Reaching out to local businesses for sponsorships is a great way to increase your donations. Businesses can also provide perks or prizes that you can use for your event. This will lower your event expenses while simultaneously boosting the visibility of businesses within your schoolâs / organizationâs community.
Businesses know that itâs a smart idea to sponsor school events by donating money to a PTO, PTA, booster club, etc. It helps their business gain exposure and solidifies them as a community partner that supports youth and schools, among other benefits.
Youâll never know what they can offer, you just have to ask!
Planning
Form a small group of volunteers who are willing to help you solicit local businesses for donations.
No need to wait for the actual fundraiser to be running. you can solicit business sponsors before the actual event (your site is live and can accept donations as soon as you put the information out there). Please reach out to customer support to ensure that you have the correct links: support@99pledges.com
Coordinate with your team to create a list of businesses that you wish to target. It is a great idea to keep a Google sheet or record of the business name, the volunteer who plans to solicit, and the outcome. Decide if they will be best contacted in person (usually the best result) or via email.
Decide if your group would like to offer sponsorship âlevelsâ. For example:
Bronze Level Sponsor of $150 = Business listed on the 99Pledges Fundraiser Site
Silver Level Sponsor of $300 = Bronze level + Business listed in the school yearbook
Gold Level Sponsor of $500 = Bronze level + Silver Level + Business listed on the school digital marquee
Draft a sponsorship letter/email (templates below)
**Did you know?: Our platform allows you to add sponsor logos to your fundraiser page. Take a look at how to upload them with the link - How to Upload Sponsor Logos
Some businesses will choose to donate online to your main page fundraiser (or even to a child in particular if they have a connection with a family at the school). Other businesses may choose to donate via a check made out to your organization.
How to Add Cash/Check Donations on 99Pledges (you keep 100% of cash/checks)
(Optional)- You can double check that you caught all donations over âxâ amount (your sponsor levels) by downloading a spreadsheet of all donations from the donations tab and sorting by amount via âdownload as csv fileâ. That is a great way to get contact info in order to ensure you list the business as they would like (if applicable).
Letter Templates
You can use the templates below to reach out to your desired companies.
A) Business Sponsor Letter Template:
Click here to download - 99Pledges - Business Sponsor Template.docx
B) Email Letter Template:
Subject Line: Can you help support YOUR_ORG_NAME?
Dear COMPANY_NAME,
On EVENT_DATE we will be hosting a EVENT_TYPE to raise funds for the NUMBER_OF_STUDENTS students at YOUR_SCHOOL_NAME. YOUR_ORG_NAME aims to raise $XXX in funds in order to provide:
Field Trips
Anti-Bullying Assemblies
Technology Improvements
Can you help us achieve our goals? We are currently seeking donations in the form of monetary support or donations of NAME_DONATION_TYPE (such as apples, water bottles, etc).
YOUR_ORG_NAME is a 501(c)3 organization which means your donation is tax-deductible.
Please see the attached sponsorship letter to view the opportunities that our sponsor incentive levels provide (such as business name in the yearbook!). Please let us know if you have any questions. We sincerely thank you for your time and consideration!
Sponsor our fundraiser online here:
99PLEDGES_FUNDRAISER_URL
-or- You may make a check out to YOUR_ORG_NAME and mail to ORG_MAILING_ADDRESS
Regards,
YOUR_NAME | YOUR_ORG_NAME
For further information, you can learn more here: https://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/8951-how-to-get-sponsorships-for-your-school-events