Sponsorship Strategist

Let 'Em Go: 5 Reasons to Part Ways with Corporate Sponsors

For your sponsorship program to evolve, you may need to let certain relationships go. It’s normal. It’s healthy, and it’s more profitable for you. And it also might be causing you a bit of stress just reading this. I get it. Read more, then download the report. Read more →

A Sponsorship Relationship Mantra

If you can adopt this intention for your sponsorship relationship building, you’ll attract great partners and have some fun, too. Read more →

The Bad Deal

You have three choices when you’re presented with a bad deal. Read more →

Don't ask about ROI if you're not really a sponsor

Several corporate representatives recently have asked me about the ROI of their nonprofit sponsorships. They’re wondering how they should be structuring these partnerships for the best results. Then they drop in an important detail. Read more →

10 signs you have a great partner

You're overwhelmed with proposals. You may have success criteria for your sponsorship, but what about for your partners? Here are 10 signs of a successful sponsorship relationship. Read more →

What to consider when you consider sponsorship of a nonprofit organization

If your corporation is going to be strategic about its support of nonprofits — via philanthropy and through sponsorship investments — you have to be intentional about your partnerships, not just accept any opportunity that comes along. Corporations that only think sports when it comes to sponsorship (70 percent of all sponsorship dollars go to sports entities) are missing huge swaths of consumers. Plus they are competing with a lot of other sponsors. Plenty of excellent nonprofit organizations can be fantastic partners, and you’ll stand out from your competition. Here are the essential questions I recommend considering at three stages of your relationship with a nonprofit organization. Read more →

Sponsorship and relationships

Not all sponsorship deals work out. When they don't, things can get awkward. Learning from a personal experience what can happen when you don't continue to build a relationship. Read more →

Sponsorship relationships in balance

Getting the balance right is what leads to a great, long-lasting relationship. Read more →

What you can learn from Jay Z and Barney’s about choosing your partners

You may have heard about the sticky situation Jay Z found himself in just before the holidays. About to launch his line of branded merchandise, Jay Z’s retail partner Barney’s became embroiled in controversy, accused of racial profiling. According to reports, in separate incidents, police stopped and questioned two black customers who’d just purchased items at the luxury retailer and left the store. Barney’s conducted an investigation and found that no employees were involved in the police officers’ actions. Jay Z refused to back out of his deal with the retailer — though he gave himself an out pending the... Read more →

Time change

I don't know about you, but the Daylight Savings Time change has got me all mixed up. My sleep patterns are off, I feel groggy, and I'm racing to reestablish my circadian rhythm. Just like our bodies' biological rhythms, sponsorship development has a rhythm, too. Are you in the optimum rhythm? Or do you feel a little off? Here are few signs to help you recognize that you're off-beat. Stressed. You're feeling super-stressed about landing sponsors ASAP because your event is only a couple months away. Conflicted. You really should be tending to other tasks and activities to ensure that... Read more →