How to go about getting sponsorship?

[paintsplat05]

I'm on the committee for my riding club this year, and our competative teams could really do with some more funding/sponsorship. They've done really well this year and came 3rd overall in the trophy league at nationals and had two individuals placed 5th and 6th. How would we go about trying to get sponsorship, should we just email a load of equestrian companies? Even things such as 10 polo shirts or white numnahs with the team logo and spnsor's logo on would be much appreciated!
any ideas guys?!

 

[amycov]

I don't have any experience of this but if it was me then I would go down the emailing route and try to list as many wins as possible with some pics?

 

[the watcher]

I would think outside the box and don't limit yourself to equestrian companies.

Come up with a plan as to how much exposure you can offer to the companies and how their name will be pushed (logos on trailers for example) and then go door knocking by appointment - it is too easy to disregard a letter or delete an email

 

[zoeshiloh]

Agree don't limit yourself to equestrian companies - as you are a riding club, I would send out letters to local companies, family run companies etc in the area. Follow the letter up with a phonecall a few days later.

I managed to get sponsorship this year for my horses, and found that the best way to go about it is approach it with a plan.

1) what exactly do you want money for? There is a long list of possible areas that the money can go, and most business-people want to know exactly what they are paying for. Outline how you intend to use the funds, eg, clothing, transport, entries, horsefeed etc.

2) What you will offer in return - branded clothing, trailers, horseboxes, prefixes or suffixes for the horses, an article with the local paper about how a local company is sponsoring you.

3) push the results you have already achieved, and compile any newspaper cuttings that you have already featured in - point out that if you had had a sponsor at the time, you could have mentioned them in all interviews.

Good luck!