Getting Local Sponsorship

Getting a sponsor for your golf tournament, or for any event, is a process that requires hard work and attention to detail, but can be very rewarding. Let us help you reach out to the businesses in your community for sponsorship of your event.

First, you will need to decide who to target. What sort of business would you like to have associated with your event? Who do you think would make a good sponsor? If it is a family event, perhaps Bianca’s House of Erotica might not be the best business to sponsor you. If you are hosting a golf tournament, consider businesses that cater to golfers, such as pubs, local burger joints, sporting goods stores, and orthopedic surgeons. 

Once you have established which business you are going to approach, you will want to assemble a sponsorship package to present to your potential sponsor. This should include:

1. A cover letter explaining what you are planning and why you wish them to participate.
2. Details about your planned event, such as when, where, and who will be coming
3. The goals of your event, be it to raise money for charity or just to put on an event for the community to come out and have fun.
4. The benefits they will receive from their sponsorship. Will you put their name on the back of the t-shirt? Will they be able to host a table of their foods and beverages? How much publicity would they be getting? That is really what they will want to know. Assemble as many ways for them to get publicity as possible, from putting them in on the shirt to naming the Putting Contest after them.

You want your presentation to be geared towards the specific business you are approaching, so you could even make a mock-up of what their name would look like on the invitation or the promotional golf balls.

So, when you have your presentation ready, call the manager of the business and ask if you can meet with them about being involved in your event. Schedule a time when you can meet in person, not only to show off your ideas, but to put a personal touch to the proposal. This will show you are truly interested.

Be as professional as possible, and if they decide not to participate, don’t stalk away like a big baby, but move on enthusiastically to the next option!

And, when everything is settled and the details squared away, please do the polite thing and send gracious thank you letters to your sponsors for helping you pull off such a wonderful event. You couldn’t have done it without them!

These tactics work for getting other things sponsored, such neighborhood soft ball teams or bowling clubs. The key is to make it a win-win situation for all parties involved!

Good luck!