Fund Raising for your Cricket Club (Sports Club) and Sponsorship Guide – Part 2

Fund Raising for your Cricket Club (Sports Club) and Sponsorship Guide – Part 2 So you should now have produced a sponsorship brochure (as described in Fund Raising for your Cricket Club (Sports Club) and Sponsorship Guide – Part 1) listing each package available. Ideally this has now been given to every member and they have actively promoted through friends, family and companies they work for. So what’s next and how do you gain more sponsors and increase funds.

1. Communicate to your members regularly. Our club pretty much shuts down through the winter months so it is important we communicate with them, to ensure they are kept up to date regards the fundraising efforts. The last thing you want to do, is to close down completely and then have to start rebuilding momentum when the nets start (New Year). An email every 2 weeks with an offer from one of your sponsors keeps the spirit going and if you copy in the sponsor it shows a huge amount of goodwill towards them. It also helps to retain them as long term sponsors.
2. Do you have a fixture card? Consider upgrading to a Fixture/Club Handbook. The next step is how to give your major sponsors, further coverage and give you the opportunity to raise additional funds. We have produced a 32 page, full colour booklet, containing fixtures for all adult and junior sides. We have also added lots of information regards our kit supplier, answers to many junior parent’s questions, a profile on one of our senior members…. This booklet also gives lots of space for existing sponsors to add to their package and to facilitate the major sponsors with full page adverts, as part of their package. Typically it will cost around £250 for 200 copies, so this will need to be recouped eventually. At the outset we aimed to attempt to cover costs, of the booklet, in the 1^st No more, as this is a valuable marketing tool for the future. Companies will want to be in it and will ask to be included for the following season. Costs to have an advert range from £20 for ¼ page, £35 for ½ page and £50 for a full page. The 1 Principal and 2 Major sponsors get this as part of their package. You will only require 7 new sponsors to make this cost free to the club. The members get a valuable resource and you get access to potential sponsors for the more expensive packages in future years.
3. Important tip on getting 7 sponsors for the booklet. When considering new sponsors for the booklet, you should consider the potential conflicts with existing sponsors. If you have a local Tandorri restaurant as your principal sponsor it would be unwise to try to get another to place an advert in the booklet. So, try to target companies that offer a service that isn’t already covered by your current sponsors, Taxi firm, plumber, builder, Public house, restaurants, hairdressers, vets, brewers………etc. These will be happy to advertise for a relatively small sum and have a potential large clientele available to them, instantly.
4. Look after your sponsors, no matter how big or small. It makes sense to look after your income. We assume that it has been hard work attracting sponsors to your club, even with these 2 helpful guides. It is important that you keep communicating with them, either in person or by email. Invite them to club matches or special event days such as the Chairman v President game or even club socials. That way they feel part of the club and can see where their money is going and it is a good time to talk about future plans for your club. They will then appreciate the effort that goes into running a sports club (any club for that matter). If you have a club dinner invite them and offer 2 free tickets for sponsors that invest in excess of £200 per season. The chances are they will decline or will make a contribution towards the tickets but, the fact they were invited will not go unnoticed.
5. Let club members know how much has been raised towards your fundraising goal. Most of us will have will seen a church with a painted thermometer showing how much has been raised towards the replacement lead, for their roof. Why not take this idea and do the same but, make it relevant to your club. As a cricket club we had a cricket bat hanging in the clubhouse and marked it as money was raised, using the same principal as the thermometer. Football and rugby could have a poster with a set of goals and fill in the space between the posts as the funds roll in. Make it relevant and fun, you will be surprised how quickly your members buy into it.
6. Use every opportunity to mention your club to local businesses. If you send out your club brochure to local companies, the chances are it will end up in the bin. Try a different method though and the success rate increases dramatically. Pop a brochure in your coat or bag and next time you are using the services of a local company ask if they do local advertising. It is as simple as that. Most do and you have a big client base that they could and should be interested in. If you currently use them personally then the conversation is easier still. When you take your dog to the vets, having been a customer for a few years, start talking to them about your club and tell them about the opportunities that exist. You will be surprised how many local companies would welcome this conversation and many do sign up in the 1^st Some take longer but I am sure you will have a list of companies you can approach already.
7. Give your sponsor as much exposure as possible. When you fixture card/club handbook has been produced, you need to get one to every member asap. You should have number spare and these should be given to your sponsors to show what has been created. If you still have some remaining ask if they would like to have some to place near their tills, to be able to distribute on your behalf. One of our pubs have placed a quantity on their bar for patrons to take. This helps with the distribution and spread the message of your club and advertise the sponsor to a wider market.
8. How you and the sponsor can measure the success of the partnership. We talked about this at the early stages and convinced our main sponsor to offer a discount on all purchases, on production of a valid club membership card. The sponsor was then able to see how much business our club generated for them and this in turn offered our members another reason to use their restaurant. This has since been used by many of our sponsors and all see this as adding extra value to our members but, also a way of measuring the amount of business generated

It isn’t easy but given time and the goodwill of members, you will be successful. Remember to offer value to your sponsors and you should retain them for years to come. Did I mention the most important message – OFFER VALUE FOR MONEY TO RETAIN YOUR SPONSOR FOR YEARS TO COME.