At TechSoup Connect Canada, we are always looking for ways to help our community of Canadian nonprofits use technology to amplify their impact. We recently hosted an inspiring session, “YES YOU CAN | Power Up Event Sponsorships & Push Fundraising Over the Top,” and honestly, it was a game-changer! We were thrilled to welcome Laurie Hochman, Fundraising Expert at Auctria, who shared her wealth of experience in helping organizations move beyond simply asking for money to truly inspiring partnerships.
If you couldn’t make it to the live session, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. You can catch the full replay right here: Watch the Event Replay.
Here are our top seven insights from the event:
THE VALUE-FIRST MINDSET
It’s time to stop thinking about sponsorships as “asking for money” and start thinking about what you have to offer the business. By focusing on relationship building and community trust, you position your nonprofit as a valuable marketing partner rather than a charity case. This shift in perspective creates a more professional dynamic that naturally attracts higher-quality corporate interest.
STRATEGIC AUDIENCE ALIGNMENT
Successful sponsorships happen when your event audience matches the target demographic of the business partner. You should highlight your supporters’ reach to show sponsors exactly why your event is a smart investment for their specific brand visibility. Providing these specific insights helps local businesses see the tangible benefits of gaining community trust through your mission.
THE POWER OF STORYTELLING
While data is essential, stories are what truly move people to invest in your cause. Use your marketing materials to illustrate how a sponsorship directly helps your beneficiaries, creating a narrative that sponsors want to be part of. When a business sees the “happy ending” they are helping to fund, they become much more emotionally and financially invested in your success.
FLEXIBLE TIERED PACKAGING
Offering clear sponsorship levels provides a roadmap for businesses, but you should always remain open to a bit of “creative customizing.” Use tiered packages to illustrate increasing value while remaining willing to offer unique options that meet a sponsor’s specific marketing goals. This flexibility ensures that every partner feels their contribution is recognized in a way that actually matters to their bottom line.
IMMEDIATE DIGITAL RECOGNITION
Don’t wait until the day of the event to showcase your partners; start shouting their names from the digital rooftops as soon as the agreement is signed. Providing instant online recognition builds momentum and signals to other potential sponsors that your event is a successful, high-value opportunity. This early visibility gives your sponsors significantly more “bang for their buck” by extending their total exposure period.
START SMALL AND SCALE UP
If you are launching your very first event, give yourself permission to start with modest goals and build your track record from there. As you gain experience and proof of concept, you can expand your sponsorship levels and set much bolder “stretch” targets for future years. We have found that many of the most successful large-scale nonprofit events started with just one small, dedicated community partner.
YEAR-ROUND STEWARDSHIP
The conclusion of your event is actually the beginning of your next sponsorship cycle, so keep that relationship warm all year long. Follow up with specific impact data and “thank you” messages that show the long-term results of their investment. By treating sponsors as true mission partners rather than ATM machines, you make the renewal conversation for next year feel like a natural next step.
Connect with Auctria
When creating your sponsor package, change your thinking. It isn’t about getting their money, it’s about what you have to offer them.
- Relationship building
- Positive association with the work you are doing in the community
- Your event supporters, who reach the target audience, could be a good match for a business looking to gain more community trust and customers
- Yes you can, event it it’s the very first event start small. If it’s been a few years expand your sponsorship levels. Create a stretch goal and don’t be surprised when you soar past it.
Real Sponsorship Package – Get a Closer Look! Hoedown For Hope, shared their sponsorship marketing pieces. You will see they are well balanced illustrating what the sponsor gets out of it on the business side, in addition to how the sponsorship will help the deaf and hard of hearing children.
More learning from Auctria Auctria is an easy to use, powerful tool to run your fundraising events. Auctria runs all types of event & auction fundraisers. From the first donation to the last receipt and all the activity & bidding in between, Auctria makes it easy!
🔗 Auctria Facebook Group Auction Team Talk
We can’t wait to see you at our next event! Join our growing community of tech-forward nonprofits and keep the momentum going by registering here: Register for the Next Event.