1. Building a Successful Association Sponsorship Program from Scratch
Ron Skinner rskinner@asbointl.org ASBO International
501(c)3 Members: 5,000 Budget: $4.5 million Staff: 22
Sponsor Revenue: 2008: ~$350k across ~30 sponsors
2014: ~$1.4m with 17 corporate partners
1. Inventory all your assets – both tangible and intangible.
a. 3 buckets
i. Sponsorable by all your corporate partners
ii. Sponsorable by one partner
iii. Not sponsorable
b. Time is an asset—both the duration of the exposure you provide and the time you save
the partner in their marketing efforts.
c. What products or services do you not have currently that you could offer to make your
sponsorship opportunities more attractive?
2. Create standard packages of rights and benefits that allow for extreme customization.
a. Everyone at the same level is buying the same thing, but each can make it look very
different based on the effort they put into it and the need they are trying to fill.
b. Create places for both shared recognition and brand awareness building, as well as solo
recognition and activation.
c. For assets that are sponsorable by one partner, make sure the exposure is about equal
at each level—no ambush marketing.
d. Eliminate a la carte opportunities that undercut your value proposition.
3. Protect and share your brand.
a. Let your partners market your association by giving them a piece of your brand through
a corporate partner logo but not your everyday logo.
b. Don’t let non‐partners claim an affinity with your association—cease and desist!
Partner logo Regular logo
4. Price your sponsorships based on value, not cost.
a. Value drivers include:
i. What you are giving them, doing for them, or time you are saving them.
ii. What you are not giving others.
iii. The limited number of opportunities available.
iv. The time frame of the exposure provided.
v. Access to information and relationship building.
vi. Exclusive versus non‐exclusive.
b. Beware the affinity trap! Win, win, win is often lose, lose, lose.

2. 5. Learn to talk the language of business.
a. For the partner, this relationship is about marketing, sales, and ROI, not donations or
charitable support for your nonprofit.
b. For the association, you are building a sustainable business model that provides relevant
products and services to members, not products and services that are made up by your
corporate partners (unless they are relevant). You know your members best and the
partner’s access to you is an asset they are paying for.
c. The intersection of meeting their marketing and sales needs with your need for support
for members’ products and services is strategic philanthropy.
d. When the relationship isn’t working, or if there is not a fit from the beginning—just say
no. It’s not worth the money.
6. Get your board on board.
a. If this is a big change from current practice or pricing, make sure they are behind it
100%. No equivocation.
b. You are probably about to significantly increase the price on your large supporters who
probably have relationships with your board members.
c. You are probably about to price out small sponsors who will no longer have enough
money to do anything other than exhibit or advertise.
7. Internal buy‐in is critical—your marketing department will probably hate this.
a. You need to build a common vision of success in the association—no silos.
b. You will forever hear about how some new thing can be sponsored. But no, now you
must spend unrestricted money on it—the golden handcuffs.
8. Be sensitive to the transition of your current sponsors.
a. Be flexible on term and even pricing if you must to preserve a relationship, with a clear
understanding of where the relationship is heading—full price and full term.
b. Help current low‐level sponsors who cannot afford your new program find packages of
exposure that are available for sale, i.e. advertising, exhibits, etc.
9. Make the relationship simple for your partners—have a “corporate partner concierge.”
a. Your package will likely include exhibit space, advertising, support for a staff‐run
program or service, access to special events, etc.
b. Don’t ask your most valued partners to work with five different contacts in the
association to get these parts of their package.
c. Part of the sell is the turnkey nature of the marketing campaign you are offering.
d. Be prepared to be an activation consultant for your partners—your advice on how to
connect with members adds value to the partnership.
10. Fulfillment is key—do not sell something you cannot deliver.
a. For us, fulfillment was more important than sales when determining staffing priorities.
b. Create a fulfillment report that:
i. Is detailed and complete.
ii. Includes spreadsheets and charts as well as pictures and anecdotes.
iii. Has an executive summary that makes the case for continued support—
everyone has a boss who doesn’t read, but who needs to know money is being
spent wisely.
11. Get smart about UBIT and reducing your tax liability.
a. Unrelated Business Income‐generating activities (services) on one contract.
b. Sponsorship and royalty‐generating activities on another.