SPONSORS!!!

[Jeremy Clarke]

Okay, so the other thing we need to get started on ASAP is sponsors
for WordCamp. With 50 days to go we need to start collecting money
from sponsors so that we can pay for things like down payments on our
theoretical venue, shirts+swag. We also need to get them onto our site
so new sponsors can see that we're serious and already have backing
from some big players.

So:

==How much are we asking for?==

What should dollar be the ranges for sponsorships? In looking at other
WC sites I see a huge disparity. At one of them they were asking for
100/500/1000$ chunks while the San Francisco wordcamp was looking for
between $2,000 to $15,000.

To make it simpler San Francisco set up an explicit hierarchy with
Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors, this lets you list them
seperately to establish their hierarchy and also lets you easily
communicate commitments to sponsors when you approach them. Something
like, 500$ for bronze, 1000$ for silver, 5000$ for gold, 10000 $ for
platinum.

We also used this model behind the scenes at Global Voices (not in
the listings on our site) for our conference in Hungary:
http://summit08.globalvoicesonline.org/

Do you guys like the idea? does 500/1000/5000/10000 make sense to you?
I kind of prefer just 3 levels, in which case Id say 1000/5000/10000
with the possibility of smaller than 1000 if people can give us
something else we need.

==Who are we Asking?==

Anyone have ideas/plans about who we can ask? Sylvain, you know the
circuit, are you able to make some calls to the companies around here?

If anyone has an employer involved with WP they should definitely ask
them. This will be a great opportunity to meet lots of WP people and
maybe Hire them! They may not be the biggest sponsors but if we can
get them they will be useful.

Here's a list of people I think we should approach:

* Microsoft - they already expressed interest, we just need them in
the biggest package ;)
* Plank design (they tried to hire me for WP = they need WP people)
* Akoha - why not? they sponsor everything else, is there a WP plugin
for it? :P

Who else should be on the list? WordCamp NYC had SUN Microsystems as a
sponsor but I think mostly for the venue. If they don't mind being on
a ticket with Microsoft it might be worth getting in touch with
whoever reps for Google in Montreal about it too.

==SO==

If we can agree on a structure for donations (1000/5000/10000?) I
think that would be the best first step before we approach anyone,
then we need to get as many promises as possible an start collecting
money ASAP. Brendan who threw the Toronto WordCamp said getting the
money on time was one of the hardest parts, and I know I can't afford
to foot the bill for WCMTL while we wait for people to pay up.

jer

--
Jeremy Clarke
Code and Design | globalvoicesonline.org

[brother...@gmail.com]

I will email you and silvain my sponsor list, I can't guarantee they will sponsor again but it is a start.

I will also talk to Angie from Microsoft and have her contact you direct so you guys can discuss sponsorship.

Also, what we did in the begining was add logos from our own companies, and then as the list grew we put our selves as advertising sponsors.

If you like I can send you my company and blog logos, and I will gladly advertise for you!

-Brendan

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeremy Clarke <j...@simianuprising.com>

Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 10:21:54
To: <wordc...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [WCMTL] SPONSORS!!!

[Shannon Smith (Café Noir Design)]

What about a "local developers" page. You could charge a smaller
amount ($150? $300?) to be listed on a separate page of the with local
Wordpress designers/developers. It's definitely something I'd like.

-Shannon

[Louis Cleroux]

I could sponsor the local, I have to validate with the director but we
could have 2 classrooms and 1 big room to support 300-400 ppl in
total.

The office would be located at 752 Sherbrooke Ouest. I will come back
to you about this on Monday. We also have a projector but we would
need another one. About the sound system, we gonna have to find a
solution about that.

LC

[Jeremy Clarke]

Wow Louis, that sounds pretty awesome. Would it be in the name of
http://www.supinfo.com/? That's what I get when I look up the address.
Definitely a good location (for anyone curious, its across the street
from the mcgill gates on Sherbrooke, perfect for Jazz Fest etc).

Louis, thank you again and please let me know whatever information you
have even if its inconclusive or negative so I know where we stand.

Someone else also replied with a contact at UQAM (Thanks Yannick and
to the Montreal Python group). I sent them an email asking for more
info.

jer

[Louis Cleroux]

It would be the name of my company itradelive.com but I have to
validate with the directors if they can grant me this access.

[Sylvain Carle]

> Anyone have ideas/plans about who we can ask? Sylvain, you know the
> circuit, are you able to make some calls to the companies around here?

Yes, I will pass the word around.

> Who else should be on the list?

Will post progress here as I contact people.

> If we can agree on a structure for donations (1000/5000/10000?)

First we need to decide how much money we need.

I would say we probably need around 3k for a small event and 5-7k for
a larger event.

I suggest three categories for sponsorship (for diversity and
representation):

* Enterprise/Institutional: slices of $1000, max up to 3 per sponsor
* Media: slices of $500, max up to 4 per sponsor
* Individual/Small biz: slices of 100$ up to 3 per sponsor

I am pretty confident we can raise about 5K for this event in the next
month.

Bonus logistic question: What company name are we going to use for
checks (I have a few options available, let's discuss)

--
Sylvain Carle
www.afroginthevalley.com

[Jeremy Clarke]

On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Sylvain Carle <sylvai...@gmail.com> wrote:
> First we need to decide how much money we need.
>
> I would say we probably need around 3k for a small event and 5-7k for
> a larger event.

Huh. Well I have zero experience with this other than talking to
Brendan about WCTO, so i value your guess. That said, Brendan spend a
LOT more than that on WCTO. I guess it partly depends on whether our
venue ends up being cheap or expensive (WCTO had an *expensive* venue
compared to some of our potential options).

> I suggest three categories for sponsorship (for diversity and
> representation):
>
> * Enterprise/Institutional: slices of $1000, max up to 3 per sponsor
> * Media: slices of $500, max up to 4 per sponsor
> * Individual/Small biz: slices of 100$ up to 3 per sponsor

Hmmm, this is an interesting schema. Would they get something from
having more 'slices', or would it just be behind-the-scenes? I'm kind
of tempted to have more solid numbers that approximate the same things
instead to make the decision easier for orgs (i.e. 250/1000/2500), but
you'll probably be doing the actual negotiating so I'll leave it in
your hands in the end.

> I am pretty confident we can raise about 5K for this event in the next
> month.

Yeah. I think 5k is very attainable if that will be enough. Hopefully
we can get more and have wiggle-room (and maybe funds left over for
next year, though thats a fantasy!)

> Bonus logistic question: What company name are we going to use for
> checks (I have a few options available, let's discuss)

I have no strong feelings about this as long as it doesn't *all* end
up in my name :P

[Jeremy Clarke]

Okay, I put up a page about sponsorship:

http://wordcampmontreal.org/sponsors/

It still needs the final numbers for packages and obviously the list
of current sponsors. Once we add real sponsors we can link to the
bottom part of the page when we link to 'become a sponsor'.

jer

[Brendan Sera-Shriar]

You will need more many than you think?

Before I started organizing WCT 2009 I spoke witha  few other organizers about this. In Vancouver they spent over $10 000, last year's WCT ( which had a free venue ) they also spent just over $10 000. The average I got from most organizers online was any where from $8000 ( for really small 1 day wordcamps) up to $30 000 (for 2 day and much larger wordcamps).

My final total at the end of everything was $23 000. It adds up quick, I was paying for stuff the off and during the event. Small issues arise, things need to be taking care, and some stuff you just can;t plan for.

• Venue will be your most expensive, regardless of what you find. Let's face it, you need space for everything and everyone. Unless it's free, it ain't going to be cheap.
• If your venue does not have it, you need to rent tables and chairs, this cost us $630
  
• Wifi, well we screwed this up a bit, so you need to pay for that  as well...
• Food, this can become very costly, coffee, water, juice, available every day adds up, and unfortunately people expect it!
  
• Swag, shrits add up reall fast, and swag bags...
  
• Gifts for your speakers, it's customary, even if you give them each a bottle of wine, or in our case Starbucks tumblers and free coffee. I heard at some wordcamps they have given speakers ipods, futureshop gift cards, etc.
• Advertising collateral ie; postcards, stickers, posters, whatever you give out in advance to get people there. this coat us around $3000
• Signage for outside the event. We baught a giant vinyl sign. It cost around $130
• Printing schedules and badges
• Lanyards ( i have a really good connection for this and he will ship to mtl)

i run other small events that are 1 day and average 50-100 people, its still cost a couple grand each time...

I would aim much higher on your budget to be on the safe side. Some advice, start sourcing prices for the above now!!! this way you have a better idea of what it costs and a more realistic budget.

You might be luckty and get away with 5k, but I don;t think yo will meet your expectations. Granted I am speaking from a TO point of view, but I am originally a Montrealer, and I know its cheaper there, but some things still cost.

Try to get some free stuff donated to cause!!!

Also, and added addition to you sponsorhip, set up a paypal donation option. We did, and surpriselingy people donated a couple hundred dollars here and there...

-Brendan

On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 1:53 PM, Jeremy Clarke <j...@simianuprising.com> wrote:

--
Owner / CEO - BackSpaceStudios
Building Better Communities
www.backspacestudios.com

Founder - Board Director
PHUG - Open Source Culture & red5World
www.phug.ca
www.red5world.com

Professor - Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
DMA: Digital Media Arts Program
MFD - Media Fundamentals
www.senecac.on.ca

[Thomas Andreo]

Very good idea IMO. My company may be interested to be a small sponsor if we can have this kind of visibility on the site.

--
Thomas Andreo.
Web Designer.

[Sylvain Carle]

I really like this "sponsor something" idea. We collect all money up-
front and we have a page that lists all these, with opportunities on
the premise for a thank you.

I have created a shared spreadsheet to track the budget, feel free to
add items as you see fit, I have added most of the items Brendan
shared (thanks!)

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rO_sdetI0TUJm2W_4gMfysg

> I think it would be good to have micro-sponsors somehow, because it
> would get better buy-in from the community, and keep things affordable
> for small freelancers, without cannibalizing the sponsorships for
> bigger fish.