Fundraising for Sponsorships + High Dollar Donors

(last updated September 1, 2022)

Big donors and sponsors can be intimidating even for seasoned development professionals. 

Just like in sales, sometimes, it just takes a mindset pivot toward the idea of helping vs. asking for help. 

That’s a paradigm shift that can truly help motivate people to put their fears aside and make that big ask a regular occurrence.

Here are more suggestions to help steel your resolve and get you out there in front of people who want to help your organization do what only it can do. 

• Identify Decision Makers in Your North Star Organizations
• Curate Your Contacts
• Utilize Third-Party Email Tools like HubSpot
• Set Up a Three-Step Email Sequence
• Use Video Tools like Vidyard 
• Productize Your Donor Options with Funding Change
• Track Your Conversations with HubSpot Sales Hub

Let's get into some details. 

Identify Decision Makers in North Star Organizations 

Everyone has a North Star donor or sponsor they would love to get in front of. So get in front of them! 

The first step is to recognize that you do have a big dream like that.

Here’s a moment to think about it (playing elevator music here).

Great! Now, you just need to find the most appropriate way to reach out. 

Do some research to discover who the decision makers are by starting with the CFO and working your way down to someone who sets up meetings with the CFO.

If their email isn’t accessible on their website, find it by using a software program like Apollo.io.

 Now just write an email that’s authentic and honest about what you’d like to offer. It just takes an ounce of courage. You’ve got this. 

Pro Tip: The software in our Account-Based Marketing tech stack works just as well for helping to grow nonprofits as it does for businesses.

Curate Your Contacts

Now that you’ve identified your ideal donor profile, find the individuals that fit your matrix.

Tools like Apollo.io and ZoomInfo allow you to search by industry, company size, job title, and business role. 

Utilize Third-Party Email Tools: HubSpot 

Contacting one person at a time can be exhausting (and wasteful of your time); however, you can contact thousands of prospective donors at once when you use software like HubSpot. 

With their software, you can send personalized email campaigns (or personalize one of their many proven templates), and automate your follow-ups for maximized deliverability and success. 

Set Up a Three-Step Email Sequence 

A good conversation is like tennis, but when you keep hitting a wall (or radio silence) on the other side of your email to someone, just keep offering help in different ways. 

Your first email should be an introduction of yourself and what you offer. The second can go a little deeper into what your organization does, and the third should be a “hey! Are you out there?” 

All three should be human and offer value.

Speak from your own voice, and remember to focus on how your organization can help this person, not on asking for funds. 

Use Video Tools: Vidyard 

Nowadays, nothing grabs our attention like video, and Vidyard makes that increasingly easy.

With just a few clicks, you can create a video that can be embedded into your email that communicates a unique, dynamic, personal message to donors and sponsors that adds something a little extra. 

It’s a strong introduction to exactly who you are and what you offer that’s valuable.

I mean, look! Even I did it.

Productize Your Donor Options: Funding Change

Make it easy for donors to select their giving levels by productizing your fundraising options with Funding Change: an online raffle platform.

With Funding Change, contributions are more tangible and easier to quantify because you can:

• Assign a unique raffle link to your fundraisers or the stakeholder who will benefit from the sales
• Add a leaderboard to your raffle page for some healthy competition
• Reward your top sellers with prizes based on their sales
• Define the impact of donations with easy-to-use tools built into the platform

Since August 2016, Funding Change has helped nonprofits of all sizes fundraise with their online raffles and tools to track them so they can focus on doing the life-changing work they do.

Track All Conversations: HubSpot Sales Hub

Making detailed notes about sponsorship and donor conversations isn’t just about making sure you remember what you’ve already mentioned, it’s also about sharing that information with others on your team to ensure that everyone has an eye on identifying opportunities. 

HubSpot’s Sales Hub offers a top-of-the-line CRM where you can record ideas and notes, cultivate your donor pipelines, create meeting schedules, and more.

Plus, HubSpot’s new pilot program for nonprofits is offering 40% off for new customers who run eligible non-profit organizations. It’s a win-win. 

Need some assistance with any of these suggestions? As a HubSpot Platinum Solutions Partner, Growth helps big and small organizations with HubSpot onboarding so they can accomplish more for those they serve. Contact us, and let us get you on board.