Your sponsorship pitch is getting lost in the pool of thousands of requests. Your target sponsor is already overloaded, and if your pitch seems like the rest, you won’t get that sponsorship.

But what if you present your offer clearly in a structured way with various options to the sponsors? This is possible by creating event sponsorship levels, which we will cover in this article. By this article’s end, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to create compelling sponsorship levels to grab the right sponsor for your event.

Table of contents

Event sponsorship levels are different sponsorship packages with varying options and benefits you offer to potential sponsors. Be it an in-person, hybrid, or virtual event, the concept of sponsorship tiers applies to each of them.

These levels give sponsors flexibility to choose the right package based on the benefits and budget.

How do sponsorship levels work?

Let’s say you have created three sponsorship packages of basic, advanced, and super-advanced levels. You then reach out to potential sponsors and share these levels with them. Based on the requirements and benefits mentioned in the packages, the sponsors can make their choice.

Before we dive into creating a sponsorship level, let’s cover the recipe for a good sponsorship level. We have shortlisted some of the must-have ingredients that make an appealing sponsorship level:

✅ Easy to understand: The sponsorship level is easy to go through and highlights everything.

✅ Showcase the benefits: The sponsors grasp the benefits once they read through it.

✅ Room for customizations: The package should allow sponsors to make a few changes to it in terms of their contribution and benefits.

✅ Each benefit shows fairness: The benefits at each level should be fair to the sponsor’s investment.

✅ Easy to access: Be it a PDF format, a web page, or a document, a good sponsorship level must be easy to access.

These levels simplify the sponsorship process for you and the potential sponsor – brand or individual. Besides, there are many benefits that you get by creating these levels:

1. Helps your pitch stand out to potential sponsors

Sponsors are busy people who want to invest their time and money in events that will help them drive more brand exposure. So, if your sponsorship levels emphasize the benefits of investing in your event, your chances of getting the sponsorship will increase.

Besides, there is an exclusivity factor too. When you highlight different levels of benefits in different packages, it shows that each level has its worth. This might appeal to the potential sponsor and help you stand out.

2. Eliminates the need for constant readjustments

When you have a well-curated sponsorship package, it clarifies everything to the sponsor. Thus, you don’t have to deal with sponsors’ ad-hoc requests or last-minute changes to the package.

3. Easy to envision the ROI generation from an event

By creating different levels, you outline the cost associated and estimate revenue from the event. Pre-defining the requirements and benefits keeps you in control and gives you more flexibility as you can adjust the package to meet your revenue goals.

Creating a high-converting sponsorship tier is a step by step process. Let’s break it down:

Step 1: Determine the budget and goals for the event

Consider the overall budget for the event and the goal you want to achieve. For instance, the goal of a charity event can be to raise X amount of money for the museum renovation. Once you have the budget and goal, determine how sponsoring the event will help achieve the goal and allocate a fixed budget.

Let’s say you have an overall event budget of $70,000, and the goal is to raise $2,00,000 through an auction. The involvement of sponsors can spread the word to their audience and might make fundraising even easier. With that in mind, you put $35,000 to offer to sponsors through various levels.

Step 2: Make a list of potential sponsors

Based on the goals, research and create a list of potential sponsors. This list should include people/companies who will be most interested in the benefits you offer at your levels. 

You can do this in the following ways:

• Search LinkedIn for the related companies
• Use sponsor marketplaces like Fanomena.io, Sponsoo, etc.
• Do a Google search and check out the best companies to reach out to for sponsorships.

Step 3: Jot down all the benefits you can offer

Next, brainstorm all the benefits you can offer within the allocated budget and the event’s goal. Involve your entire team and ask them to come up with all the ideas and put them on the table. It will help you assess different ideas and curate the best ones that sponsors will likely use the most.

Step 4: Arrange these benefits into different levels

The last step is to pick the benefits from the brainstorming session and develop different levels. The benefits you offer at each level should be worth the investment you ask from the sponsors. 

For example, if you expect them to invest $10,000 in your premium sponsorship level, what they get from it should be worth it.

Step 5: Create the sponsorship level

This step involves deciding the structure, format, and presentation of available packages at different levels. Balance the text and design parts to complement each other without causing too much mental load for the sponsor.

This step’s main goal is to consider covering all the aspects to make your offer compelling, attractive, and easy to understand.

Ways to present your sponsorship levels:

• Create a landing page and add the details there.
• Create a PDF version like a prospectus and share it. You can also add PDFs as downloadable assets on your landing page.
• Writing down everything in a Document is also a good way.

Tips for designing a eye-catching sponsorship package:

• Keep the color scheme in alignment with the event to create uniformity.
• Use single column layout to create a smooth flow
• Think about how every aspect (images, text, headings, tables) will look on mobile devices.
• Use compelling visuals (previous event images, guest images, venue images, etc.

Formatting tips to grab the attention of sponsors:

• Create a hierarchy by using titles, H1 tags, and subheadings.
• Assess the paragraph length on a mobile device. Make them shorter if they exceed 8 lines on the device.
• Add a table version of sponsorship levels to make it easy to skim.

We’ve created a sample fundraising event sponsorship level template to help you visualize what all you can add to your next sponsorship packages. Steal this sample:

Event name : 50th Annual Care for Homeless Auction Gala

Shining Star ⭐: $5000

• Mention in event press release
• 20 banner display at the event
• 15 Complimentary tickets to the event
• Logo placement on the flier and event merchandise

Diamond Donor 🔷: $10000

All benefit of Shining Star package, plus:

• 10 tickets to entry into VIP auction
• Recognition of your brand in the beginning of the event.
• Featured on billboards and social channel promotion
• Mention of your brand on the website for 3 months in the event details.

Platinum Partner 🤝: $12000

All benefit of Diamond Donor Package, plus:

• Brand mention on the website for one year in the event details.
• Chance to interview with one of the guest speaker
• Opportunity to speak at the event
• Booth to promote your brand.
• Exclusive bidding opportunity.

A tabular representation of all three levels

One way to stand out with your sponsorship level is to get creative with the level names. It makes sponsors relate more and bonus points if you tie them to the event type.

To inspire your creativity, we’ve enlisted some amazing names for your next sponsorship level:

1. Platinum
2. Gold
3. Silver
4. Turquoise
5. Topaz

Non Profit Sponsorship levels

1. Champion
2. Hope Giver
3. Advocate
4. Community Builder
5. Supporter

Golf tournaments sponsorship levels

1. The Eagle’s Nest/Eagle Sponsorship
2. The Birdie Club
3. The Shotgun Star
4. The Clubhouse
5. Golf Gurus

Let’s look at some amazing sponsorship packages we’ve come across.

1. Uphill Conf

It’s a two-day conference on Mount Gurten in Bern with amazing speakers and workshops. The team has created a PDF version of their sponsorship kit that covers their past event statistics and the sponsorship packages in tabular format. (Image below)

The tabular format makes it scannable and gives enough options to the sponsors.

2. Rails Conf

It’s the largest official gathering of the year attended by top Rails Talent, companies, and project representatives worldwide. The team has created a sponsorship prospectus for the 2023 conference, which highlights the sponsorship levels as shown below:

This sponsorship package also covers all the levels in a tabular format and looks much more visually appealing. Every benefit is well-defined and gives the sponsors a complete picture of benefits.

Create high-converting sponsorship Tiers

A well-curated sponsorship tier is a win-win for you and the potential target sponsor — They get to glance at all the benefits they’ll get, and you get to stand out with your well-structured pitch.

By defining your goals and tying benefits to the sponsor’s investment, you can increase your chances of getting the dream sponsorship. But, keep your sponsorship packages flexible by leaving room for minor changes to suit the sponsor and yourself.

FAQs

What are the 4 levels of sponsorship?

The 4 common levels of sponsorships often consist of Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze – the platinum offering more benefits at a higher price than the rest of the tiers. 

What are the 3 types of sponsorships?

Three types of sponsorships are:

1. Financial sponsorships: Such sponsors offer money to the event organizers and managers in exchange for the benefit.

2. In-kind sponsorships: This type of sponsorship involves offering anything other than the money. Some common types include venue, food, and prize sponsors.

3. Promotional sponsorships: This sponsorship is offered by social media influencers and creators as they have a huge following and impact on their respective channel. The influencer agrees to promote the event to their engaged audience in exchange of money, or other benefit.

How do you classify sponsorships?

You can classify sponsorships based on different levels and types of sponsorships.

Types of sponsorships: 

• Financial: The sponsor invest money in the event in exchange of benefits
• In-kind: The sponsors offer other resources than money, such as venue, food, or prize.
• Promotional: The social media influencer and crater promote the event in exchange for the benefit.

Tiers of sponsorships:

• Platinum
• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze