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Advice on Sponsorship

England Handball Sponsorship Pack

Advice on approaching companies for financial help

• Be realistic
  • Think about specific things that the company could fund – eg equipment – or work out the travel costs for one team per year.
  • Many companies insist on matched funding: so you may need to raise money to match whatever is offered.
  • Would the company want to sponsor the first team, or would they want to be involved in activities to raise participation?
• Be proactive
  • Help the company to maximise their involvement. Offer them handball taster days or after-work sport. Invite them to home games. Tell them what the club is doing. Always ask yourself: What’s in it for them?
  • Shout about any outreach activity you do in the community or in local schools. The company will want to see their sponsorship have as wide a reach as possible.
  • There’s no such thing as free money.
• Use your contacts
  • Parents or players at the club might have suggestions about who you could approach. What existing networks do you have?  
• Be professional.
  • Businesses will want to deal with clubs they can trust and who are credible. Go back through your social media accounts and remove anything negative, and remind all players that they are now ambassadors for that company so be mindful of what they post. 
• Be visible.
  • Get out into the local community, organise taster sessions, be seen at the local fete, get the club noticed.      

 

CASE STUDY    

Thinking Local: Olympia Cannock and Cameron Homes

Nenad Popovic from Olympia Cannock knew the Chairman of Cameron Homes through a personal link. He approached the company to fund a programme of handball in schools, for girls in years 7-9. There were three parts to the partnership: handball lessons delivered in schools; equipment purchased for each school; professional development training for teachers. Cameron also supported Cannock, to give those girls who wanted to take the next step in playing handball. The programme has been rolled out across the Midlands and Staffordshire, to reflect the geographical reach of Cameron Homes which is based in Burntwood. The total investment has totalled £70,000 and saw Cannock win back-to-back national age-group titles in 2017 and 2018.  

 

Lessons learned from the Cannock-Cameron Homes partnership?

It’s local. A local company supporting local schools and clubs.

It’s not just Olympia Cannock. The programme has reached 3500 girls so far, right across the target geographical region.

It started with a personal connection.

It’s specific. The money funded a defined number of sessions in schools, equipment, and professional development courses for teachers.

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