Dear Sponsorship Seeker,

You’ve sent me a proposal/emailed me/come into my office and told me…

• We’re a not-for-profit
• We’re a charity
• We’re an event
• We help sick people
• We save lives
• We need help
• We’re the largest
• We’re the best
• We’re unique
• We’re the pioneers in our industry or profession
• We do the best research
• We’re the only ones who do this
• We’ve been doing this for 30+ years
• We’re local
• We’re national

By telling me all of this information, you thought you were differentiating yourselves from the rest of the non-profit sponsorship seekers who regularly approach us – your competition.  But you didn’t.  I finished your proposal/ read your email/ concluded our meeting and I still don’t know why any of the information you presented matters to me.

If you truly want to stand out from your competitors, I want to know one thing and one thing only:

Why your organisation or event matters to me and
how it assists with my specific needs, wants and goals.

You’re a charity… so what?  You’re national, local, regional… who cares?  You’re unique…  isn’t everyone these days?

None of these ‘facts’ mean anything unless you connect the dots for me.

Share with my WHY those aspects should matter to me and you have my interest, but just ‘cut and paste’ that information in a message and please don’t be surprised if you never hear from me again.

I also want to offer you some words of caution.  Please stop asking for ‘sponsorship’ or a ‘partnership’ if you are only offering to put my logo on your website.  That is a donation because once you take the money, you forget that I might have things I’d like to get out of this relationship.  I can get the same effect from advertising.

I am looking for creative solutions, I truly am.  I just need to understand why I should invest in you, given all my other choices – including the choice to do nothing.  Help me see the relevancy in what makes you different, and you have a very good chance of getting my investment.

Sincerely,

Your potential sponsor