Charities, like other ventures, need revenue to operate. Unfortunately, finding cash for your charity can be challenging. And in most cases, corporate sponsorships will be the solution to financing your charitable operations. That's because they can make all the difference to the success of your charitable organisations through their generous financial contributions. However, just like businesses, charities are unique. Therefore, you will need to find corporate sponsors aligned with your mission. And with several corporations willing to sponsor many different charities or charitable organisations, finding the right sponsors may be tricky. Therefore, you need to employ several strategies to stand out and attract or find potential sponsors. With that in mind, here is the ultimate guide to help you.

Understand Your Audience

Knowing your audience is the first step to understanding the corporate sponsors you need. For instance, you will need to look for corporate sponsors in the education sector to help finance your literacy charity programmes. In addition, if you are using options like reading dogs to help boost literacy skills amongst children, it would be best to narrow down your options to sponsors focusing on child education. Therefore, define your customers or audience as finitely as possible and do your research to identify the kind of sponsors to approach.

Advertise

Corporate sponsors will rarely ever come to you. Therefore, you need to advertise your organisation actively to attract them. Use all platforms and take advantage of social media to put your message across the market. It also pays to promote your achievements or impact when advertising. For instance, you can mention the percentage of children whose literacy skills have improved from your reading dog programmes over a certain period. Showcasing your impact to the world and potential sponsors is one practical way to attract them to your cause. For instance, you can talk about other benefits of reading dogs besides improving literacy skills. Therefore, mention the social and emotional benefits of reading dogs and make sure these benefits are quantifiable to help you attract sponsors.

Network

Advertising can effectively attract corporate sponsors if you do it the right way. However, that alone may not be enough. You also need to network or use your current network as leverage to attract corporate sponsors. For instance, if you have board members in your charitable organisation, you can ask them to reach out to or share their corporate contacts with you. You can also do the same with volunteers.

What's more, consider holding networking events and inviting business owners. You can start locally by engaging the community stakeholders, including learning institutions and spread the word about your charity's mission. On the other hand, if you cannot hold such events, attend similar events by other organisations and be sure to speak about the benefits of your charity. Use these tips to find corporate donation opportunities. 

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