Approaching Local Businesses to Sponsor Your Fundraiser!
Approaching people you don’t know can be daunting. Contacting local businesses to assist in your fundraising efforts may seem like a scary proposition – or like making a cold call. There are a few things to remember when you are considering inviting local businesses to be a part of your fundraising efforts.
It’s good for the business too!
It’s easy to forget that businesses are always looking for new customers and that YOU have access to all of these contacts that they don’t have. When businesses spend money on advertising, they aren’t necessarily sure how their image will be perceived. They want to get their name or product into the hands of new customers and you are offering them a great opportunity to do just that. You are offering something of value when you ask a business to donate something or give a discount for your fundraiser. The business gets affordable advertising and a philanthropic image as a business that contributes to and supports the local church, team, school or cheerleading squad. In addition to helping you, they are helping their business. They get positive placement in the hands of active members of the community.
Be prepared
When going to meet with local business people, be prepared. Know what you would like to ask them; their time is valuable. Have some literature or access to answers to any questions they might have. Show them what you will give them in exchange for what they will give you. Ask directly for what you would like them to give or guide them with suggestions so that they can offer something that is valuable to both them and your group.
Follow-Up
So often we forget to thank people who help us. It’s always a good idea to follow-up with your contact and sponsor at a local business. Let them know how much their contribution helped. Ask them if they saw any results or new business from your efforts. Find out if they would be willing to support you again in the future. Most of all, send a thank-you note and if you have any flyers or coupons or items that the business name or offering is noted on – send them a copy!
These are just a few tips to help you get started in working with local businesses to dramatically increase profits in your fundraising efforts. Stay tuned for more great ideas when working with local business sponsors.
Car Wash Fundraiser Pre-Flyer Announcement Strategies
If you are going to have a carwash fundraiser it makes sense to print up fliers in advance and to hand them out to people around the city. One of the best places to hand out carwash fundraiser fliers will be local small-business people, realtors and companies that sell food items. Perhaps the local pizza place will put your carwash fundraiser fliers on top pizza boxes.
We have noted that many grocery stores will put one inside each bag at the checkout. There are many ways to distribute fliers in advance of your carwash fundraiser and it indeed will bring out many more people.
It is recommended that these carwash fundraiser pre-fliers be printed in a bright color, specifically solar yellow. These fliers should have the logo for your nonprofit group or sports team and the time and date of the carwash fundraiser in bold along with a car or truck graphic as well. Simple and to the point flyers work best with a little graphic work.
Making fliers on a computer these days is very easy and certainly someone in the group can design a flyer rather quickly and take it down to the print shop. Sometimes the print shop will put their logo and small advertisement on the back and therefore print them for free and this might also be something you might consider. Think of this in 2006.
