Getting sponsorship for your event or activity
Ever wanted to find out how other students get sponsorship for their events? A couple of our students who have successfully gained sponsorship for SADD activities share how they went about it.
We know that most SADD groups don’t have a massive budget to work with, if any! Fundraising can be a good way to get some extra money, but another thing you can look into is sponsorship.
There are heaps of benefits to sponsorship, and it could be a whole range of things from freebies to hand out through to giving your SADD group financial support.
Our SADD team talked with a couple of students who have given the sponsorship thing a bit of a go, here’s what they had to say…
Skylah - National Leader and SADD student at Villa Maria College in Christchurch
Why did you and your SADD group decide to try and get sponsorship?
We decided to make sober driver kits for our semi-formal last year. The sober driver kits were for the parents of the girls attending the formal, as a thank you to them for putting their hands up to drive their child either to an after-party or home. The sober driver kits were also for the girls who were going to the formal. We as a group hoped that if given an incentive, girls would plan ahead and find someone who would be willing to be a sober driver for the night.
What event or activity did you gain sponsorship for?
At our school everyone loves free stuff. This was one of the reasons we chose to try and get a sponsorship, but we also did it because it gives the girls an incentive to plan ahead. If you were told “find a sober driver for after formal and you’ll get something yummy,” is more appealing than saying “find a sober driver.” We thought that if we had someone sponsoring our kits that girls would be more likely to get involved.
Who ended up sponsoring your event?
We ended up getting a few people to sponsor us. Our main sponsor was Lewis Road Creamery, they gave us chocolate milk to go in our packs. We also got a little bundle from Trade Aid. Finally, we reached out to our local police officer, Bradley Hagerty, who managed to get us pens and 35 of the sticky card holders that go on your phone.
What do you think getting sponsorship adds to an event or activity?
I think sponsorship boosts your activity. It adds an incentive and more people are likely to pay attention to your event or activity. It also helps you make connections to different companies and with different people who you might not have spoken to before.
What advice would you have for another SADD student leader who might be interested in gaining sponsorship?
Go for it. Reach out to every company that you can think of. I emailed, probably about 50 different companies (including Gucci) to try and get them to sponsor our activity. Although some didn’t reply I still kept going for it. Don’t take it personally when you get declined either, because that’s just life. You also need to sell your activity or event. When emailing someone do it with confidence. Don’t use words like ‘maybe,’ ‘hopefully’ or ‘might’, but rather ‘this will, ‘this is why’ and other words that show that you know what you're talking about.
Holly - National Leader and SADD student at Columba College in Dunedin
Why did you and your SADD group decide to try and get sponsorship?
Our SADD group decided to gain sponsorship for our 2019 SAFER September campaign as a means to include our wider community in SADD. The sponsorship was to provide an incredible incentive of prizes amongst our various events as we found many companies were more than willing to donate vouchers to our cause and girls were really excited to participate. It was so incredible to see our campaign connect to something outside of school while also promoting SADD, as well as the local businesses.
What event or activity did you gain sponsorship for?
We gained sponsorship for our annual prefect Netball match. Our girls put on the boys rugby jerseys and versed the John McGlashan prefects who got to wear our Columba school netball dresses! It's always a really popular event so to get sponsorship involved an effective and beneficial strategy.
Who ended up sponsoring your event?
We gained sponsorship from Kiwi-Yo, Pita Pit, The Body Shop and The Good Oil. We really appreciate their support and value their participation for a number of years now.
What do you think getting sponsorship adds to an event or activity?
For our event, in between quarters we did a road safety and SADD related quiz and used our sponsorship vouchers and chocolate as prizes. The sponsorship added engagement and interest to our event. It was a great way to increase participation amongst the girls and we also found it to be an amazing support to be backed by our community.
What advice would you have for another SADD student leader who might be interested in gaining sponsorship?
Talk to the sponsors in person! We wrote and signed letters to hand to various places around Dunedin but in the end, all our sponsors were a result of us talking to people and telling them about SADD. Introduce yourself, share your experience, share what SADD means to you and the rest will come. A face-to-face conversation can go a long way.
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