Having worked in marketing and public relations, I have seen hundreds of sponsorship proposals for music shows, conferences, school projects and other activities.
Some are genuinely good, but others make you wonder whether the brains behind them really know what they are doing.
However, people often see sponsorship from only one side: If they sponsored this, why can’t they sponsor us too?
It is an understandable question, but the problem is that you are only seeing the cheque—not the conversation that happened before it.
Companies do not usually have one giant pot of money labelled ‘sponsorship’.
There are all sorts of budgets, from marketing, corporate social responsibility, employee engagement and environmental, social and governance priorities. Each has different objectives, budgets and approval processes.
So, when a company sponsors a football or golf tournament, the decision usually has very little to do with the sport. The company may want to reach a particular audience, drive customer engagement or strengthen its presence in a market.
That is why the first question a sponsorship proposal should answer is ‘why does this make sense?’, not ‘how much money do we need?’
Some proposals contain several pages explaining the event, organisation history, event organisers’ qualifications and how much money is needed, then reduce what the sponsor gets to an afterthought.
From the organiser’s perspective, that makes sense. They need money.
But from the corporate side, the question is different:what does this partnership help us achieve?
This does not mean every sponsorship needs to generate a direct commercial return. Some are about social impact.
That is where CSR and ESG come in. A company may support education or financial inclusion because that aligns with its social impact priorities.
If a company prioritises youth development, a youth-focused programme may make more sense than an initiative that helps people from different backgrounds access financial services.
This does not make the other initiative bad. The fit is simply different.
But not every sponsorship decision is strategic.
Sometimes companies sponsor things because someone knows someone. Some companies get caught up in initiatives that look good at first, but are difficult to connect to any clear objective afterwards. That happens too.
The other side is that not every sponsorship proposal is as noble as it sounds.
Some are simply sophisticated ways of asking for money. The event has a budget shortfall and the supposed partnership becomes a way of filling the gap.
There is nothing wrong with fundraising, of course. But calling every fundraising request a strategic partnership is wrong.
This is why comparing sponsorship decisions can be misleading.
I often hear, “You gave that organisation K20 million. Why can’t you give us K10 million?”
Well, because the two initiatives are offering completely different value.
One event may give a company access to its target customers. Another may offer little beyond a logo on a banner and a mention from the director of ceremonies. Yet both organisers believe their events are worth sponsoring.
Sometimes, a good proposal will still get a no. A rejection does not necessarily mean the company does not care about your cause. Sometimes your cause simply is not its cause.
So, if you are preparing a sponsorship proposal, do not only tell a company why you need them. Tell them why they need you or your planned activity.
That is the difference between a sponsorship request and a sponsorship proposition.
The next time you see a company sponsoring something and wonder why they did not sponsor yours, perhaps ask a different question. The answer might help you write a better proposal next time.
