about your plans for the future.

4) Proposal vs Sponsorship...
Now, am I correct in interpreting that these are two different things? Are you proposing the event to your team leaders, and separately asking community organizations for sponsorship? Be sure to get team leader permission first.

Other than that, just get it set, and maybe ask your parents or family friends who have experience with business letters if this letter is something they would enjoy recieving and would feel compelled to respond to either with sponsorship or with positive vibes. Welcome criticism.

[Rohith Surampudi]

yep, this is a rather large task, but truly rewarding.
Edit:wow i cant read

Here are some things that you should include

*Who are you, and what are you trying to do
*why do you need money
*what is it for
*why should they sponsor you(not like "we need money", but along the lines of "we help spread science and technology across the nation so we can change the world of tomorrow, our sponsors help us change the world." or something like that"
then a brief summary of your previous statements


I can provide you with a sample if you like

[RoboMom]

check out www.firstnemo.org and go to the resources section.
"Creating a Killer Team Packet" done by Jess Boucher.
Also "25 ways sponsors can help your team."

[nparikh]

Originally Posted by Rohith Surampudi

yep, this is a rather large task, but truly rewarding.
Edit:wow i cant read

Here are some things that you should include

*Who are you, and what are you trying to do
*why do you need money
*what is it for
*why should they sponsor you(not like "we need money", but along the lines of "we help spread science and technology across the nation so we can change the world of tomorrow, our sponsors help us change the world." or something like that"
then a brief summary of your previous statements

I agree most with that bolded one. A huge part of our sponsorship brochure is dedicated to what a company would get out of sponsoring us...[well besides helping fund an amazing team, project, and group of kids ]. But regardless, companies want to hear what they'll get out of it...free publicity? helping a bunch of kids? tax breaks?
There's lots of cool stuff you can talk about.

[alanelf]

Originally Posted by Rohith Surampudi

yep, this is a rather large task, but truly rewarding.
Edit:wow i cant read

Here are some things that you should include

*Who are you, and what are you trying to do
*why do you need money
*what is it for
*why should they sponsor you(not like "we need money", but along the lines of "we help spread science and technology across the nation so we can change the world of tomorrow, our sponsors help us change the world." or something like that"
then a brief summary of your previous statements


I can provide you with a sample if you like

i will be appreciate it you could share me some sample...this si my email alanyds@gmail.com do you have msn?? if got add me alan_stylestudio@hotmail.com

[Rohith Surampudi]

ok its sent, if you have any questions feel free to PM me or IM me,

Anyone else want a copy?

[Martinez]

I've attached the Program Proposal I developed for Lockheed Martin here in the CD White Pages. They wanted alot of information, so it likely far more in depth than you will need but would be a good place to start.

[thumbalina531]

I am new to this and would love to have some sample letters to see what has been used by some of you.
Thanks
Fran

[KathieK]

Check out the "Creating a Killer Team Packet" white paper in the NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) resources section: http://www.firstnemo.org/resources.htm
It's a how-to guide for creating a packet about your team to give to potential sponsors.

[rsisk]

In addition to the other resources mentioned above...

Here is a sample that FRC2493 Team Robokong used as a proposal to Hansen's Beverage Company.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2308

We learned a lot from the resources on FRC1511 Rolling Thunder's web site which can be found here: http://penfieldrobotics.com/resources/rookies.php

[Chris_Elston]

We turn it around a bit and make it sound like they need US. For example:

For our COLD CALLS......not if we are trying to build a relationship with a sponsor.

Dear Potential Sponsor,

Today I am writing to you about an investment opportunity that is currently available with the Huntington County 4H FIRST Robotics Team. Most organizations that come to you with requests like this simply ask for a donation. With the 4H Robotics team, it's more than a donation, because it really is an investment in the future of both the 4H FIRST Robotics team, and your organization. As a sponsor, you will have the unique opportunity to closely align your products, services and your organization with the young minds of future Engineers, Managers, Scientists, Health and Safety Professionals, and more. Through an investment in the 4H Robotics team you really get a chance to make a first impression with the hard working, dedicated and creative young individuals that will soon become the future workforce of Indiana and specifically here in Huntington.

and so on ....

[Boydean]

One of the best pieces of advise we were given about this is to put down how much you are asking of them. It might seem cheap at first, but once explained to us it really made since. Most of the time the people who make decisions of who to give money to don't want to come up with a number(nor do they have the time to), its there plain and simple.

An example that we use is "We are asking of (so&so) to make a contribution of $000 or more. Please make checks payable to (so&so)."

Just two lines that they can eat on. We also found that putting who to write the check to in bold helps to cut down questions quite a bit.

And then from there go into what the funds will help with. Once we added this to our letter we found a great deal of positive response back.

[ICntIHaveRbtics]

It's already been kind of pointed out already, but just to reiterate...

Companies love it when you make connections to their missions, values, etc. If you can find something in one of their documents, on their home page, etc. depicting their values or mission and relate it to something with FIRST, then it's very helpful!

For example, for Johnson Controls (an HVAC company that my dad works for), I connected their slogan "Ingenuity Welcome" to the fact that FIRST inspires and fosters ingenuity. Using supporting information about our team and FIRST, I approached them with that pitch.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by Chris_Elston

We turn it around a bit and make it sound like they need US. For example:

For our COLD CALLS......not if we are trying to build a relationship with a sponsor.

Dear Potential Sponsor,

Today I am writing to you about an investment opportunity that is currently available with the Huntington County 4H FIRST Robotics Team. Most organizations that come to you with requests like this simply ask for a donation. With the 4H Robotics team, it's more than a donation, because it really is an investment in the future of both the 4H FIRST Robotics team, and your organization. As a sponsor, you will have the unique opportunity to closely align your products, services and your organization with the young minds of future Engineers, Managers, Scientists, Health and Safety Professionals, and more. Through an investment in the 4H Robotics team you really get a chance to make a first impression with the hard working, dedicated and creative young individuals that will soon become the future workforce of Indiana and specifically here in Huntington.

and so on ....

Hmmmm .... I might have to steal part of this