Effective corporate sponsorships are about more than money.
They involve collaboration and communication, as well as a strong spirit of partnership, says Steve Merker, vice president of business development for the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto.
Merker, who oversees sponsorships for peer-to-peer events like the Ride to Conquer Cancer and Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer, says his organization has built a highly successful sponsorship program for these events because it looks for partners who don't just want to write a check.
They look for sponsors who want to be active participants -- whether that means having employees participate as fundraisers or volunteers or helping to spread the word to their customers.
Merker, who will be discussing sponsorship programs for peer-to-peer campaigns in more detail this week in Toronto at the first-ever Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Canada conference, recently sat down for an interview to discuss the keys to his organization's success:
Sponsorships are a key piece of your peer-to-peer program. Can you describe your support and how it has grown?
SM: We have grown our sponsorships every year. Each sponsorship is unique and customized to the needs and goals of the sponsor. We also strongly encourage each partner to participate and volunteer at our events. This creates a more fruitful partnership and better outcomes for all three circles of the sponsorship.
Those three circles include the event, the sponsor, and the participant.
What is a key piece of advice that you'd offer to an organization that is looking to increase sponsorships?
SM: Use your board or senior leadership committee to help you open doors to new partners. For existing properties, mine your database for champions who can be your internal corporate door opener.
How are you able to meet the needs of your corporate sponsors while also balancing the needs of your participants?
SM: We always set expectations up front and even write them into the agreements with our sponsors. I also recommend using an advisory committee as a sounding board to ensure the partnerships make sense from all three 'circles'.
What is the biggest lesson you've learned as you've managed your sponsorship program?
SM: Be leery of a sponsor who just wants to cut you a check. You need your sponsor partners to activate on many levels. A good corporate partnership is about more than money. Try to get them to participate in your event, volunteer, sponsor, advertise their partnership through their channels.
Peter Panepento is principal for Panepento Strategies, a consulting company that provides digital and social-media strategy, communications, and marketing services to nonprofits, foundations, and media companies. Previously, he was senior vice president of Knowledge and Community for the Council on Foundations and assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
