Organize and properly manage the sponsorship search. The school athletics director (AD) should run it, liaising with relevant contacts and potential sponsors. The AD should be the connecting link between students, coaches, events and sponsors, and oversee new as well as existing relationships.
Target companies and offer well-researched proposals. Avoid using one blanket pitch document and be clear about why you've chosen to solicit specific organizations. Work with them to find the best way of exploiting their funding capabilities while meeting their advertising needs and your financial requirements.
Consider the size of the community, the type of companies whose interests would be best served through sponsorships and what you can offer them. The Ohio High School Athletics Association's website contains examples of schools that have successfully done this.
Develop a marketing strategy. Local school sport sponsorship is an effective way of helping companies directly reach consumers, especially in communities where sporting events are often the biggest local gatherings. Ensure your pitch clearly states these benefits and be alert to ways that your sporting schedule can offer exciting commercial opportunities.
Offer naming rights. For larger deals, consider selling the name of your stadium or an annual event to a specific company. In Worcester, Massachusetts, the Commerce Bank and Trust paid $1 million to renovate Foley Stadium, home to the city's high school sporting events. It's now called the Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium.
Spread the costs between businesses. For example, one firm might distribute its leaflets while paying for equipment, while another gets free signage by paying another bill. Depending on the community, this might be preferable to companies that can't afford a bigger outlay but still want to help in some way.
The National High School Coaches Associations website includes an ongoing advertisement that shows its criteria for potential sponsors.
Personalize any school-sponsor relationship from the start. Many ADs recommend "the personal touch" when finding and maintaining sponsor funds. Karl Heimbach of Magruder High School in Maryland offers tickets to games and detailed reports of how the money's being spent as part of his sponsor strategy. A commitment to this kind of detail should be included in any sponsor pitch.