There are two types of sponsors that every charity needs to engage if they are to thrive. The first are sponsors who give money so the charity has the funding it needs to continue providing services to beneficiaries, and/or expand the offering. And sponsors who give time, whether that’s volunteering to keep the charity going day-to-day, or volunteering specialist skills.
For small charities in particular, the latter is an important way to plug digital skills gaps that enable the charity to present itself in the best light – for example, a newsletter to keep in regular communication with donors or a website to help get your message out to a wider audience. Furthermore, it gives people who either can’t afford to donate, or don’t have the time to volunteer as a trustee, the opportunity to still get involved and contribute something really valuable.
Typically, sponsorship comes from three groups of people:
But to successfully secure sponsorship requires you to understand the different motivations of each group, and engage them in different ways:
With grant funders the focus is always going to be on money. And the process is relatively straight-forward: you’ll see a grant, submit an application, and you’ll either secure the funding or not.
One way to improve your chances of success is through your annual report. Typically grant funders will look at this alongside your application to assess whether they should invest their funds in your charity.
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