sponsorships

[Scott]

Would anybody be willing to share succesful strategies for seeking
sponsorships when opening a new space? I am considering kickstarter
for smaller contributions and working with a fiscal sponsor to entice
larger sponsorships? But beyond good karma, a bit of press and
exposure what offerings have yielded the best results? Thanks so much!

[Mathis Young]

I've had this same question.  I know some places have office furniture places sponsor the space and therefore donate the furniture in the space. 

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[john....@gmail.com]

I'd definitely be interested in knowing more about this.

We bootstrapped Uncubed, but a friend mentioned a lot of the Phoenix area Cowork spaces were backed and able to free or less expensive, etc.

Would be interesting to hear how it's been done. 

John Wilker
Founder, 360|Conferences
twitter: jwilker
johnwilker.com | Ignite Denver| Denwhere | 360|Flex | 360|iDev

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”
~ Bruce Lee

[Ryan Price]

This is a subject we're interested in as well, especially because our space is part of a nonprofit organization.

One idea we have is to have a company sponsor the events in the space - we hold an event 4-5 nights a week for the community.

We also batted around having someone's membership sponsored - sort of like an Artist in Residence.

Last but not least is what Mathis brought up - having local companies donate equipment - but the question is always what do they get in return? In the case of events, it's easy to say "naming rights".

We do have our web hosting donated by a local provider, and for that they get a mention at the bottom of every page of the web site.

To one of Scott's questions, we have a kickstarter going for a specific event we are hosting, but as far as I can tell Kickstarter has some rules about what they will approve. You may have to revise your proposal to get it out there if you go through them.

What sorts of things have you gotten donated/sponsored?

Peace,

Ryan Price

rpr...@ryanpricemedia.com

@liberatr

407-484-8528

UrbanReThink.com

[Alex Hillman]

I think the key to any of these kinds of sponsorship or donation "deals" is being clear about expectations. 

This sounds obvious upfront, but I've seen this go sour enough times that it merits bringing up.

The fact is, if you're doing something "cool" or "good", people are going to be likely to want to contribute to it. This is a good thing. 

The tricky part is, figuring out what to accept, and who to accept from. Remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch, so ANY kind of contributions come with expectations, if not some strings attached.

A couple of tips I've learned to help these sorts of donor/sponsor relationships work best:

• State your purpose. Ask your sponsor/donor to state theirs. Make sure you're both comfortable with each other's missions.
• Have a beginning, middle and end to the deal. Open-ended sponsorships and donations may seem great because they can go on as long as they need to, but you're setting yourself up for a uncomfortable end to the deal if you haven't discussed it upfront. Eventually, somebody will outgrow the arrangement. Most of the time, it'll go on longer than it should, and create tension/stress for everybody.
• Transparency & Authenticity are two buzzwords that get tossed around alot, but they mean a great deal when it comes to sponsor/donor communication. When somebody finds out that the intent wasn't clear, trust is broken. Coworking works because of trust networks. Don't undo your hard work earning trust just to earn (or save) some quick cash.
• Create levels. When you're going out to sell sponsorships or donation opportunities, don't go in saying "well, whatever you can give". Go in with some specifics in mind. Maybe it's a dollar amount. Maybe it's a specific piece of equipment. And know what you intend to give them in return for their contributions. Expect negotiations, but don't expect them to lead the negotiations.
• I personally prefer to work with sponsors who want to be involved anyway, even if there isn't a sponsorship opportunity. Knowing that somebody would give their time and effort is far more difficult to come by than money, and usually much more valuable.

-Alex

/ah
indyhall.org
coworking in philadelphia

[Scott Maltzman]