Last updated: January 13, 2025
As an organizer, you must be looking for event sponsors to help fund your event as well as increase your event’s prestige. Companies are also looking to sponsor events to gain brand exposure and build on their positive reputation. So crafting an effective event sponsorship proposal can be helpful to convince those companies’ stakeholders to sponsor your event.
In this article, we have event sponsorship examples for different event types as well as a 5 step guide for creating an event sponsorship proposal to help you get inspired on how to bring your proposal to life. If you want to jump right away, we made a free event sponsorship proposal template for you to download and customize!
NOTE: If you’re looking for tools to handle sponsor registration and promote your sponsors, consider Whova. Whova is an event platform that helps events to sell sponsor packages, collect payments, and promote the sponsors on an mobile event app. Over 50,000 events have chosen Whova in the past 10 years. Request more information or get a price quote today (free trial available).
Sponsorship Proposal Examples for Different Event Types
These templates will hopefully give you an idea of what to put on your sponsorship prospectus. The design and content will fully be up to you, but this template will serve as a rough layout. Your event may fit into more than one of these event-type sponsor prospectus templates; however, all the content on the templates is quite similar. If you want to see the design and content templates, go get the free sponsorship proposal template here.
1. Association Events
The goal of most association events is to network and increase their members. Many of these events limit the number of sponsors, so sponsorship opportunities are usually limited. This can be used to help create more value in attaining the spot and make potential sponsors reach out much quicker.
Highlights:
- Many associations already have sponsors who partner with them. Typically, if an association has an event that needs sponsors, they will reach out to their current partnered sponsors first.
- Many associations use this event prospectus to display exhibition opportunities.
- Some association event sponsor prospectuses will begin with a letter from the director to give an overview of the event and let potential sponsors know some of the benefits of event sponsorship.
- Since associations bring many similar people together, attendee demographics do not need to be as detailed as other events. You should note how many members are in the association in order to target certain sponsorships.
- The best visual information to show potential sponsors is the sponsorship table, even though, some association events do not include one. No matter what, sponsorship package information needs to be given with the price and number of packages available.
- If a sponsor does not align with the values of the association, the association can always reject potential event sponsors.
2. Technology Conferences
Many conferences can fall under a technology conference. These technology conferences provide a platform where attendees can discover new, exciting technologies in a specific field. They also allow attendees to learn the best protocols and techniques from their peers. Companies that have products and services related to the technology in the conference will be the best for sponsorship.
Highlights:
- By listing reputable past sponsors, you can create trust with potential sponsors. If a highly-reputable brand is featured it makes other sponsors more confident in the event’s value, and in turn, more likely to sponsor the event.
- The attendee demographic section is very important so that potential sponsors can decide whether they will reach the target audience for their brand.
- Including positive testimonials from attendees and/or sponsors is another way to reinforce confidence in a potential sponsor.
- Don’t forget to still include a table of sponsorship levels and packages so sponsors can get the best value out of the event.
3. Trade Show/Expo
A trade show or exposition is an event where companies in a particular industry can showcase their service or product. An example would be something like a chocolate show or toy show. Along with selling exhibit booths, expo organizers will also sell sponsorships as the main goal for these events is to make money.
Highlights:
- Most trade shows have an exhibitor and sponsor with more of an emphasis on selling exhibitor booths. The template will focus primarily on the sponsor side.
- To sponsor a trade show, most organizers need to purchase an exhibition booth as a requisite.
- There will likely be one booking form for both the exhibition and sponsorship options. Make sure to put the exhibitor booth options first, then the sponsorship opportunities.
4. External Corporate Event
An external corporate event is an event hosted by a company typically with the goal of marketing their product or service to attract customers. Objectives for these types of events are to teach others, market their own product or service, and allow non-competitive partners or sponsors a chance to showcase theirs.
Highlights:
- In events run by a corporation, sponsors typically get to showcase their products or services like an exhibition setting or special session.
- Again, showing buying and decision-making power among your attendees is especially important in securing sponsorships for this type of event.
- Having the ability to reject sponsors is important to include in terms and conditions in case a close competitor wants to sponsor your event.
How to Create an Event Sponsorship Prospectus – 5 Steps
Now that we’ve looked at some examples of prospectuses, let’s talk about what goes into making one.
An event sponsorship proposal or prospectus is an organized summary of your event and the sponsorship opportunities it offers. This proposal can be for either one event or contain multiple different events for your organization.
Because no two events are the same, the type of event, whether it is a conference, educational event, a career fair, nonprofit event, or anything else, will also affect how you write your prospectus. This list will go over common guidelines when creating a sponsorship proposal — you don’t have to strictly follow these rules.
The key is to capture the attention of the potential sponsor because they will likely skim the proposal at first, so don’t overcomplicate things — make sure everything is presented clearly. Also, communicate why sponsorship is worth it and why they should trust your organization.
On another note, have someone with at least a little bit of graphic design experience on hand to make it visually appealing. Most event sponsorship proposals are done as a PDF, but some choose to feature the proposal as a webpage on their website. However, a PDF can be preferable to many sponsors, as it is universal and printable.
1. Create an aesthetically pleasing cover
This is the first thing that prospective sponsors will see, so you want to make it visually appealing.
First, the name of the event, the organization that will be hosting the event, the event dates and the logo should be included for branding purposes. You’ll also need to specify where the event will be taking place. The city, the venue, and/or virtual event format are things that should be specified
For a good example of an event sponsorship cover, check out this prospectus for the WE21 Virtual Career Fair.
2. Build trust by explaining the event and organization
In your event sponsorship proposal, there should be background information about the organization running the event to give sponsors an idea of what the organization does, its history, the members, and the goals. One good example is the TAPPI Leadership Conference.
Along with information about the organization, general information about the event itself is needed as well. It should answer questions such as: What the event is about? What is the mission? How will it be run? And what will be going on? You can get a good idea of how to do this from the Red Hat Summit.
It can also be helpful to directly outline why a potential sponsor would want to sponsor your event. You should be able to illustrate how your specific event might be a profitable place to sponsor.
You might also consider including a message from a major player in the organization or event to convey trust and importance. Additionally, testimonials from past sponsors and attendees can help read real-life experiences that sponsors might resonate with. If the event is not virtual, then information about the venue or lodging situation can be given as well, like in the Early Educators Leadership Conference.
3. Provide information about the attendees
In an event sponsorship prospectus, audience demographics might be the most important information when it comes to finding the right sponsors for your event. Sponsors want to know exactly who they will be marketing to and how many people they can reach.
Specifically, this section should include attendee statistics and demographics, such as numbers on technical roles, location, industry, buying power, and anything deemed important for sponsors to know. The example proposal from 365 EduCon does a great job at highlighting these statistics.
Equally important, a post-event survey from the previous year’s event can help convince prospective sponsors to secure their spot. These results can include how many attendees interacted with sponsors, how many found a new product at the event, and whatever else you think would be beneficial to show potential sponsors.
Note: if you have multiple events, points 2 and 3 may have to be combined into one page or an overall description of all events.
4. Describe the sponsorship opportunities being offered
This section of the event sponsorship proposal is where you display what sponsorship levels are available. This can be done using either tiered packages, a-la-carte options, or a combination of both.
Tiered packages are usually displayed in two different ways. An efficient way to do this could be with a matrix table that includes all the packages as the columns and the packages’ features as the rows. Cost and availability should also be specified in the table. You can view the event proposals for The Arc for an example of how this might look. The other way to display sponsorship packages is to just list all the relevant info out under the package name, like MICCAI’s event sponsorship prospectus.
On the other hand, a-la-carte sponsorship opportunities can work in three ways.
- They can be add-ons to be purchased along with a sponsorship package as a customization option. (Ex. Fire-Rescue Canada’s event sponsorship example)
- Rather than offering sponsorship packages, they can be stand-alone and be purchased separately. (Ex. Boost Conference’s sponsorship proposal)
- A sponsorship package can be assigned based on what sponsorship opportunity is purchased. (Ex. ACS Spring 2024’s event sponsorship example)
Info that should be included in the offered sponsorship opportunity description are things like where the sponsor will be visible, how the sponsor will be involved, how many registrations are included, what networking opportunities there are, what is included post-event, and more. Using an event management software, such as Whova, can help you provide more opportunities by leveraging the event apps for sponsor exposure.
5. Conclude with contact information, terms, and a booking form
Once the sponsor is convinced and excited to partner with your event, you need to give them a way to move to the next steps. The contact details you collect are up to you, but you should get a contact name, company name, email, and website. You can also collect payment information right on the form.
Then, include a checklist for the sponsorship opportunities that prospective sponsors can fill out. You’ll want to include terms and conditions and/or rules and regulations and definitely include the cancellation policy with details about any refund compensation.
Lastly, include contact information for the prospective sponsors to send their booking form and ask any questions surrounding your event, organization, and sponsorship.
Attract More Sponsors with Whova
As you can see, writing an event sponsorship proposal can take quite some time and thought. However, once you have a solid prospectus or proposal, it’s easy to edit and use it as a template for next year’s event. Having examples to look at and draw from can also be a major benefit in figuring out how to shape yours.
Even though, writing this proposal is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to securing sponsors at your event, it’s not the only one. If you want to impress your sponsors with extra exposure, consider using the latest technologies, such as Whova’s all-in-one event platform, which supports digital booths, in-app company banners, opportunities to tier benefits, and more. Request your demo today!
FAQs
What Is An Event Sponsorship Proposal?
An event sponsorship proposal is a formal document or presentation aimed to persuade potential sponsors to financially support or contribute your event. The proposal should highlight how the sponsor’s involvement will enhance the event as well as achieve their own business goals.
Why Is A Sponsorship Proposal Important For Events?
A sponsorship proposal is important because it summarizes and highlights all the financial and branding related benefits to potential sponsors. Creating a concise and targeted proposal can help sponsors understand the event’s goals and the packages offered. With all the information necessary, you will be able to convince them more easily without having to closely follow up with basic information.
How Do I Reach Out To Sponsors?
- Reach out to previous sponsors since the chance that they will come back is higher. If not, research new companies and organizations that match your event’s mission.
- Understand the sponsor’s mission and brand before reaching out.
- Create a tailored sponsor proposal that uniquely targets one company/organization.
- Use social media or company websites to get the contact of decision-makers (ex: marketing managers, sponsorship coordinators, business owners).
- Contact through email, phone or in-person.
- Be open to negotiations in order to reach mutual agreement between parties.
- Follow-up professionally and keep them informed about your event timelines.
What Are Good Event Sponsorship Proposal Examples?
Depending on what your event type is, the proposal will have different structures. For example, association events might highlight committed members that can help the sponsor while tradeshows might highlight the ability for sponsors to exhibit their brand. We have compiled our own templates as well as a list of real-life examples that you can easily download here.