How Sponsor are different from Donors

Yes, almost. I mean, what, 2 days to go, right?

Yes, yes, yes, yes. And it is like, um, you know, so much is going on at the end of the year. People are trying to get donors and people are trying to get sponsors. And the one thing that we need to learn, I think, from the end of the year too, is the difference between your donors and your sponsors.

Absolutely, I agree. So it's, uh, probably a good idea for people who are watching this to know that, um, our format is going to change a little bit in that we're going to be following what's going to be happening in the Nonprofit Founders Club. And the Nonprofit Founders Club for the month of January will be talking about sponsorship. So Vanessa and I thought, like, as you get started, you might want to, um, you might want to, um, understand the difference between a sponsor and a donor.

Yes, it's absolutely a big difference, um, in the two, you know. Um, so I'm gonna— I'll start off with the difference that I see. And the difference is when you look at getting a donor, you're looking at someone that is donating to your organization and they may not get any benefit from it, but just the feel-good that, hey, I donated to this organization, I got a thank you letter, but I don't get anything in return. Okay. And a sponsor is someone who sponsors something, but they get, they get some benefits in return. And so with the sponsorship, it may be like, hey, I'm going to be going to sponsor you, but I want ABCDEFG for it. And if you give me ABCDEFG, I'm going to give you X amount of dollars. But if you give me HIJ, I may give you a little bit more. Whereas a donor says, hey, I'm going to donate this to your organization, I don't want anything in return, you know, but you, you can do these things for me, but I have really no expectation and I'm not doing this for an exchange for something else, right?

And also, um, donors are people who I see who give to your organization on a more regular basis. So you may be able to get a donor who will make a donation like every quarter, maybe once a year. Donors tend to kind of come back in, uh, circle back around. Sponsors tend to, like Vanessa said, they make a sponsorship, they make a contribution to your organization for a particular thing. So I know in some of the organizations that I've participated in, we've had like, um, uh, end of the year gala where we gave out our awards to, you know, to participants within the organization, and we'd have a sponsor for, say, the, the, um, the band we have a sponsor, some— and that sponsor meant that that money they paid went to cover the cost of the band. And then we would put a banner, or in our program it would say, um, band sponsored by, and it would be that organization's name. So, uh, and if you do, um, a golf tournament, each hole can be sponsored by an individual or company, and then your hole-in-one could be sponsored. Usually that's the big sponsor, so it'd be a car dealership or something like that, giving away a car, you know. Huh. Um, what is it, you know, like we could just dream of what was before 2020, so Absolutely.

And one of the things is that, is that, um, when we start doing the sponsorships, you know, we like, okay, I'm— I got an event, or I have such and such, I want to go get sponsors. But it's more than just saying I want to go get sponsors. You know, it's a fine line because you have to really know, and people don't really think about this, a lot of people think, oh, I'm gonna get some sponsors because they want to sponsor because I'm doing a good thing. But you want to make sure that what you're doing is in line with what the sponsors are looking for. And that there is in line with their mission. And you also want to make sure it's like, what do you have to offer? Especially when you have a new nonprofit, it's like, yeah, what do I have to offer, right? And then how do you match those two together? So I'm loving it because— and when we're in the— in January— I'm talking about September— in January, that's what we're actually going to be talking about in the club. It's like, what are sponsors looking for? Because they have something that they want, and it's like, what do you have to offer? And it's really getting deep down. As a new nonprofit, we don't have a lot to offer, but but we can create wonderful sponsorship packets that will give value, because sponsors are looking for value, because they're actually using us to them too, to be a marketer for them. So what value do you have to offer? So really, nonprofits, we're going to really get deep down into, okay, let's look at who you are, what do you want to do, and what you have to offer, and then how to match the two up to come up with a wonderful sponsorship packet. And so those are things that we're going to be talking about in the club, and I'm so excited for the members because it's like, look, It's going to be— we're going to be doing events. We're going to be, um, getting— trying to get sponsors to sponsor kids for such and such and such, you know, for different events that we're having going on. But you want to make sure that you're offering value to them. Sometimes I think that as nonprofits, we're— it's kind of one-sided. It's like, you have money, we want your money, but we don't think about the value that we have to offer them. So that's— those are good things that we're going to be talking about and showing you how to do to create a wonderful sponsorship packet.

And I think that, uh, if you stay tuned. We'll get into that throughout this month, upcoming month. Um, we'll go into all of those different parts. Um, but hey, if you are a new nonprofit founder and you are looking for support, encouragement, help, you are trying to do this on your own, join the club, the Nonprofit Founders Club is the place for you.

So yeah, and even if you're— if you— if you haven't started nonprofit but you're thinking, you know what, I want to start a nonprofit, this is what I really want to do, but I don't know where to get started, connect with us because we offer a wonderful 5-week hold your hand, walk you through the process so you not only get your 501 but you understand why you got your 501. You understand the value of it and what it all means to have it. So this is what we're here for, you know, is to help new nonprofit founders. It's like, this is a struggle. This is not an easy thing to do. A lot of people think, oh, get your nonprofit and I got my status and I got money and sponsors are going to be coming out the woodwork, right? But it's not necessarily true. It's like, it's a cultivation. Same with donors. You're gonna have to cultivate your donors. You're gonna really— and offer them value and tell them why the donors should donate to your organization. Same with sponsors. You're gonna have to really cultivate them and find find out what do you have to offer me. They want to know that too, right? So this is a good, uh, opportunity to really learn how to get it done right and give the sponsor what they want. It's not always about us. A lot— sometimes that's not— probably think, oh, it's about us, we're doing a good thing in the community and people should want to help and people should want to give. But it's like, we're all in business together. They're in business and we're a business. So like, how do we take our businesses and we align them with each other for the benefit of the community? Exactly. Yeah. So that's it. If no one has any questions, this is it. Uh, we hope to see you. We hope you got some value. We want to be able to give you a little tidbit, short, sweet little tidbits. Hope you got a little value and a little bit more clarity on the difference between a sponsor and a donor. And some— think about some of the things that you may need to do in order to find sponsors, to find out what your offer is, to really give a good value in your offer. And to match your sponsors and your offer with great value with what type of tiers you're going to give a sponsor for what they do.

So, and like we said, this was just the beginning. Stay tuned, we're going to get into the nuts and bolts as we go along.

Yes, so there'll be some information below. You click the link if you want to know more about the club, and if you want to learn— if you haven't started your nonprofit, you want to start your nonprofit, click the links below or above or to the right. You'll see them somewhere depending on where you see this at, and, uh, we look forward to seeing you. Yes, and Happy New Year to you.

Happy New Year.