jessica eustacecook 'filling the empty cup, fundraising in recessional times
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Overview Background
The process
Developing a plan or strategy
Creating a funding structure
Identifying prospective sponsors
Making contact - tips and tools
Building a relationship
My Background Graduated in 2000 from UCD Library School
5 years working for the Web of Science as part of MIMAS. 5 years on the UK national exhibition circuit
5 years as national fundraiser for an animal charity
2008-2011 Fundraiser for A&SL
2013-2014 Joint Project Manager & fundraising lead for A&SL
No marketing experience
No professional training in fundraising
How did I learn to fundraise? I made a list of all the positive experiences I had as an
exhibitor and tried to think how to incorporate them into a funding plan which would attract sponsors
I developed ideas as I went along – if something didn’t work one year, I tweaked it
I invested time in building a relationship with individuals rather than companies – huge job movement in publication and sales support but it’s a small pot of employers and employees
Every event I attended as a Librarian I always took the time to talk to people on the exhibition stands
Fundraising is a team activity
Organising an event requires a number of team players working together. Fundraising is not possible without a good working relationship with:
Project manager
Treasurer or Financial Lead
Venue Coordinator
Promotional officer – social media
Liaison Officers with sponsors – ideally 1 to 1
A good relationship with potential sponsors / exhibitors and potential investors
Your Event
Planning
Identifying Sponsors
Mapping a funding structure – single or multi streams
Identifying strengths of proposal or product
Contacting prospective sponsors
Waiting & Follow up calls
Getting them to sign
Promotion and advertising
Coordinating event space
On the day liaison
Follow up and next event planning
Identifying your strengths What makes it unique
Access to a unique set of members Are there other comparable events in your country / area
Is this a one off event or will there be a series? – what are the implications of this for your sponsors
Consider the potential promotional avenue your event offers for sponsors Unique access to attendees emails Twitter and Facebook promotional posts Conference Social Event – special funding opportunity Consider providing meeting rooms for sponsors to combine
additional business with your event Consider how to break down the impact of each of these factors
and map that to the cost of each funding strand.
Creating a Funding Structure How much money do you need to raise?
Are you just trying to cover the cost of the event?
Will monies generated be used to fund additional events (this is the model applied by the A&SL)
Do you want a single sponsor rate
Do you want to have different funding streams so that different sized companies can apply depending on their budget?
Don’t get greedy! Ensure a fair ratio between exhibitors and attendees
Is there a similar event in your own country that you can review their pricings
Is there an event or company in the UK?
A&SL’s pricing structure was based on the UKSG conference
What are the pricing streams for CILIP events?
What do A&SL, LAI and HSLG do?
Read literature around pricing models
REALITY: its based on an educated guess.
Our pricing evolved as our event expanded
Guidance?
Tips Create an overview document with all of the funding
streams
Create separate documents also for each funding streams
Label each stream clearly to avoid confusion
Make sure to use your logo on every item you send to a prospective sponsor / exhibitor as you are selling your brand
How do you vary funding streams for a seminar / conference?
Consider varying: Number of exhibitor places
Table size and number
Room placement relative to foot fall
Lightning Sessions
Promotional lead up to event – pre / event /post
Emails
Spotlights
Event promotion
Inclusion of promotional information in brochure – vary number of words
Inclusion of additional marketing material in delegate packs
Inclusion of accommodation costs
Advanced access to delegate list
How do you vary different funding streams for different events? Exhibition stands (most common)
Funded Lunch
Funded Drinks Reception
Spot Prizes
Sponsored Prize for best poster / First time speaker etc.
Be creative – any way in which you can allow a sponsor to be highlighted has the potential to be a fundraising opportunity
BUT: it must be mutually beneficial
Identifying the prospective sponsors These can come from a variety of sources.
I started with trying to identify who would be interested in our event
Potential sponsors for a Library event Your membership or prospective attendees
Colleagues / peers / students / departments / research groups
Physical product suppliers Shelving Photocopying / Scanning / Paper suppliers Digital tools Conservation materials Computers DELL, IBM, Microsoft?
Publishers – Elsevier, Springer, Proquest, EBSCO, IEEE Software suppliers – Endnote? Authentication providers – athens / shibboleth E-Resource providers
Who else has a vested interest in your business?
All of the above are prospective investors in your event
What to send to encourage sponsorship Consider creating a sponsors / exhibitors manual and
include: The title of the event
Details of your keynote speakers or main speakers
Details of the venue
A floor plan of the venue is helpful
A detailed break down of each funding stream and what each stream entails – make this as tempting as possible and clearly labelled.
Clear contact details for project lead, treasurer and fundraiser
Include:• Entrance / Exit• Refreshments• Doors• Table layout• A foot flow of movement
through the exhibit space can also be helpful
Promotion & Advertising Normally the promotion and advertising of a sponsor will
occur as part of a timed plan. For example for the A&SL advertising of platinum sponsors
occurs up to 3 months before the event and reflects their investment
Consider merchandising as a promotional function Consider visual displays or pop up displays on the day Verbal acknowledgements during the event Use the event brochure to help promote your sponsors Encourage on the day competitions to help highlight sponsor
activities These elements can all be used to help advertise and promote
your sponsors without disrupting the flow of the event
What discourages investment Spelling and grammar
Misspelling a company name
Misspelling the person you are contacting
Asking for too much or too little money
Relevance
The funder must see why your event is relevant to them
Lack of structure for an event
This can make it difficult for a sponsor to see how they fit into the event
Contacting prospective stakeholders You have identified those who potentially might invest
Before contacting create a spreadsheet with contact name / email / date of contact – this will allow you to track their progression
I recommend a max of three attempts to get sponsorship from an individual contact or company Consider different wings of large companies e.g. Springer
Have a deadline for cut off - this will encourage timely responses Consider the timeline for calls for sponsors - most companies
start planning their funding for events for the following year around Sept
Keep track of each contact you make with a company whether you are successful or not.
The relationship Building a relationship with sponsors and exhibitors is one
of the most important parts of the fundraising role
In most cases you will be the point of contact between the project manager, treasurer, secretary and venue coordinator and the exhibitor / sponsor
Be aware that their experience at your event will influence whether they will encourage their company to reinvest in the future
Consider what they need to achieve from the event and try to encompass their needs into your planned event
Exhibitors & Sponsors Be aware of their IT needs
Consider exhibitors comfort
Consider providing break out time for companies to talk and meet with your delegates
What happens next? Your sponsors are starting to make contact you need:
Correct company name
Correct size and type of logo
Twitter hashtag
Brief company description – this will go into promotion
Named exhibitors with emails
Finances As point of contact you will need to get
Correct contact name, email address and address for issuing of a bill for attendance
Be prepared delay over this. Consider delays if payment is in
foreign currency and discuss with Treasurer before hand
Tip: Do not under estimate the amount of emails you will get
in relation to this stage.
Set aside 1 hour a day to deal with correspondence
Set up standard replies if at all possible to deal with the most frequent queries.
Consider creating a separate email address to deal with correspondence
The Venue - considerations A month before the event send contact details and guidelines
to the exhibitors for set up and break down of the exhibit area
Ensure that CLEAR dates of delivery for material intended for the delegate packs are provided, separately to the exhibit material
Clarify what will be provided Booth?
Chairs – (number)
Table – with or without table cloth?
Ensure there are enough power points near the exhibitor tables – this can be a huge source of contention on the day.
Provide a rough count of delegate numbers to allow sponsors to estimate documents and freebies
Event Day Liaison Ideally you will be able to assign a sponsor to
an event day liaison
Common event day challenges:
The cable they brought is not long enough – consider a back up
Illness resulting in a last minute change of person –new name badge required
Late delivery of exhibition items
On the day arrival of material meant for the delegate packs - solution set up a drop off and and pick table
Post Event Follow-up Email
thank sponsors for their time and
investment
If you received feedback from attendees – pass it on
Sponsor Survey - recommended for future events (survey monkey)
how to improve
what to change
Give a time line (if appropriate) for next call for funding
Back to planning the next event
Try to hold a review / planning meeting no later than 1 month after the follow ups. This will allow youto sketch ideas while theyare fresh in your mind. A draft plan is much easier to return to after a couple of months than trying to remember from Scratch.
Top tips for any fundraiser Timeline – must be established early so the project can be
broken down into achievable sections
Speakers – must be identified early so that they can be used early to encourage sponsors to invest
Venue – catering, accommodation, parking, distance to transport / airports –must be considered when exhibitors are travelling to attend
Technology – laptops, power points, internet, mics, charging stations
Delivery / Collection – marketing items for the conference and the sponsors
Network! Network! Network!
Scenario A: 1 Day National Seminar Suggest a potential theme
Suggest a venue – what considerations will effect this
Decide how many project team members would be necessary to support the event
Identify a minimum of 3 funding streams
Identify a minimum of 6 potential sponsors
Write a list of 5 reasons why a sponsor would want to fund this event – what are the benefits for them
Identify 3 ways to promote your sponsor during the project
Identify 3 potential support tools which may help support communication amongst your project team
Scenario B: 3 Month Exhibition Select an appropriate collection for your event
Decide how many project team members would be necessary to support the event
Identify a minimum of 3 funding streams
Identify a minimum of 6 potential sponsors
Write a list of 5 reasons why a sponsor would want to fund this event
Identify 3 ways to promote your sponsor during the project
Identify 3 potential support tools which may help support communication amongst your project team
Scenario C: Book Launch Decide what format the launch will take e.g. reception /
reading Suggest a venue – what considerations will effect this Decide how many project team members would be necessary
to support the event Identify a minimum of 3 funding streams Identify a minimum of 6 potential sponsors Write a list of 5 reasons why a sponsor would want to fund this
event – what are the benefits for them Identify 3 ways to promote your sponsor during the project Identify 3 potential support tools which may help support
communication amongst your project team
Contact Details Jessica Eustace-Cook
Nursing & Midwifery Subject Librarian
& SFI Research Support Librarian
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01-896-4916