Photo Credit: City of College Station
What is your reaction when someone asks for money? It probably depends on the situation. If a local charitable organization is raising funds to help a family in need, you might be more likely to give. If a person is begging on the street, you might have the same reaction, or maybe you walk away as quickly as possible because you don’t trust that your donation will be used appropriately.
What if a charitable organization asks for a donation from your business? Do you want to know more about the organization first, or the cause that is being funded? To put this in business terms, are you more concerned with your Return on Investment (ROI) or that your company supports the community?
These questions are all valid and important, especially when you will be doing the asking. Employees in municipal parks and recreation departments are constantly trying to make budgets go further, and sponsorships are a common solution. But are you approaching these situations armed with as much information as possible? Or are you just throwing a packet of information at a potential sponsor and hoping that is enough?