How to ask local businesses to sponsor your team

Local businesses are most likely to say yes to a specific, modest request from someone connected to the team, with clear recognition in return. A vague "would you like to support us?" is easy to put off. A short letter that says who you are, what the money pays for, what the business gets and how to reply is easy to answer.

This guide covers who to ask first, how to set up what you offer, how to make the ask and what to do after a business says yes. A request letter you can copy and adapt is near the end.

Who to ask first

Start with businesses that already have a tie to the team. They know you, or know someone who does, and a request from a familiar face is harder to ignore.

• Families' employers. Ask parents whether the place they work supports local teams, and whether they would pass a letter to the right person.
• Places your families already use. The pizza place after games, the hardware store, the dentist, the car dealer, the sporting goods shop. Families can mention the team when they are in.
• Past sponsors. If a business supported the team before, ask them first, and thank them for last time when you do.

Favor businesses that are local and visible to the families who will see the recognition. A sponsor wants the people who see their name to be people who might walk in their door. A shop in your town gets more from a spot on your website and a thank-you at a home game than a company with no presence nearby.

Decide what you are offering

Before you ask anyone, decide what a sponsor gets. Two or three levels are enough, and each level should come with concrete recognition the business can picture. For example:

• the business's name and a link on the sponsor section of the team website
• a banner at home games, or a mention in the game program
• a thank-you announced at a home game

Higher levels get more of these, or more prominent versions of them. The amounts are yours to set. They depend on your community, your costs and what you have offered before, so this guide does not suggest figures. Whatever you choose, make sure you can deliver every item on the list, every time.

Give the levels names, and say plainly what the money pays for: ice or field time, travel, equipment, a season fundraiser. A business reading that knows where its money goes.

Before you ask

Put together a one-page summary you can leave behind or attach to an email. Keep it to the facts a business owner needs to decide:

• the team, the school or club, and the sport
• the season: when it runs, how many games, and how many are at home
• what the money pays for, such as ice or field time, travel, equipment or uniforms
• your sponsor levels and exactly what each one includes
• who to contact and by when

Use your own real numbers: how many players, how many families, how many home games. Do not borrow statistics from elsewhere about how many people see youth sports sponsorships. A small, true number about your own team is more convincing than a large one nobody can check.

Making the ask

Ask in person where you can. A parent who already knows the owner or manager, dropping off the letter and the one-page summary, usually gets further than a cold email. Where you cannot visit, send a short email with the letter in the body, not only as an attachment.

Decide who signs. A coach, the team parent or the fundraising lead all work, as long as it is someone the business can reach and who will follow through. Use one contact person per business so nobody gets asked twice.

If you have not heard back after about a week, send one polite follow-up. Keep it short: a reminder of the request, the reply-by date and an offer to answer questions. If the answer is no, thank them and ask whether you can check back next season.

Before the first letter goes out, check two things with your athletic director or booster club (for a club or youth team, the league or club board or treasurer):

• Approval. Many schools and booster clubs have rules about who can ask for sponsorships in the school's name, how money is collected, and how sponsor names and logos can be used. Find out what applies to your team.
• Receipts and taxes. Businesses sometimes ask whether a sponsorship is tax-deductible or whether they will get a receipt. The answer depends on how your team, school or booster club is set up. Ask your booster club treasurer or athletic director, and do not promise anything in the letter until you know.

A request letter you can copy

Copy this letter, replace everything in square brackets, and cut any line that does not fit your team.

Dear [Owner or manager's name],

I'm [your name], [your role] for the [school or club] [team name]. [One sentence on your connection to the business, for example: Our family has been coming to your store for years.]

This season the team has [number] players and plays [number] games, [number] of them at home at [venue]. Our families follow the season in the stands and on our team website at [website address].

We are asking a few local businesses to help pay for [what the money covers, for example ice time, travel and equipment]. We have [two or three] sponsor levels:

[Level name], [amount]: [what it includes, for example your business name and a link on our website's sponsor section and a thank-you at a home game]
[Level name], [amount]: [what it includes]
[Level name], [amount]: [what it includes]

[How to pay, for example checks payable to [booster club name]]

I've included a one-page summary of our season and what each level includes. If you would like to take part or have any questions, please email me at [email] or call me at [phone] by [reply-by date]. I'm happy to stop by at a time that suits you.

Thank you for considering it,
[Your name]
[Your role], [team name]
[Phone] · [Email]

After they say yes

How you treat a sponsor this season has a lot to do with whether they say yes next season.

• Thank them the same week. A short email or a note from the team is enough.
• Ask for their logo and the web address they want linked. Get them in the first week, so nothing holds up the recognition.
• Put their name and link on the website quickly. It is easy for a sponsor to check, and seeing it there soon shows the team does what it says.
• Deliver every piece of recognition you promised. If the level includes a banner or a thank-you at a home game, make sure it happens, and tell the sponsor when it did.
• Send a short note at the end of the season. Say how the season went and what their money helped pay for.
• Ask about next season. The end-of-season note is a natural time to ask whether they would like to sponsor again.

Show sponsors on your team website

The website is the recognition a sponsor can point to all year. Give it a sponsor section grouped by level, with each business's name and a link to its website. Keep it current: add new sponsors quickly, and take down anyone whose sponsorship has ended. Our guide to what a high school team website needs covers the sponsor section alongside the schedule, roster and the rest of the site.

OurTeamSports team sites include a sponsors section that groups sponsors by level, alongside the schedule, roster, events and alumni sections. A parent volunteer can be made a sponsor editor, who can change only the sponsors, so the person who handles sponsors can add a new one the day they say yes.