1. Clarify Your Needs

In-kind and media partnerships are unique for every organization and event. Your first step when identifying opportunities is to look at your nonprofit’s or event’s budget (see Chapter 12 for tips on creating an event budget). Conduct a detailed review of all your expenses and identify the things that can potentially be donated or provided at a discount. Even if you don’t get something for free, many businesses will give nonprofits special discounts, and you will never know unless you ask!

Some obvious things can be identified for in-kind donations, like food and wine for events, items for your auction, and your top operational expenses, but also look for the non-obvious things that may not already be in your budget. Do you need new computer equipment or software? Do you have small offices and need somewhere more professional to hold your board meetings? Are you building a new website and need someone to develop it? Could your program serve more homeless if more food was donated? Could your event or cause benefit from an ad in the local paper or on a popular website?

Host a brainstorming session with your development, events, program, marketing, and finance or operations staff and create a list of all your needs, prioritizing those that’d have the biggest potential effect and provide the largest savings for your organization. Invite key volunteers and board members, especially those with relevant experience, to participate if possible; the more input you secure when considering the possibilities, the better. Don’t be afraid to dream and think big at this meeting. Ask those present: “What would we do if our marketing budget were doubled or tripled?” and “What kind of product and service donations would enable our programs to serve more people in need?”

2. Identify Your Prospects

Once you identify and prioritize your in-kind and media sponsorship opportunities, think about which businesses, corporations, and professionals are viable prospects. Start with businesses you already have a personal connection to. Ask everyone at the brainstorming session which partners would be best suited to meet the needs you’ve outlined, see whether they have any relationships that can be useful and whether they’re willing to make an introduction or ask.

From a marketing perspective, discuss who you want to reach for your event, awareness campaign or, in general where you can best reach them. Is it online, in print, on billboards, or somewhere else? Think through the top media vehicles that communicate with your targeted audience. Who reaches the most people?

To identify additional prospects, look at similar organizations and events. Who is sponsoring or donating to them? Most organizations and events list their supporters on their websites, so this information is fairly easy to come by. Look at companies that regularly support your cause, as well as those that are particularly philanthropic in your geographic location.

Put all this information in a simple spreadsheet, outlining both your prioritized needs and the prospects you’ve identified thus far, plus comments regarding any personal connections that can facilitate outreach. Share your list of needs, prospects, and contacts with the rest of your board, staff, and volunteers, and see whether they have any personal connections to the prospects listed or to others they believe might be interested. And, as you did during the brainstorming, ask whether they’re willing to make an introduction or ask. Remember, it’s OK if you don’t know where to turn to secure pro bono legal support, donated laptops, or free printing; share these needs via your spreadsheet and ask for input on people and businesses they know that might offer donations or discounts.

Solidifying your prioritized list of needs and prospects are your first two steps, and don’t despair if you don’t have a personal “in” with a lead. Just as with any type of fundraising, going in cold is never ideal, but when securing in-kind and media donations, your odds of success are much higher than trying this approach with foundations, donors, and paid sponsors.

3. Prepare Your Pitches and Materials

Before asking for an in-kind or media donation or sponsorship, be prepared to articulate exactly what you need and what benefits you can offer in exchange. It’s also helpful to have a sense of the approximate retail value of each benefit. Take the time before making a call or going to a meeting to research your prospects. What have they supported in the past, and at what level? What are their philanthropic priorities?

Begin soliciting three to six months out from your event or deadline. While in-kind and media sponsorship decisions typically happen much quicker than paid sponsorships (see Chapter 23), be prepared to wait a month or two as they decide. If you are holding a large-scale event such as a gala, conference, or sporting event, prepare a sponsorship proposal for prospective media sponsors and in-kind donors that outlines the specific benefits they will receive at each level of sponsorship.

Personally, I’ve secured millions of dollars of in-kind and media support simply by taking the corporate sponsor proposal template I outlined in Chapter 23, doubling the prices at each level, adjusting a select few benefits as needed, and changing the title on the cover page to “Media and In-Kind Sponsor Proposal.” Finally, I make it clear the “prices” aren’t for cash support as with traditional sponsors, but represent the retail value of donations.

4. Make Your Pitch

Leverage the personal connections you’ve already identified to get in the door, or simply cold call your prospects and ask who you can speak with regarding them donating products or services to support your nonprofit or event. Some large corporations have processes and policies for making in-kind donations, and that’s the only way to secure their support. But even then, finding an internal champion is always helpful.

One way or another, you need to connect with a decision-maker at the business, share your story and need, relay potential benefits, and explore a potential partnership. Spend time listening and find out about their goals before making your pitch and, of course, integrate any research findings you discovered in advance. Be sure to contextualize your pitch around what they care about to the full extent possible (see Chapter 23 for more on this, as related to corporate sponsorship). And remember, even when the answer is no, be gracious. Take an opportunity to respectfully inquire why and try to overcome any objections, but don’t push too hard, as some folks just can’t be convinced. Most importantly you want to maintain a good relationship for future opportunities and not chance undermining your reputation.

5. Treat Them Like Royalty

Just as with other key supporters, recognize your media sponsors and in-kind donors as much as possible, including leading up to and at your event, if appropriate. Make sure you fulfill all of the benefits agreed on, and go beyond that and thank sponsors publicly in ways they didn’t expect.

Acknowledge a company representative at the event and have him or her stand up while you encourage the audience to applaud the person for supporting such a worthy cause. Give them free tickets, put them at good tables, and personally introduce them to VIPs at your event. Think through the things you can do to keep your sponsors not only satisfied, but delighted with the outcome of their involvement. Odds are, you’ll circle back to them for additional support later, and anything you can do to deliver a great experience will make future requests infinitely easier.

6. Invest in the Relationship

All successful fundraising is based on relationships, so it’s critical that you follow up and properly steward your sponsors and donors. Immediately after the donation or event, send personalized, handwritten thank you notes emphasizing the impact their contributions made possible. Make sure you also send any necessary acknowledgements for tax purposes, although in my experience few in-kind or media sponsors ever request or use these.

If a sponsor clearly had a good experience, ask him or her to share a one- or two-sentence testimonial for future sponsorship proposals, and provide a draft quote to make this as easy as possible. If the person was a major sponsor, offer to do an in-person or phone debriefing to obtain feedback on what worked and what you can improve upon next year. If possible, send a summary of the impact the contribution and the overall event had, along with the value of the benefits, about one month after the event (see Chapter 23 for more on impact summaries). Send brief updates about your organization’s impact and future plans to lay the groundwork for future sponsorships and maintain the relationship. Avoid making another ask until you have sent at least two to three communications thanking and updating any sponsor.

Do. . .

• . . . think through what would delight (rather than just satisfy) your in-kind and media sponsors.
• . . . start your solicitations three to six months before your event or deadline.
• . . . create a package for large events that outlines the benefits you can offer to media sponsors and in-kind donors.

Don’t. . .

• . . . forget that securing in-kind donations and media sponsorships can be just as powerful as obtaining cash support.
• . . . neglect giving your in-kind supporter at least three benefits they’ll get from supporting your organization or event—ones that will really make an impact.
• . . . have a meeting or call with a prospect without first doing your homework and preparing key talking points.
• . . . accept “no” for an answer without inquiring as to why and trying to overcome any objections.
• . . . produce an event without insurance to protect both you and your in-kind donors and sponsors.
• . . . ever say the words: “You should give us this/do this for me because we are doing good things.” If you can’t be specific, you shouldn’t waste your time or theirs.