When athletes think sponsorship, many automatically think corporate sponsorship. But this can be a very tough way to land financial backing. Most athletes will have to find it elsewhere. Here's a list of funding sources in descending order of responsiveness:
1. Immediate family.
Always start close to home. The most likely place to get financial
help is from your family. If you don't already have the support
of your parents, siblings, and spouse, you have to ask yourself
why. If your family has done very little to help and encourage
you and they could do more, you need to identify the problem.
If you can't convince your own family to back your efforts, you
may have trouble convincing anyone else to do so as well.
There are, of course, unsupportive families, but most successful
athletes don't come from them. Generally families are willing
to do whatever they can to help out an athlete with a goal or
a dream.
2. Extended family.
Other relatives are the next most likely source of support. Grandparents
in particular are often willing to help out when they can.
3. Employers.
These are the next group to consider. Some companies have a special
fund for community outreach programs and may be willing to use
some of that to help out employees and their relatives. Just how
willing they might be depends on a number of factors: the size
of the company, its financial health, its corporate philosophy
toward sports, the company president's personal interest in sports,
employees' attitudes about sports, and so on. There's no guarantee
that a company will contribute, but an athlete shouldn't automatically
assume that it won't and therefore not bother to ask. Example:
"A lot of the competitors have gotten a lot of help with aerodynamics and they wanted me to have the same advantage. They gave me enough money to buy what I needed for my bike." (1) Wright qualified in her age group (35-39) for a world championship competition in New Zealand and received additional help from family and friends to be able to afford the trip.
4. Neighbors, friends, and community groups.
In general, people are receptive to helping out athletes they
know and like. They want to feel they have made a contribution
in some way. Donations usually come in small amounts from a network
of friends and acquaintances. Sometimes financial help is dropped
into collection cans at local bars and stores, sometimes it is
given at once-a-year fundraising events. Examples:
Said another policeman, Sgt. Dan Strand, who was also at the meeting, "She was very organized for a 17-year-old, articulate, and had it all spelled out on what she needed. I couldn't believe how at ease she was talking to three armed policemen." (3)
"We had no idea what speed-skating was. But we told her, 'You skate, we'll raise the money,' " noted Strand. (4)
The Police Benevolent Fund held lots of raffles and raised $7,500. After that initial fundraising effort, it raised more money over the years by holding bake and candy sales, and by selling University of Illinois football jerseys. In 1987 Schweighart said laughingly, "I didn't know what I was getting in for. I told her I signed on for 1984. Here we are coming to 1988 and she's talking about going on to 1992 or 1994 ..." (5)
In all, the police organization gave her more than $15,000. Once she started receiving money from corporate sponsors, she told her community supporters to give the money to someone who needed it more than she did.
In 1983 Blair also got $1,500 from Jack Sikma, a Milwaukee Bucks basketball player who had gone to Illinois Wesleyan University with Bonnie's older brother, Rob. Additional funding came from a 1986 Dallas golf tournament that Rob organized. (6)
Noted Norman Howes, a family friend and realtor in Todd's hometown of South Chatham, Massachusetts, "They had literally exhausted their own funds. So some people got together and had a clambake to raise some money. We also had videos of his skating and had little house parties.
"We'd have people look at how good he was, and no one knows at that age what's going to happen, but we asked them to sign five-year pledge cards. That first year we raised $10,000. We've been doing it every year since, and I think our biggest year is something like $32,000 or $33,000. It's a piece of Americana." (7)
Some people pledged $5; some pledged far more. Said Howes, "It's the kind of thing small communities do. Small towns take care of their own.
"There would be times when Ruth [Todd's mother] would call and we didn't have money in the checkbook. She'd put it on the credit card and something would always come up. We'd get a check from somebody that we didn't expect. We were always just able to make it." (8)
The fund covered two-thirds of Eldredge's skating expenses -- $250,000 over the years. In 1996, Eldredge, who by that time was making a good living as a skater and no longer needed the town's support, donated $10,000 to Chatham youth sports.
"Our high school principal contacted my folks to see if it was OK to organize a fund-raiser," said Wayne. "From there, it just seemed to snowball. Within a few weeks, the hometown folks raised $40,000." (9)
Said mother Jean Seybold in 1988, ''We were broke. There was no money to continue their training and they were disappointed about their finish at the [1987] U.S. nationals in Tacoma. It was a particularly low point in their career. Then the city had the fund raiser. That's what has kept them going. That's one of the things that motivates them. If it hadn't been for Marion, they wouldn't be skating. We couldn't have borrowed any more money.'' (10)
"I presented my written proposals to administrators at the college and I can't tell you how receptive and supportive people here have been. It took about three months to finalize it.
"Most major corporations wouldn't give a rookie with no touring experience the kind of money you'd need to run a full season on a pro series. They wouldn't take that chance. That's why I had to be creative." (12)
Said Norton Phelps, head of the sports management program which Friend was in, "This young man is just so personable we just let him sell it.... His enthusiasm really came through. I thought it was a really unique opportunity for the college and a great opportunity for Adam." (13)
Phelps went on to note, "Adam is getting a wonderful business experience. And I hope it energizes our students. So far it's gotten a good reaction from students and faculty." (14)
As Friend attended racing expos with his car and team, he made available not only his autograph cards, but also college brochures, bookmarks, and applications.
By 1998 he had graduated and signed up a new sponsor, Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts -- the school his father graduated from and where his brother attends. The deal: the school gets its name on Friend's car in exchange for his brother's college costs, worth approximately $20,000 a year. Said William DiBrienza, vice president for enrollment and student services, "He broke down every stereotype I had about stock car drivers and racing. I went from a total nonbeliever to thinking 'What a unique, clever idea this is.'"
Noted Brian L. Rossetti, the Nichols College public relations director, "It's a modest investment, and racing fans fit our demographics. Racing has a solid middle-class following of people with moderate incomes, drawing a lot from suburbs and rural areas.
"People who would send their children here.
"... when someone gets a Nichols brochure in the mail, there will be some name recognition. Plus, it gives us some national exposure." (15)
As part of his promotional effort, Friend brings his car to Nichols College open houses.
5. Private sponsors.
These people are willing to substantially underwrite an athlete's
training expenses. In most cases they have already expressed an
interest in the sport. They like to attend practice and training
sessions and are regulars at competitions. They know most of the
athletes and coaches.
Sometimes private sponsors come forward offering help to needy athletes; other times coaches come to them to ask for help; occasionally they are approached directly by parents or the athletes themselves. Examples:
6. Corporate sponsors.
These can be either local companies wanting to support local athletes,
sports companies wanting high visibility athletes to use their
products, or other companies wanting a sports connection. Examples:
Although a lucky few athletes are actively sought out by companies, most have to initiate contact themselves. Two routes to making contact with corporations: sending proposals to marketing or PR departments (some companies even have staffers who deal with athlete requests) or gaining the attention of regional salespeople who represent their companies at competitions. (More about all of this in another issue of The Creative Athlete.)
Competition for sponsors is fierce. According to William Doyle, vice president of Performance Research, a company which does research on sports and special events, "There is so much more competition for the corporate dollar that unless there's an absolutely logical connection to the sport it is very difficult to get corporate sponsors to sign on." (21)
Said Lance Pitman, a professional snowboarder, about his sport, "Getting sponsored today has gotten a lot harder. The sport is leveling off instead of growing tremendously, and so many kids are already on the program. There will always be a need for new blood on the scene, but it's gonna be slim pickings in the future, because it's gonna be like ten big companies running the show as opposed to 300 little ones. I think the best way to go about it is to do your local contests, make videos with your buddies, and go to summer camp. That's what I did." (22)
Similarly, John Paul Rogers, a team manager for Schwinn, offered
this advice to BMX riders. "Start at the local level. Go
through a bike shop and go from there. Work on the local level,
then the national level. That's how it works for probably 99%
of the people." (23)