Raise a Dream

Fund Your Projects with Collaboration and Sponsorship

If you’re an entrepreneur, having big dreams to raise and bringing projects to life can be inspiring goals. But to fund your projects, you may run into challenges. In fact, lack of funding and support are often what smothers the dream from being brought to life.

Collaboration and sponsorship could be the funding game changer.

Think of collaboration as two or more people (or businesses) coming together to solve an issue they could not have otherwise solved on their own. This is why collaboration can help amplify messages, start movements and create a bigger impact.

Collaborating To Stretch Funding & Impact

Now more than ever, we are hearing that granting organizations, funders, and sponsors are looking to nonprofit organizations, service clubs, and entrepreneurs to collaborate and partner where possible on their projects. In many cases, funders look to projects where there is no (or minimal) duplication of efforts and services. This allows funders to extend their range and stretch funding while also fostering a greater impact.

This is not a new approach.

More than 20 years ago (before I opened my businesses), I was a contract negotiation specialist for the government. I had a portfolio of funding that was provided to nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses, and community groups to operate programs and services in the region. The funds supported a wide range of initiatives including early childhood education, parenting programs, community events, group homes, and women’s shelters to name a few.

Sponsorship for Nonprofits & Service Clubs: How to Attract Sponsors, Raise Funds & Make a Bigger Impact

As a nonprofit fundraiser, you know the value of government funding, individual donations, and grants, but another source of revenue to consider is corporate sponsorship -- an untapped revenue source for many nonprofits and service clubs.

Many nonprofits have effectively leveraged relationships with corporate sponsorships to increase revenue, further their cause or mission, and make a bigger impact.

Nonprofits, associations, and service clubs can raise more money and boost impact to support their projects and programs when they understand how corporate sponsorship works and how such support differs from what most charities know as philanthropy. When organizations and those responsible for association management know what sponsorship decision-makers want to see, they can build meaningful relationships with brands. Leaders and managers who understand how corporate sponsorship and cause marketing works will stand out and get more yeses!

Trends and Changes in Sponsorship That Are Helping Speakers

Sponsorship is one way that speakers and keynote presenters can grow their speaking business and revenue.

Sponsorship is not a gift or a handout; rather, a company provides sponsorship for specific return on investment (ROI). Because of this marketing relationship, speakers can helps sponsors highlight their brand, market their business to the audience in front of the speaker, and more.

Some exciting new trends and changes in the sponsorship world are emerging that speakers should be aware of.

There are many reports stating that brands are moving more into sponsorship and replacing traditional philanthropy budgets with sponsorship budgets.

Are You Setting Yourself Up for a Sponsorship NO? (Part 3)

To build a healthy relationship with a sponsor, you have to take the time to get to know that sponsor… what motivates their brand, what language do they typically use, what audience do they seek.

Just making an ask without knowing what you propose is the right fit for a sponsor can easily result in a NO.

It’s easy to make mistakes like this, but thankfully it’s also easy to AVOID such mistakes.

That's why we've created a 3-part sponsorship educational series addressing 3 easy-to-avoid mistakes (and their solutions).

Are You Setting Yourself Up for a Sponsorship NO? (Part 2)

There’s a right way and a wrong way to build relationships with sponsors so that you can find funding and support for your dream project.

Creating sponsorship marketing relationships is often a new, unexplored avenue for speakers, authors, event hosts, and entrepreneurs, so it’s no surprise that in this unknown territory, costly mistakes are made.

When mistakes happen, unfortunately the answer is often a NO from sponsors.

Knowing how to avoid such mistakes is crucial, so we've created a 3-part sponsorship educational series addressing 3 easy-to-avoid mistakes (and their solutions).

Are You Setting Yourself Up for a Sponsorship NO? (Part 1)

If having sponsors, getting your project funded through sponsorship support, and building marketing relationships with businesses is on your priority list (which it should be), it’s important to know what causes sponsors to decline potential marketing relationships.

At Raise a Dream, we have interviewed a number of brands and sponsors to explore what helps them (and also what hurts the people seeking sponsorship). Through these valuable conversations, we were able to boil the insightful feedback of sponsorship decision-makers into the 3 common reasons sponsors often say NO.

Every day, we see speakers, authors, event hosts, and entrepreneurs making costly mistakes that will cause sponsors to say NO to their (and potentially your) amazing offerings. Knowing how to avoid these mistakes is such an important topic, we have turned this into a 3-part sponsorship educational series so that each mistake (and its solutions) gets the attention it deserves.

Getting Crystal CLEAR On Your Dream So Sponsors Say YES!

In marketing and business, you’ve heard the common phrase “less is more” and “bigger is not always better.” This is so true when it comes to communicating your message to champions, partners, and sponsors.

Confusion generally results in overwhelm and a “no,” which could mean you are leaving support, funding, and sponsorship on the table simply because of how the project was branded or communicated.

There is good news!

At Raise a Dream, we help our students and can help YOU...

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