September 13th, 2021

​What are some creative perks for virtual fundraising event sponsors?
When the pandemic became our new reality, many organizations had to think quickly about how to host a virtual event and recognize sponsors. While this was an unusual time that was often challenging to navigate, it also opened up new ways of thinking about how we recognize donors and event sponsors.
Below is a list of some fun and practical things to consider when recognizing and thanking event sponsors. Some of these ideas can work whether your event is in-person or virtually.

1. Yard signs – scatter them across the community to share news about the event and organization on one side, and on the other, list key sponsors.
2. Sponsor box – create specially curated boxes of goodies that can be delivered to the event sponsors. Create one or a variety of boxes that are offered at different levels. One not for profit offered a few boxes at different levels of sponsorship. The contents of the boxes changed based on the level of sponsorship. The highest level contained an event “party in the box” – cocktail glasses with organization logo, liquor, a recipe for a cocktail and non-alcoholic drink, banners, snacks and more. A smaller scale, “family party in the box” was also curated with items that were geared toward families with stickers, silly glasses, feather boas and things of this sort. All of the boxes included a hand-written note of thanks from a leader of the organization.
3. Electronic program book – across the virtual event, showcase slides that share sponsor information and logos.
4. Lead sponsor – share the name of the lead sponsor on every slide of your virtual event.
5.  Dinner and dessert options – for the night of your event, plug your local restaurant partners on social media and encourage your guests to “dine in” while viewing the event. Local restaurants provide a portion of the sales for the evening, they get a shout-out on social media and, your guests feel they are supporting the local community and your organization at the same time.
6. Social media and website – these tools are great in spreading the word and recognizing sponsors. Develop a special marketing plan leading up to the event and following it to showcase your sponsors and their support. For sponsors at the highest levels, provide individual posts that highlight their generosity. For corporate sponsors, use links to encourage visitors to their websites when applicable.
7. Eblasts – across event time, include logos of your sponsors in your eblasts to your constituents.
8. Podcasts/Newsletters – Include a prominent story about a sponsor in the newsletter. Name one of your podcasts in honor of your special sponsor.