It looks like I'm not going to get my moment in the sun. There are so many people trying to make comment on the Gambling Harm Reduction Bill that the only slot I could get was in Christchurch, and seeing as I'm based in Wellington, that's not going to happen.
So far the jury is out on whether this Bill will last the distance. My personal feeling is that there may be some sort of middle of the road solution which pops up, and let's face it, no one will be happy. In the meantime we've all been distracted from our real work - fundraising!
I heard an interview on the radio recently about the politics of the Pink Ribbon campaign. You may remember a few years ago in New Zealand that people were complaining that too many companies were tagging along with the Pink Ribbon, for minimal effort and minimal payment. The Breast Cancer Foundation responded to the criticism by putting aside a greater amount of money into research, rather than just focusing on awareness raising. Anyway the whole issue of corporate involvement in charity campaigns will become more transparent with the passing of the Fair Trading Amendment Act recently which will introduce a range of regulations governing fundraising. The most relevant to this issue being transparency around cause related marketing. It may be that corporates will have to disclose how much they are donating to charity through marketing campaigns.
On the corporate side of things, check out the website Business and Community Shares www.bacshares.org.nz This is a new hub of on-line corporate social responsibility (CSR) in New Zealand. There should be some good tools and information useful to fundraisers and also you could get yourself profiled there. Check out the flash survey they've undertaken - "who do you call?".
Also incredible freebies - if your organisation is based in Wellington and you want some help with your website or social media presence - talk to Wellington ICT - they have a fantastic range of volunteers who can help. www.wellingtonict.org.nz
Showing posts with label sponsorship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sponsorship. Show all posts
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Sausage sizzles
New legislation around the health and safety of food sales has been on the cards for some time - obviously effecting the small scale sale of food, sausage sizzles, bake sales etc. It would appear that the legislation will move through the system this year. The new minister, Kate Wilkinson tells us that small fundraising activities will be exempt from the same requirements that will be placed on profit making ventures.
The thought of sausage sizzles and bake sales reminds me that selling something is an option for any charity fundraising. Although the public knows that they are buying in aid of a cause, some people want something in return, even if it is a humble sausage. The activity is a public event which provides some profile and it is an opportunity for some volunteers to provide their time.
However there is a warning here. Don't forget the purpose of the sale - it's to raise money! It's not an end in itself. I heard the story of a supportive husband who happily volunteered to cook the sausages on a Saturday afternoon. After several hours leaning over the hot coals he asked how much money had been made. Two hundred dollars was the answer. "What" he answered with horror. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted two hundred dollars. If I'd known that was the objective I would have just given you two hundred dollars!"
So my top tips for the sausage sizzle are:
The thought of sausage sizzles and bake sales reminds me that selling something is an option for any charity fundraising. Although the public knows that they are buying in aid of a cause, some people want something in return, even if it is a humble sausage. The activity is a public event which provides some profile and it is an opportunity for some volunteers to provide their time.
However there is a warning here. Don't forget the purpose of the sale - it's to raise money! It's not an end in itself. I heard the story of a supportive husband who happily volunteered to cook the sausages on a Saturday afternoon. After several hours leaning over the hot coals he asked how much money had been made. Two hundred dollars was the answer. "What" he answered with horror. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted two hundred dollars. If I'd known that was the objective I would have just given you two hundred dollars!"
So my top tips for the sausage sizzle are:
- Plan, plan and execute well. You don't want to do this every week!
- Make sure your volunteers are appropriately allocated according to their skills
- Maximise profitability with everything donated or sponsored
- Choose the best location or don't bother
- Maximise effort by including other fundraising opportunities, raffles, donations, selling donated goods, car washing, gift wrapping, hot coffee or cold drinks, candy floss
- Beware of hygiene
- Exploit all the public relations opportunities
- Make it fun
- Do it once and do it well
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Sponsorship and pricing
Sponsorship is becoming just one of many options for working with corporates but for certain types of organisations it's still a worthwhile type of relationship.
Sponsorship is about mutual benefits, not philanthropy and it's more commonly seen these days in sporting relationships, brand marketing, endorsement etc.
Arts organisations rely heavily on sponsorship and sell naming rights to events, performances, tours, venues, etc. In return for some form of branding recognition, sponsors will purchase certain rights and opportunities.
Foresee Communications, which specialises in corporate relationships has produced a lot of material about sponsorships over the last 20 years. A commonly asked question about sponsorship is how to put a price on the sponsorship.
There are two common ways of putting a price on a sponsorship. The most common way is to determine how much money you need to make your event or activity work. That becomes the price of the sponsorship. FYI - this is not terribly realistic. The alternate method is to attempt to consider what it's worth to your potential sponsor.
I once ran an exercise for a client to put a starting price on a sponsorship. The potential sponsor was known to the organisation and they had good reason to want to work together. I valued the sponsorship at about a million dollars by looking at similar activities that the sponsor was already involved in, and similar deals that had been signed recently. Coincidentally, within a week of my valuation, the potential sponsor sent an offer to the client - for exactly the same amount of money. Wow, what a result. However the client thought that was too easy and they countered with four million! You can imagine the gasps at the sponsor's office. For quite a while the deal was halted until reality prevailed. There was no one else in the mix so time was not a factor. In the end both parties came to an agreement to settle with $.15million. The key thing in this relationship was that both parties could offer something of value to each other. They were equally placed in the negotiation. Not too many deals work out like that!
Sponsorship is about mutual benefits, not philanthropy and it's more commonly seen these days in sporting relationships, brand marketing, endorsement etc.
Arts organisations rely heavily on sponsorship and sell naming rights to events, performances, tours, venues, etc. In return for some form of branding recognition, sponsors will purchase certain rights and opportunities.
Foresee Communications, which specialises in corporate relationships has produced a lot of material about sponsorships over the last 20 years. A commonly asked question about sponsorship is how to put a price on the sponsorship.
There are two common ways of putting a price on a sponsorship. The most common way is to determine how much money you need to make your event or activity work. That becomes the price of the sponsorship. FYI - this is not terribly realistic. The alternate method is to attempt to consider what it's worth to your potential sponsor.
I once ran an exercise for a client to put a starting price on a sponsorship. The potential sponsor was known to the organisation and they had good reason to want to work together. I valued the sponsorship at about a million dollars by looking at similar activities that the sponsor was already involved in, and similar deals that had been signed recently. Coincidentally, within a week of my valuation, the potential sponsor sent an offer to the client - for exactly the same amount of money. Wow, what a result. However the client thought that was too easy and they countered with four million! You can imagine the gasps at the sponsor's office. For quite a while the deal was halted until reality prevailed. There was no one else in the mix so time was not a factor. In the end both parties came to an agreement to settle with $.15million. The key thing in this relationship was that both parties could offer something of value to each other. They were equally placed in the negotiation. Not too many deals work out like that!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sponsorship Today
As I head off for a sports sponsorship conference in Melbourne tomorrow, it's with some trepidation. Although I'm a mature woman and have been commentating on sponsorship for over 12 years, I'm not too savvy on the sports side. I tend to deal more with the good corporate citizen stuff with non profits and on the public relations side.
But what is it that I'm missing? Okay I don't know the rules of the sports games, but how much do I know about music, and I wouldn't bat an eyelid about advising the symphony orchestra on sponsorship.
All sponsorship is about relationships, communication, marketing and brand building. I know about all of those things so why should I be nervous about the sports field?
Okay I'm feeling more confident. No one in Australasia has written more about sponsorship than me - and I've been producing 8 pages of monthly commentary for my publication alone - http://www.foresee.co.nz, Sponsorship Profile, for 12 years. That's not counting all the rest of my writing around fundraising. I've presented courses on sponsorship and I have authored a book on sponsorship.
So just because I don't spend every weekend glued to the tv doesn't mean I won't be a good adviser on sports sponsorship - bring on the conference!
But what is it that I'm missing? Okay I don't know the rules of the sports games, but how much do I know about music, and I wouldn't bat an eyelid about advising the symphony orchestra on sponsorship.
All sponsorship is about relationships, communication, marketing and brand building. I know about all of those things so why should I be nervous about the sports field?
Okay I'm feeling more confident. No one in Australasia has written more about sponsorship than me - and I've been producing 8 pages of monthly commentary for my publication alone - http://www.foresee.co.nz, Sponsorship Profile, for 12 years. That's not counting all the rest of my writing around fundraising. I've presented courses on sponsorship and I have authored a book on sponsorship.
So just because I don't spend every weekend glued to the tv doesn't mean I won't be a good adviser on sports sponsorship - bring on the conference!
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