WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT US
I can totally recommend Abby as a speaker and resource. She is knowledgeable and entertaining. Probably the most valuable training session I've taken part in, in more than 5 years.
Great session. Very relevant and current.
As a 'beginner' to the business world and as a social worker, I initially didn't know if the content would be relatable to me, however I have been pleasantly surprised. Thank you for making a difficult subject for me so relatable and digestible.
Excellent, animated speaker who was relaxed and passionate about sponsorships. The content resonated with me as it validated alot of what we already do.
Abby's workshop changed my perspective on how traditional charity sponsorship models were and how they are today. A very effective and in depth talk on strategic approaches to partnerships. I thoroughly enjoyed this training.
Thank you Abby, I feel you gave me permission to stop begging! What a fantastic workshop, I feel I learned so much and you shifted my approach to corporate fundraising in a massive way!
Abby' is an energetic, passionate and knowledgeable presenter who connected with her audience. The content of the days' workshop was highly relevant and inspiring. I would absolutely recommend her teachings.
An exceptional engager of people. Very knowledgeable about her subject, funny and very down-to-earth.
Abby is an energetic, refreshing speaker that offers quality and realistic support and a completely fresh approach to sponsorship. I left feeling motivated and positive about the prospect of future sponsorship plans.
Abby's workshop was very timely with helpful information, as we are just now setting up sponsorships. She is a passionate and inspiring speaker who is easy to listen to and learn from.
Abby's workshop followed a clearly defined step-by-step strategy which was easy to understand and supported by useful templates.
I went to Abby's workshop and texted my CEO within the first hour to thank her for sending me - my brain is buzzing! I enjoyed a wonderfully dynamic presenter taking the whole room on a process-focussed day of engaging and retaining corporate sponsorship.
A really useful workshop with a clear, logical process for looking at sponsorship. Thank you!
It is so pleasing to discover that charities can be sold as a B2B proposition. It is time for charities to get real about B2B income generation and using Abby's information and resources is how to do it. The quality of her content and sharing of personal insight was fantastic.
Abby Clemence visited my Year 11 Business Management class for an interactive session on 3rd Sector organisations. The focus was on Not for Profit organisations, extending from their quantity and structure to the increasing prevalence of partnerships with commercial organisations. Abby pitched the presentation at exactly the right level for the students. She was extremely well-resourced and accompanied her presentation with appealing visuals. Abby’s knowledge and passion were engaging. There is no doubt that the students really enjoyed her presentation.
“Having Abby come in and share her extensive knowledge on Third Sector Organisations has really expanded my vision on Not for Profit structures, how they interact with other sectors of the economy and how they create different opportunities to fund their cause.” Ethan Year 11
I am currently assisting a small NFP to gain sponsorship and support. Despite having done this type of work previously, as you mention, I'm also finding the biggest impediment to the challenge is in fact the organisations themselves. They are not sponsorship ready, have never been successful in gaining sponsorship and expect immediate results.
Regardless of this I've set about the task along similar lines to your pathway to best practice sponsorship and I found your approach, sensible, practical, well documented and following proven methodology. I'm pleased that I was already pretty well aligned to it, but importantly it provides a firm basis for vital feedback to the organisation and some positive reinforcement to myself. Thank you.
I came across your checklist and website via a Google search looking for sponsorship advice and templates which took me to a podcast you did about great ways to put together a sponsorship proposal. Your podcast was awesome! I listened to it twice, taking lots of notes and it gave me a lot of confidence that despite being inexperienced, I could do this. Plus it really helped me critically assess the value of what we were offering (I discovered I was pitching too low!) The great news is, my proposal goes in next week (to an already interested sponsor) and if I get it across the line it will all be down to that podcast, your checklist and a few other things that I have picked up along the way. By the way, your sponsorship checklist was very helpful - I haven't sourced much useful information anywhere else. Thank you!
The course was put together very well and easy to follow. The downloadable resources will be useful in the future and a good conversation starter with other team members. The message of getting the ‘Board members’ on the same page as you before you start going too far down the track of sponsorship came through loud and clear. Thanks for a great course.
I feel privileged and happy to have completed the Sponsorship Foundations program. It was a wonderful experience and most helpful as, securing any sponsorship is extremely valuable for a non profit organization like us.
CHANGE OF MINDSET
I am convinced that a charity has to work like a business to be successful and sustainable and it has to work at getting and securing sponsorships and not keep on waiting for handouts or charity.
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT IT
The whole online course is set out in a very friendly manner, it's actually more like a discussion, yet at the same time very informative and educational. It made us realize which avenues we can approach to target sponsors who would be willing to support us.
INTRODUCTORY VIDEO
The very first video 'How To Get The Most Out Of The Sponsorship Foundations Program' is very powerful as it truly defines all that can be achieved and how it can be achieved successfully through the course. It deals with handling problems faced while doing the course in the most practical and successful manner.
NEW SPONSORS
Most of our supporters are the underprivileged of our society. We always thought we could not target any sponsors as we could not offer them any potential “clients” but thanks to this program we have realised that in Pakistan, mobile telephone companies are targeting the low income demographic and we can approach them for sponsorship.
The course material, online seminars, videos and templates all are extremely helpful. I loved all the online seminars the most. The templates make our work so easy and they can be easily modified according to individual need.
This program was very good value for money and I would recommend it to anyone who needs some help looking at their organisation from a 'sponsorship' perspective.
The Sponsorship Foundations Program is unlike anything I have ever seen - very well designed, thorough and is an incredibly worthy learning tool! It provides you with the step-by-step framework you need to find the right corporate partners to invest in your organisation. Each of the 16 lessons are very informative and educational, providing many ‘Ah Ha’ moments, and was the perfect blend of theoretical and practical knowledge. I have learned a lot from the course and I am absolutely sure that I can apply everything I have learned in the real world to be a more effective and efficient sponsorship-seeker for the Not-For-Profit that I am dedicated to.
Abby is a fabulous teacher and is very knowledgeable and experienced on the whole process, providing many real-life anecdotes that I could relate to.
The examples and templates that Abby has included in each lesson of the Sponsorship Foundations program are extremely beneficial - it was such a relief not to have to try and create them all myself! I look forward to adapting them to my organisation and implementing them ASAP.
The Sponsorship Foundations program is such a thorough course that has enabled me, as the sponsorship-seeker, to learn at my own pace, have access to support when I need it, and keep the tools that I will continue to use and build upon as I further my career in sponsorship.
I look forward to being wildly successful in the whole corporate sponsorship process. What a great online training program!
Have just completed Sponsorship Foundations Program. What an amazing experience. So many ideas with practical help and templates to take to my committee and help us get real sponsorship seeking underway. We are just a small group but can see that for us this may increase our ability to put more back into the community. Seeing creating partnerships with sponsors as beneficial to both parties rather than a handout for us is a big mindshift for me. Feel that any sponsors we attract will get more out of this too. Thanks for the inspiration and practical help in equal measure.
‘I attended Abbey Clemence’s Sponsorship Master Class and was very impressed with Abbey’s engaging approach and overall content, drawing on her successes in developing sponsorships with well-known brands. I would definitely recommend attending Abbey’s Master Classes to learn how to develop engaging and lasting relationships with corporates.’
Tasked with finding a new Stadium sponsor for our city's main stadium in 2015 I was very pleased to have attended one of Abby’s seminars at the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) conference.
Up until then our sponsorship strategy was very loose and we were using the “hope for the best” mentality. After listening to Abby’s presentations and downloading some of her resources on the Infinity Sponsorship website, things changed drastically...
Abby’s talk on the best practice pathway to sponsorship success and her insights into readiness, timing and planning lead me to completely redesign our approach to sponsorship within our organisation. After applying the step by step Plan-Find-Connect-Keep principles learned from Abby we were able to close a new sponsor within months of hearing her speak.
A $2.2 million dollar, 10 year deal was reached with the Central Energy Trust for a partnership arrangement with our stadium that will assist our Council to continue to upgrade the facilities over the next 10 years.
We have also closed significant sponsorship partners for the Wildbase Recovery in Palmerston North. This facility, once built will rehabilitate New Zealand’s rarest and most endangers native birds.
It was great to attend your workshop last week, I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it, one of the best sessions of the conference for me I have to say!
It was great to attend your workshop last week, I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it, one of the best sessions of the conference for me I have to say!
Many thanks for your dynamic presentation last week, which I thoroughly enjoyed and took a lot away from it!
It was really fantastic and inspirational to meet you at the FINZ Conference and your seminars were great! I couldn't have asked for more perfect timing - starting a new job and needing the knowledge and training you provided!
Thanks so much for your free e-books on sponsorship. I really appreciate them both. Your classes at the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand conference were excellent and your dynamism is inspiring.
I feel now like I have a great idea on how to best move forward with potential sponsors. Abby's use of real life stories made it very engaging.
Great workshop - loved it! Very useful information and so practical! I have a potential sponsor meeting tomorrow and feel more confident about it already!
Excellent workshop. Engaging presenter. Great information.
Great to be here away from the job and refresh my knowledge and also remember how far I have come. Abby has great knowledge and expertise.
Great session. I was fully engaged for 3.5 hours. Excellent presentation style and genuine. Abby was prepared to share her knowledge openly and generously.
I have been in the NFP sector for just over 20 years now – and over that period have worn many different hats in an evolving organisation. A common story!
Over this time I have listened to countless presentations on a variety of subjects with equally varying benefit. However today – your whole presentation was fabulous and has left me feeling re-awakened and re-inspired. I am sure you have also motivated many who are new to this – and the ‘practical pearls’ you shared, like not needing to be a particular personality type or have special skills to be successful but rather to use the tools you offer, be organised and practice! I loved that you emphasised relationship and authenticity and backed it up with examples of what that looks like.
You are a great example of when we truly believe in what we do it motivates others to want to be a part of it!
I believe NFP Boards would realise a wonderful investment in both their people and the health of the organisation they govern, by offering this opportunity of learning and support.
I’ve done online courses before but I have never experienced anything like the quality and focus of the Sponsorship University. I’m a real beginner with sponsorship and I feel like my capacity and understanding has been transformed as a result of completing the Sponsorship Foundations Program.
The Sponsorship University is grounded in the reality of the not for profit sector. It takes a big picture view of the issues around developing sponsorship partnerships and then takes the learner through the practical steps of understanding and developing the materials. I can’t believe the quality of the templates which take so much work out of the process and have given me new confidence with how to approach sponsorship.
Abby’s thorough knowledge and clear presentations are reinforced by real examples. Her natural energy and commitment to the not for profit sector come through in every session and buoyed me up whenever I felt like the sessions would be a drag! I loved the fact that I could whizz through a couple of sessions in a block or take it slowly and develop all my tailored materials along the way. I feel so empowered about the process of sponsorship partnerships and I am able to communicate confidently within and beyond my organisation about the way forward. Already positive partnerships are developing and the whole organisation is taking a more sustainable approach to sponsorship. I can’t thank you enough for taking the weight off my shoulders and giving me the impetus and tools to move forward.
Kimberly-Clark Australia, and the HUGGIES® Brand have long been supporters of the Australian College of Midwives. It wasn’t however until Abby Clemence moved into the position of Business Development Director that our strategic involvement and public profile within the College took on new meaning. Knowing that Abby was our key point of contact during every step of the process made it easier for us to become involved. Her clear communication style and genuine desire to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with potential sponsors makes her the ideal sponsorship professional. She intuitively understands the need of corporate organisations and uses this knowledge in a positive way to make sound decisions on commercial value as well as corporate social responsibility. Abby was able to leverage excellent value for us from our investment with the College. I look forward to working with her on future mutually beneficial projects.
Infinity Sponsorship has been working with the Lung Foundation Australia in a sponsorship brokerage capacity since early 2012 and has introduced our organisation to the concept of corporate annual partnerships. Abby’s work has provided us with a valuable opportunity to partner with a number of corporate organisations, growing our sponsorship funds and diversifying our income channels. Abby’s ability to develop relationships and rapport with potential corporate sponsors is impressive and I would recommend her to any organisation that may wish to link in with corporate partners to further expand the reach of their organisation.
Sports Medicine Australia has been working with Abby Clemence and Infinity Sponsorship since March 2012. Abby has been instrumental in managing the recruitment of new sponsorships on behalf of Sports Medicine Australia. Over this period Sports Medicine Australia has been successful in establishing new and diverse partnerships and has been introduced to numerous potential partnership options. Abby and her team are wonderful to work with. She has gone to great lengths to gain an extensive understanding of the requirements of Sports Medicine Australia and to matching those requirements to potential partners. Abby takes a very systematic, methodical and co-ordinated approach to partnership recruitment and has demonstrated the importance of the specialised skills and strategies required to attract and recruit partners.
I have no hesitation in recommending Abby Clemence and Infinity Sponsorship in the recognition, recruitment and management of partnerships.
As the peak body for the Management Rights Industry in Australia, in 2011 the Australian Resident Accommodation Manager’s Association (ARAMA) decided to embark upon a corporate partnership implementation strategy to engage partners that would invest much-needed funds into our Not-For-Profit organisation that would create value for our members through increased member services and professional development opportunities.
In March 2012, ARAMA engaged the services of Infinity Sponsorship to secure corporate annual partners. In less than 6 months, Infinity Sponsorship secured partnerships into the future to the value of approx $350,000. We have engaged Infinity Sponsorship for a two year period and are very excited about the partnership opportunities that lie ahead of us.
These funds are valuable to ARAMA in helping us to become a more sustainable organisation by diversifying our income streams and becoming less dependent on membership subscriptions, allowing us to build capacity in our resources and staff. However, the real gift to ARAMA has been working so closely with the Infinity Sponsorship team and the education we are receiving about our organisation and how it is perceived by potential corporate partners. This knowledge along with the templates and resources that are provided to ARAMA as part of working with Abby and the team, mean that we will continue to become increasingly more abundant as the years go by, long after her good work has been completed for us.
I would highly recommend Infinity Sponsorship if you are an organisation looking to become more sustainable and build capacity into the future. Abby and her team can help you get there!
On behalf of our sponsorship team at TEDxPhoenixville (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's largest and longest running TEDx event) we would like to personally thank you for providing our team an AMAZING roadmap to sponsorship success this year!
Your ebooks on sponsorship development and planning helped us create a winning strategy for partnering with reputable companies in our area. Your insights and step by step formulas were invaluable to our organization and our fundraising efforts this year, especially as they helped us to re-envision our sponsorship opportunities as mutual partnering relationships equally benefitting TEDxPhoenixville and our circle of corporate partners.
I can say that, thanks to your guidance, many of our team members were able to discard prior misconceptions about sponsorship being an act of charity and view our current and future sponsorship opportunities in a new light. It is SO much more empowering to approach sponsorship partners from a position of self confidence and self assuredness, knowing WHAT we have to offer in the relationship, knowing the real VALUE of our audience, knowing how to respect the special RELATIONSHIP we have with our fan base and knowing how to introduce sponsors to that fan base as you would introduce a new friend to a close knit family.
Thank you for sharing your insights on preparation, planning, acquiring and maintaining sponsorship relationships. You've definitely cut through the clutter and made this process much easier for both the novice and the experienced among us. We're looking forward to another successful year. Wishing you all the best
The sponsorship workshops run by Infinity sponsorship provided a great insight into the world of sponsorship. Abby clearly has a great wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to sponsorship. She helped us think outside the box and identify potential opportunities for our organisation. She was happy to share real life experiences which helps us relate to the examples and hopefully avoid some of the difficulties/ mistakes she came across. It was great to be able to share stories with other not for profit organisations, despite all being very different, there were definitely lessons to be learnt from all. This workshop provided practical tips and examples to equip our organisation for future sponsorship endeavours.
Thank you for the wonderful workshop on Successful Sponsorship Meetings. I found it relevant and directly applicable to acquiring sponsorship for my organisation. The examples and the scripts discussed, as well as the pitfalls to watch out for were very useful. In fact, I was able to put much of it into practice the next day when I met with a potential new sponsor. Thank you again.
The one-day Ideal Sponsorship workshop with Abby was extremely valuable. It gave me the chance to workshop ideas with other people in the not-for-profit sector who understood the challenges NFPs face and Abby had a wide variety of impressive case studies which helped provide perspective and a stronger understanding of how to approach asking for sponsorship. I wish I could have stayed for the second day! Thanks to this workshop we are overhauling our sponsorship proposal and approach. We have a much clearer understanding of how to go about asking for sponsorship and are far more positive about what we can as a NFP organisation. I highly recommend investing in one of Abby’s workshops or courses.
Abby is a personable and engaging presenter with a depth of knowledge and experience. Her workshops provide great practical advice with real world application.
Abby is an inspirational and refreshing speaker. She explains the sponsorship process in simple terms and breaks down the process into easy to follow steps. I look forward to taking this further! Thank you for your time and energy.
The Infinity Sponsorship workshop was a really worthwhile investment for my business and provided me with great sponsorship tools for the future!
Abby is a fantastic communicator. She is enthusiastic about empowering participants so that they can obtain purposeful and sustainable sponsorship. In the workshop Abby is responsive to the concerns and issues particular to each representative organisation so that everyone goes away happy.
I just wanted to say “Thank You”- your workshop was probably the best I have ever attended. Usually when I attend these workshops I am the shy one that sits up the back, listens, takes things in but never participates. Right from the moment I walked in, you made me feel comfortable enough to ask the question that I would like to ask, but never could. I liked the small numbers in the workshops and that you made it easy to understand the content. Until I attended your sponsorship workshops I didn’t understand the idea of a “partnership” with our sponsors - I have always held out the bucket saying “please sir, give me money because we are a charity.” I realise now that we have to look at restructuring the way we do business with our sponsors!
Abby is a delight to learn from. She is clearly passionate about corporate sponsorship and being able to support the Not for Profit sector. She has a great level of knowledge and willingly shares it to ensure a sound level of understanding by discussing issues in different environments and by giving great real-life examples.
Very informative, great real-life examples.
A very worthwhile workshop - I would recommend Abby’s course to anyone looking to up skill or refresh their sponsorship approach.
Abby’s buoyant and passionate approach to the sponsorship topic kept me focussed and instilled a desire to more skilfully approach prospective partners. Thank you.
Thank you for your fantastic workshop and your infinite energy to deliver it. Not everyone would have enough energy, enthusiasm and persistence to do what you do. You are amazing. You have shown us the way to not only secure sponsorships, but also how to take care of ourselves, when rejected in the process…
‘Abby worked with us for 3 years. She is an enthusiastic and naturally gifted communicator. Like all not for profits, we needed more resources to support the development of new member services and increased advocacy for members. Abby was proactive in approaching potential sponsors about establishing partnership with us. She was mindful at all times of our organisation’s sponsorship policy and consulted me and the Board effectively at all stages of a sponsorship arrangement. She is particularly talented in finding win/win opportunities for companies to contribute much needed financial resources to a hard-working and passionate not-for-profit like ours. Her efforts resulted in several hundred thousand dollars of additional resources to the organisation each year. I’m delighted to see Abby move into specialising in this role through her own consultancy, so that other not-for-profits may benefit from her talent.’