What to include in a proposal

• Be clear about what you are asking for
• Who you are: Your society name/Event Name (if for a specific event) / information about your group
• What do you want: Event Sponsorship/Group Sponsorship
• How much: If you need a specific amount for a specific activity/purpose make this clear from the start.
  • Remember sponsorship is subject to VAT meaning that you may only receive 83% of any amount requested if you don't clearly specify that VAT is additional. Be sure to take this into account and specify inclusive or exclusive of VAT when approaching sponsors.
• When/Duration of sponsorship: Event Date/duration of sponsorship (term, academic year, start and end date of sponsorship, e.g. 1 October 2013 – 30 June 2014)
• Date: The date that you are writing the proposal
• Lead contact: Event Manager’s Name/Lead contact within the group responsible for sponsorship.
• Other Details; Student Organisation website, contact details etc. to allow the sponsor to understand more about where their money is going.

Secure sponsorship for a single event

• What are you trying to achieve by hosting this event?
• Why are you a credible investment, have you had major success before, are you getting sponsorship for a long standing event?
  • If this is the first year of the event where do you hope to see it go in the future?
  • If it’s already an annual event, how is it developing?
• What is the event? (Gala, fundraiser, party etc.)
• Key features (hallmark debate, nationally recognised guest speakers, conference for the entire north east of England, size and scale of event etc.)
• Event Outline
  • Name of Event
  • Date of Event
  • Time of Event
  • Who will attend the event (media, high profile guests etc.) - Include approximate number of guests

Secure sponsorship for 1 Year and beyond

• What are your student group aims; what are you trying to achieve, what is the purpose of your group?
• How would sponsoring your group benefit the sponsor
• What constitutes a successful year for your group? How does the money help this?
• What are the goals of the current year (include previous goals if applicable)
  • Ensure, where possible – the objectives are measurable (to prove success and show the impact the sponsors investment had)
• How many members are there in your society?

Brief explanation/description of:

• What activities are planned for your group this year
• Does your student group attract a specific type of student that may be a “hard to reach” or “target audience” for a sponsor
• Try to gauge how successful your group will be in terms of engaging non-members throughout the year to help them realise the potential reach of their sponsorship. Is it just to the group membership or does it engage a large section of the student body based on your activity?
• Also, importantly, be clear to sponsors if you currently have or are planning on having other companies involved with your society.

Sponsor benefits vs Sponsor fees requested

• Identify how you believe the company would benefit by sponsoring your event/group
• Do you share common aims?
• How will you measure your success and the impact of their investment?
• More events, more activities, more people engaged and attending things etc.
• How will you recognise their impact on your activities?