Sponsorship for New/First Year Teams

[Adam D. Bell]

The Western Michigan University FSAE team is looking for some guidance about sponsorship. We currently have a tri-fold brochure, approach letter, presentation, and a company list. Does anyone have any tips for us? We are trying everything we can to prevent embarrassment. We also want to know what experiences other teams have had in pursuing sponsorship.

[Adam D. Bell]

The Western Michigan University FSAE team is looking for some guidance about sponsorship. We currently have a tri-fold brochure, approach letter, presentation, and a company list. Does anyone have any tips for us? We are trying everything we can to prevent embarrassment. We also want to know what experiences other teams have had in pursuing sponsorship.

[Dan G]

Getting parts/resource sponsorships is a heck of a lot easier than getting checks. Find semi-local businesses that can donate those kinds of things and you won't need as much money anyway.

Another approach that worked really well for us this year was to approach different companies with proposals for their sponsorship of specific items or projects. We were able to get one company to donate nearly all the money for our Land&Sea dyno this year with this method. I think this is because the people with the checkbook can see something tangible that they will be donating for, rather than just buying some colleged kids pizza and beer. It also helps land larger $ sponsorships, as it gives them an idea of the size of the expenses a team might have. Could be the difference between $500 and $5000.

[fsae_alum]

Search on the forums. I personally have talked on here about some really good ways to get sponsorship and then use existing sponsors to bring in new sponsors. Remember that you're not "building a racecar", you're "building better engineers through practical, hands-on experience"!

[Buckingham]

To add onto the previous comment, try and feel out which way to sell it. Some of our sponsorship we got BECAUSE we were building a racecar, and they could care less that we were students. However, selling it as a student project will usually work better.

[Mechanicaldan]

Do some research:

https://www.lionsracing.de/www/en/frame.php?nav=home/ho...&main=home/links.htm (https://www.lionsracing.de/www/en/frame.php?nav=home/home_nav.htm&main=home/links.htm)

Look at other team's sponsorship brochures if they have them on their websites. On great suggestion was to put pictures on a CD, and any videos or other information. Print a color label with team contact information.

Find out what schools are using what sponsors. Many times, the big sponsors are willing to help all FSAE teams. Usually it's discounts, but sometimes it's free product or best of all, CASH. Companies that help FSAE teams are:

Ford
GM
Taylor Racing
Goodyear
Garrett Turbos
Performance Electronics
Superior Engine Technology -FSAE AEM
IGES
Keizer Wheels
Timken Bearings
National Rod Ends
Interstate Batteries

I've been thinking about doing a big FSAE FAQ website, because questions like this come up about 3 times every year. You can also use the search feature of this forum.

What you are going to find out is that you have to knock on doors and make phone calls. It's that simple and that hard. I don't know the ratio, but you will get a lot more "No" than you will "Yes", but those make it all worth it.

One option we had was to help our campus police with Football game parking/security. We'd get 8 people to help for the day, and we'd get paid about $500 each game. It kills a Saturday, but it brings in money.

Do some other research to find out what the big businesses are in your state. Companies are more willing to help a university organization from their state.

Good luck.

[Moke]

We found a great resource for finding sponsors. In New Zealand a couple of big books are published each year, in them they put all the companies that can be approached for sponsorship. It's great, all you need to do is call them and ask if you can drop in a sponsorship pack.

What is the name of these books I hear you ask?

We call them "The Phone Book" and "The Yellow Pages"

Once you have the name of a company to approach, find out about their core values and if they sponsor already and why. Then taylor your pitch to suit.

[jonno]

Check with all your members to see if any have previously worked at a potential sponsor, or if your members have any friends / family / other useful contacts in related industries that may be able to help. Half of our sponsors we have arose through the work placement scheme we run at the uni. Members ask their supervisors on placement if the company will support the race team they will be on the following year.

[jonno]

Oh and Moke there is actually a book that lists sponsors other than the phone book. The marketing department at our university has a big book that lists all major companies charitable giving. Can't remember what it is called though, but it has contact details for the relevant contact at each company etc. Quite handy really. I think it was by PWC.

[Adam D. Bell]

What are some of the worst experiences that teams have had in pursuing sponsorship?

[Alan]

I know this is an old thread but I seem to be dealing with the topic at work a lot lately so I thought I would chime in.

Two things to keep in mind when seeking sponsorship are how to ask for help and when to ask. Assuming the company does not have a form or some specified format, here are some pointers as far as what to tell them and what to ask for:

- A brief overview of FSAE if the company is not directly involved in FSAE.
- Team organization (number of people, how is the work divided, etc...)
- Team participation (are they volunteers? is it part of a class?)
- Team history. If your team is brand new, why are you doing Formula SAE?
- Noteworthy projects that would involve the potential sponsor
- What does your team want donated (cash, parts, services, etc...)? Be specific.
- What do you plan to do with said donation (testing plans, R&D, travel, etc...)? Be specific.
- Anything else you think the sponsor should know (alumnus, community involvement, etc...)

Put all of the above in a nice pdf and personalize it as much as possible to the specific potential sponsor. I end up reading a lot of generic emails that tell me nothing about the team and why they should be sponsored. Those are the ones that get a generic reply. The ones that obviously put some effort improve their chances greatly if not for the current year, then for sure the following year. Which leads me to my second point.

When is the best time to seek sponsorship. This will depend on the company but there are a couple of points I'll bring up. Find out when the company's last quarter of their fiscal year is and ask then. A lot of times companies need to get rid of money before their fiscal year is over otherwise their budgets will shrink by the amount they did not spend. If that is at an odd time of year then I would start seeking sponsorship in the fall. If you start asking in the winter, a) you might not get what you are seeking in time since sometimes the donation process can take a long time and b) the later in the school year you ask, the more like an afterthought it seems. You want the sponsor to think that you had a plan and they were part of that plan early in the process.

Of course the above is not going to apply in every case, but I think it is something to think about. I hope some people find it useful.

[Blake_DFSAE]

Find executives of large companies, coerce college girls to seduce them and then pull out the blackmail.

But really, we're a first year team too and it ain't easy, especially when you don't have a car to show them. Work personal connections to get a rolling chassis and it should get a tad easier from then on in.

Also, larger engineering firms (or smaller ones with a vested interest in what you're doing) will usually donate a bit, 500 or 1000 can be alot when you want to order parts.

[Blake_DFSAE]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Adam D. Bell:
What are some of the worst experiences that teams have had in pursuing sponsorship? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Realistically, the worst they can tell you is to fuck off.

[SpdRcr]

I've got something to add to the worst thing they can tell you. I once contacted a local Ford dealership and after my brief introduction the guy asked a couple questions and then said, 'Hmmm...I'm sorry, race cars just don't push my hot button. Have a nice day.'


Adam, the advice above is good, but I'll add one thing from a 3rd season team. The initial year or two is the worst because you probably don't have anything to market except some CAD drawings. You may have to do quite a bit of fundraising/marketing. Be optimistic! Now in our 3rd season and having a decent car to show off, we are sitting somewhat comfortably in regards to sponsorship compared to the previous 2 years. This means less time fundraising/marketing and more time building. Hopefully this will give you some optimisim for the future. Good luck!

[SpdRcr]

One more thing. If you can show up in person, do it. Potential sponsors like to see faces better than a phone call asking for money. Depending on the company, call ahead of time or just drop by. Have 2-3 guys who can present the team well go and be in team uniform. This all leaves a better impression and shows the companies you aren't just asking for free money, but you are willing to put forth some effort for actual sponsorship.

[CMURacing - Prometheus]

how about we add good stories with bad?

2 goodies from this year:

US Steel -- DURING AN INTERVIEW:
me: "Actually, I have some material here regarding Formula SAE sponsorship, since you're a Pittsburgh-based company founded by the same nice gentleman who founded our school..."
Recruiter: "Hmm, someone showed me a similar packet last week in Missouri...Rolla, was it?"


Toyota -- DURING AN INTERVIEW:
(insert generic Formula SAE "not enough money to finish the car" story)...
recruiter: "what is your budget annually?"
me: "I actually have a packet here, regarding sponsorship of our team, if you have a few minutes after we finish..." (i'm really selfless in my interviewing)
later...recruiter: "ok, so sponsorship."
me: "yes, here's your packet..."
recuiter, while receiving packet: "how's (insert donation)? I've got a big recruiting budget and nothing to spend it on."

[TAMUCC]

I am Club president/ Sponsorship president, and can only echo what has been said here.
I think that it s better to call people, be up front with what you want from them, and explain the project as much as possible.

Some things that help at least in our area:
Sponsorship brackets - these let potential sponsors know how much would be a good donation, or where to start. The can also be some what of an ego trip for some people, wanting to display there wealth or something like that.

Emphasize Advisors and oversight- Letting the sponsors know that you are not just a bunch of college kids out for beer pizza and maybe building something is good. It is comforting on there part to know that there is faculty control over the money aspect of the project.

Donations (parts) - Like said before, it is often easier to receive donations than money, Try to have a list of things you need, so that possibly a sponsor could just agree to buy X, X, and X.

Have some sort of script to call people, even though this seems like something a telemarketer would do, it is helpful to break the ice, and calm your nerves a bit.

Presenting to large groups has been rather unsuccessful for us, in getting a donation or commitment up front, but it is helpful in finding contacts or in name recognition.

Current sponsors- If you do a PowerPoint presentation, this is easier to demonstrate, however, letting people know who else has supported the project is often a good way to encourage people to help.

I am sure i will think of more later.
Fundraising Sux and is Rewarding all at the same time.

[RKemmet]

one thing i haven't seen posted yet was that you need to really reward your sponsors once you have them and have them meet eachother so they can see who else is supporting this team. We have gotten lucky in that everytime we do this we have smaller sponsors come to these events and suddenly turn into huge sponsors. We also have had a lot of luck with sponsors bringing in their friends, roughly half of our sponsors currently were brought in from other sponsors.

Now how can you find sponsors who are excited and willing to help out. This is the hardest part, I sent out thousands of emails, with a decent return rate (about 2%) turning into to sponsors or interested in the team. Talk to your faculty, deans, anyone who will talk to you. Ask them how you can help the school, then ask if they know anyone who might be interested in your club. For deans specifically ask to present at their executive luncheons, for us this is the meeting of the largest donors to the college of engineering, present to them you'll automatically get some more money, and by making the college of engineering look good the college will also be willing to sponsor you more. Any more I find that packets, letters, and pamphlets only do so much, we invested quite a bit in these over time. They did lead to some cool sponsors (Exxon Mobil one of coolest) but more and more I am seeing it is about people. Talking to people being real with them, getting them enthusiastic about the project.

Go out into the community. Get into as many fairs / events as you can, this is really hard for a first year team, without a car. So this is more so for a second year team. But once you are out in the commmunity talk to people, get their cards, give them yours, and actually call them.

I always thought a first year team might be easier to do because you could present to all these people who haven't heard it before. But really you need to talk to your deans and department heads, ask them for money and how to get money, they know where it is or else they wouldn't be where they are.

Sorry for the long post Ill add more if I get inspired to write. If you have any questions or want some ideas just ask.

[TAMUCC]

Another Idea we have tossed around ahs been the idea of a banquet or event, where we sell tables, for a certain price and invite all of our current sponsors and other people who are not sponsors. I think politicians often do this to raise money, and it is nice, as you get to let people know your progress, or just get them interested in the club. If there are enough people and you plan the event well, it could yield a fair amount of profit.

The first people we hit up for presentations where our local SCCA our schools advisory board, and several local institutions. IEE, PMI, Rotary club, ASME, and anyone else who has some sort of interest in education or engineering in particular.