If corporate support and event sponsorship are on your 2027 task list, the time to ask isn’t in December of January–it’s now. Final versions of corporate budgets come out sooner than most of us are prepared for, which means you’re likely to miss a key window of time for support requests if you aren’t asking by the end of summer.
One Real-World Example (Of Many)
We could write a book of cautionary tales on the topic of corporate sponsorship missteps. Among them would be the story of a former client and their new chief development officer, we’ll call him Nick. Starting his new role in August, Nick was getting used to the new organization and his role, so the sponsorship packet for a spring fundraising event didn’t get to corporate sponsors until just before Thanksgiving.
It’s months ahead of the event, but the misalignment between when budgeting decisions are made (late summer, early fall) and when the request was received meant that when development staff and committee volunteers started calling previous event sponsors, there was no response. Two of every three previous sponsors gave them a no. Some sponsors assumed the event wasn’t happening since the request wasn’t sent early enough to be included in the budget.
Sharing the Right Message
Beyond timing of the request, many organizations miss the mark on receiving a yes for corporate support for one simple reason:
They understand how they’ll use the funds and the impact, but they don’t communicate the vision fully and strategically.
Corporate donors want their dollars to make a difference, and they need to understand exactly what this looks like for an organization. Are you increasing capacity? Providing new tools or training to your team? Updating materials? Creating pathways for new stakeholders to access services?
A comprehensive, strategic annual ask is often better received than multiple solicitation requests over a year, so prepare to pitch once. When you paint the picture for them, make it photorealistic. Think about the objections and address them. Show them exactly how they’ll benefit from the gift, too. From their perspective, they are looking for good partners that allow them to help tell the stories of the organizations they support and allow them to share the impact their investment has made on the communities where they do business and where their employees live.
But just because you’re pitching once, doesn’t mean that should be the only time your prospective corporate partners hear from you. Whether they’ve given in the past or you’re looking to establish a new relationship, show them the mission.
Invite them to events, share the stories highlighting impact, tell them thank you in a variety of ways. Notice who else they’re supporting and thank them for that, too. It’s likely to catch their attention and even if your ask is declined, it builds goodwill and opportunities to network–meeting other funders and potential board members.
Call and email your corporate sponsors and update them on everything happening at your organization and ask them for a meeting to share your plan for next year. They will appreciate it more than you know…and you will end up with even more support than you previously received by being well ahead of the competition by getting in your request for support during their budgeting process.