Sponsorship Strategist

3 Causes of Sponsorship Revenue Stagnation

I’ll bet your organization has a practice or two that is thwarting your ability to secure sponsorship revenue, which will make or break your ability to have an event asset. Find out three causes of sponsorship revenue stagnation. Read more →

The Riff Raff Rule

If you represent a company that invests in sponsorship and has a clear strategy—in other words you appreciate the value of sponsorship and how to best leverage it to achieve your business goals—this article is not for you. This article is for companies that dabble with sponsorship. And want to get better. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Sponsorship sellers are looking out for you. Read more →

Selling corporate sponsorship: outsource to a sponsorship broker or sell in-house?

Through the years, hundreds of people have contacted me, inquiring whether my firm offers services* to represent their events or organizations and sell corporate sponsorship on their behalves. Most everyone genuinely believes that an outsourced approach would be the most efficient route to the goal of increasing unrestricted or non-dues revenue through corporate sponsorship. Some of the people who’ve contacted me convey a sense of hopefulness, as if finding someone to sell sponsorship for their event or organization would make all their financial dreams come true, like a silver bullet. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. If you’re curious about whether... Read more →

Nonprofit legal issues and sponsorship

The Nonprofit Quarterly published a well-written article by Mark D. Klimex and Jeremy J. Schirra about the legal considerations nonprofit organizations face when embarking on corporate sponsorship. Take a look, forward it to your legal counsel, and ask them good questions to make sure you're structuring your partnerships properly, minimizing exposure. Read more →

Why you need an iPhone 4s to sell sponsorship

If you're anything like me, you're crazy busy, juggling way too much, and find yourself downloading your brain onto your technology. (If you're not, how are you doing all this juggling? I'd really like to know!) If you haven't invested in the iPhone 4s yet, here's a huge reason why you might consider it. Siri. Yes, I know I'm a Johnny-come-lately with my review. Yes, I also know that sometimes Siri's responses are ridiculous if not maddening. But hear me out. Because of Siri, voice-to-text functionality is woven into many standard and third-party apps on the newest iPhone. And it... Read more →

Sponsorship 2.0: Resources you should know about, Part 2

Earlier this week, I introduced you to Emily Taylor and SponsorPark.com, which she co-founded. Today, meet Kris Mathis and his creation, SponsorPitch. Kris has more than 10 years of experience in sponsorship marketing both selling to, and representing, Fortune 500 brands. He started his career with Edelman in New York City, representing clients, such as 20th Century Fox, Johnson & Johnson, and Siemens. Prior to starting SponsorPitch, Kris served as International Product Manager for Paris-based mobile gaming startup, Gameloft, at the time named the fastest growing company in Europe by Business Week. Along the way, he has been featured in... Read more →

Sponsorship 2.0: Resources you should know about, Part 1

This week I'm profiling two sponsorship resources you should know about, SponsorPark and SponsorPitch. Before blogs and social media, before the internet, before Kim Skildum-Reid and Anne-Marie Grey wrote their Toolkits for sponsorship seekers and for sponsors, and before IEG launched its newsletter, sponsorship buyers and sellers were like the One Hundred Monkeys, who each learned a better way to eat their sweet potatotes from friends and family. (Find the story here by scrolling to the bottom.) Finally at about the one hundredth monkey, consciousness shifted, and this new way to eat sweet potatoes took hold among all the monkeys... Read more →