The fact is that unless there is a clear alignment (that is, your community of followers are also the target market of the company you are seeking sponsorship from) you aren’t ever going to be able to command the kind of investment from these companies that you want.

And it certainly won’t create the kind of impact or transformation for your organisation you are looking for!

When thinking about which potential sponsors might be interested in your For-Purpose organisation or event, it can really help to start closer to home.

Your community of followers are the ones that hold the key to your undeniable success.

I believe that there is an abundance of sponsorship available to the sector, but traditionally we have not been going about building relationships the right way.

Some good questions to ask yourself before you throw the doors open and approach a company for sponsorship would be things like:

• Which profession, industry, sector or community does your organisation represent?

• What needs, desires, solutions are your community of followers looking for?

• What common demographics and psychographics do your supporters share? Age, sex, social media preferences and so on.

• Which companies do your supporter-base currently do business with/buy products and services from?

• What competitors might these companies have that you could approach?

These types of questions are a great place to start because they will help you see the commonalities among your followers and then begin to understand which brands are looking for access to your supporter-base.

I’m not saying that an airline, bank, grocery or car sponsor isn’t for you, I just invite you to dive more deeply into your community to see who else is out there wanting access to a target market they aren’t fully doing business with.