Effortless Bill Letter Format for NPOs Made Simple

Bill letter format for NPOs

Trying to get sponsorships as part of  your non-profit fundraising strategy?   You might be wondering what goes in  the sponsorship package that you give   to potential sponsors! That's what we're  going to talk about in this video! [Music]   Welcome or welcome back. My name is Amber Melanie  Smith and I am a non-profit founder and executive   director and YouTuber who makes these videos  to help people who want to make a social impact   through a non-profit social Enterprise or other  methods as always I hope that you find this video   is helpful and don't forget to give it a like And  subscribe to my channel for more content like this   also I have a website FounderToFullTime.com, where  I have some online trainings that are perfect for   people just starting to figure out the process of  starting a non-profit or developing a sustainable   fundraising plan for their nonprofit so go  check those out there too alright so let's talk   sponsorships what exactly is a sponsorship packet  well a sponsorship packet or a package or whatever   you want to call it is the document either hard  copy or electronic that you give to your possible   sponsor that includes everything they need to  know about the program project or event event   that you're requesting sponsorship dollars for now  if you get to the stage where you are creating a   sponsorship package my assumption is that you've  already done some of the other groundwork needed   to get sponsorships such as determining what  events projects or programs are the best fit to   get sponsorship dollars for developing your goal  for how much you need to raise in sponsorships   and of course creating a Target list of possible  sponsors who could be a good fit for that thing   if you are not quite at those steps yet and you're  starting there I recommend my other video how to   get sponsorships that talks through the process  step by step so all that is to say that if you've   done all that foundational work you can move on  to the step of creating Your sponsorship package   and I'm so sorry if you can hear my dog chewing  her bone in the background anyway um so here are   eight things that you might want to include in a  sponsorship package plus a couple of bonus items   okay thing number one and this would typically go  in the very front of your sponsorship package is   a personalized sort of cover letter addressed  to the specific company that you're requesting   support from you can have the rest of your  sponsorship package be the same document you   share with all companies but you really want that  one Personal Touch in the beginning so um in this   letter you're going to include obviously the the  person's name who you're addressing at the company   a little bit about why you think their company  is a good fit as a sponsor I've talked about in   other videos how getting sponsorship successfully  is all about finding your perfect fit making sure   that your goals and the sponsors goals align that  your values align that the issues and causes you   care about align so you can talk a little bit  more about how you think that is true in your   letter and then just sharing a little bit of your  excitement about the program project or event   that needs the sponsorship dollars alright thing  number two the very next thing in Your sponsorship   package is simply a description of the program  project or event that needs the sponsorship   support this can include your organization's  mission statement to provide a little bit of extra   context and then more detail about the specific  thing that we'll be getting the sponsorship   dollars here's an example I'll share from an  organization called Education Works on screen so   you can kind of see how they've laid this out here  in this section it's also a good idea to include a   couple of goals of the program or event and what  it aims to accomplish that way you're helping the   potential sponsor who just like any other donor  wants to understand how their dollars are going to   connect to the actual outcomes or impacts of your  work the third thing you want to include in your   sponsorship package is Your sponsorship levels  you want to illustrate in a very clear concise way   all of the different ways and dollar amounts that  sponsors could contribute as well as you know the   benefits and different things that come with each  level I'm going to show an example on screen here   of a very very very simplified page that I created  that illustrates what I'm talking about I've seen   this done in a lot of different ways some people  will do a list of the sponsorship levels and then   a description under each one some people will do  like a grid or a chart which is kind of what you   see on my example page here I prefer a grid or  a chart because I find that people are highly   Visual and it's just easier to digest information  that's Illustrated in that way people don't like   to read a lot of text and so anytime you can  make it easier to digest you're more likely to   get the results that you want the next two things  I'm going to talk about kind of go hand in hand   so number four is in addition to the sponsorship  levels you want to have the dollar amount that can   be counted as a tax deductible donation under  each dollar amount or somewhere on the page   um I've talked about this in other videos but the  thing with sponsorships is not all of the amount   of the sponsorship is necessarily a tax deductible  donation for the sponsor so because that is true   you have to be transparent about what the actual  tax deductible amount will be for the sponsor so   they can make sure that their accounting is  accurate and up to date how do you know what   amount is tax deductible while the very simple  rule is that donors or sponsors in this case if   they receive something of material value in return  for Their donation in exchange for Their donation   then the value of that thing that they received  cannot be counted it as part of the donation   because it's not a donation in that case it's  almost more like a sale they purchased something   from you even if it's a speaking opportunity or  tickets to your Gala that came with a sponsorship   package so if you're not quite sure how to do this  I recommend talking to an accountant so that you   can be fully transparent with your potential uh  sponsors okay so thing number five which goes   with the thing number four tax deductibility of  the sponsorship levels um is the benefits that   you get for each sponsorship level so if you've  seen a sponsorship package and I'll show a couple   more Graphics as examples throughout this video as  well but you'll see they each come with a list of   benefits or perks for the sponsor so let's say  your top sponsor gets a speaking opportunity   at your event they get to be included in your  press release and so forth um so sometimes um   they might include things of material value like I  was just talking about before such as four tickets   to your fancy dinner and normally as this is a  fundraising dinner in this example um you'd be   selling these tickets for a hundred dollars each  well if you're giving four tickets to the sponsor   the value of that exchange is four hundred dollars  so the do the sponsor cannot uh count four hundred   dollars of their overall sponsorship as a tax  deductible donation so hopefully that helps you   connect how the benefits if they're of material  value cannot be part of the tax deductible   donation that I just talked about for the value  you need to include as thing number four okay   hopefully that's not too complicated anyway um so  you want to think hard about what are appropriate   sponsorship benefits that go with each level  you want to make sure that the the benefits are   um obviously not too costly for your organization  or else the sponsorship is not even worth it to   your organization anymore ideally these are things  that are not going to take too much complex effort   or work for you to pull together um because again  in this case time is also money if you're spending   all of your time fulfilling a sponsorship benefit  than was the sponsorship dollar amount even worth   it who can say anyway um and you want to make  sure that the benefits align with the uh event   program or project that they're connected to  I mentioned an example a minute ago about the   speaking opportunity while speaking opportunity  for a sponsor might be a great fit for an event   where you'll have a presentation of some kind and  there are speaking opportunities on the agenda   and an audience there to listen to them do their  speaking but if you're talking about sponsorship   opportunities for a program that runs all year  speaking opportunity might not be the ideal perk   for that sponsorship anyway um so a couple of  examples I mentioned speaking opportunities with   some more might be logo placement so putting the  sponsor's logo on your website or on your event   materials or program materials including a quote  from them in a press release that you send to the   media is another great sponsorship perk tickets  to an event if it's an event based sponsorship   um if it's something like a building  that you're trying to get sponsored   um classic examples might be the donor's  name on the wall of the building or on a   brick leading up to the building stuff like that  so opportunities for visibility um and building   Goodwill um for that donor uh might be good perks  item number six that you want to include in your   sponsorship package is any specific deadlines  connected to the sponsorship opportunities   um this might especially be relevant if you're  planning an event that takes place on a specific   date and time you want to choose a deadline  to decide whether or not to sponsor the event   that will give you um ample time in between to do  anything you need to do to fulfill the sponsorship   benefits before the event for example you wouldn't  want a sponsor to confirm their sponsorship the   night right before the event after you've already  printed all of your event programs and materials   that are supposed to include their logo that's  just really stressful so best to be up front   with the sponsors or potential sponsors about the  timeline that you need to make decisions about the   sponsorship and this is honestly left up to your  best judgment I can just tell you from experience   that it could be stressful um not being clear with  the sponsor about uh the needs of of the timing of   Your sponsorship so that you can make sure you  do a good job honoring the sponsorship agreement   that you put together the seventh thing that you  want to include in your sponsorship package is a   final call to action this could be a final page  in the package where you're listing your contact   information and also saying something like um  you know the next step is to contact us by this   date to let us know if you're interested or I  have seen some other organizations just put a   page in there where uh the sponsor can fill  out a form that says I want to sponsor and   here's the dollar amount they can check the  box that next to the dollar amount that they   want to sponsor so you can do it that way too  and that even might help you with some record   keeping because then you have the the form in  your hands that clearly says they want a sponsor   um I will say though uh you shouldn't just rely  on what you hand them to seal the deal even if you   include a call to action in the sponsorship  package the odds are that you're going to   be having more personal conversations with them  possibly answering some of their questions before   they're ready to make a decision about whether or  not to sponsor your initiative so just be prepared   for that and the eighth thing that you definitely  don't want to forget to put in Your sponsorship   package is something I already mentioned just a  second ago and that is your contact information   don't get so far in this process that you don't  even leave the potential sponsor with a way to   reach out to you so those are the eight must-haves  for a sponsorship package I'm gonna share three   bonus items that you might also consider including  in your package that I think are probably a good   idea if you can make them look good in the  package the first is compelling photography   um especially if the sponsorship is for an  event that you've had in the past and you have   some good photos from the past event helping the  sponsor really visualize the experience or what   it will be like to participate in the thing  that you're asking them to sponsor can go a   long way it really humanizes the request and if  not for an event photos from your organization   your team working together your team serving  the community doing whatever it is that you   do another bonus item might be a list of your  team members and short bios for each of them   and I say this because people like to know who  they're working with people want to see the human   beings Behind These initiatives and a lot of times  people are more likely to say yes to a donation or   sponsorship request because they trust the people  asking for it so any opportunities that you have   to humanize the request and not make it just a  text document that others can ignore is a good   idea in my opinion final bonus item and I alluded  to this towards the beginning of the video but   anytime you can share the specific impacts of the  event project or program that either will occur   um or has occurred in the past when you did this  thing before presumably um is a good idea and I'll   show this graphic here I really like how this one  United Way organization showed their impacts here   is clear it's succinct and it's done in a graphics  way that isn't too hard to read all right that's   what I've got for you today I'd love to hear are  you actively seeking sponsorships do you already   have a sponsorship package is there anything that  I missed that you think should be included be sure   to leave all that in the comments below as always  and as I mentioned before if you are developing   a sustainable fundraising plan or starting a  non-profit be sure to check out my trainings at   foundertofulltime.com if you're looking for other  resources I have a great newsletter that I send   out for non-profit leaders or aspiring non-profit  leaders and change makers of all kinds the link to   subscribe to that is in my description below so  be sure to check that out and finally I have a   group on Facebook called change the world or bust  where we have thousands of people in there having   conversations about the good work that they're  doing to help make the world a better place so   I hope you can join us there too. Once again  I'm Amber Melanie Smith! I hope that you found   this video helpful and don't forget to give  it a like And subscribe to my Channel please   um that's all I have for you today thank you  so much and I hope to see you next time bye!