One of the biggest questions people have when they start searching for a sponsor is getting around the anxiety of drafting that initial contact letter. You need to look organized, professional and worthy of sponsorship.
Some of the basic rules for writing a good sponsorship letter are to keep it short, sweet and factual. No one wants to read a 30 page packet about yourself or your charity organization on their first contact with you. Just make sure you are conveying the important parts of the sponsor relationship in your first meeting. You want sponsorship and they want to know exactly what they are sponsoring.
Here is a template for a well-designed sponsor letter.
__________________[Recipient Name]
__________________[Title]
__________________[Company Name]
__________________[Street Address]
__________________[City, State, Zip, Postal Code]
__________________[Date]
Dear_____________________ [Recipient Name]
(Never, ever send a sponsorship letter with the opening, "To Whom it May Concern").
Next, write a little bit about yourself or your organization, tell the last outstanding thing you did such as a fund raiser or award.
Talk about the size of your organization or the goals for the immediate future.
Ask for the sponsorship and give choices on a few different sponsorship types of help. Different sizes of ads or banners or different amounts for different types of sponsors (silver, gold and platinum level sponsors for example).
Close your letter and thank them for considering your request for sponsorship.
Sincerely,
_____________[Your Name]
____________[Name of group]
____________[Signature]
Include a self-address-stamped-envelope to send back a donation. The easier and less effort someone has to put into being a sponsor, the more likely they are to do it.