How to write a sponsor proposal deck

A sponsor proposal is how you make the ask on paper. It is what a business owner reads after the first conversation, and what they show their partner or manager before they decide. It needs to be quick to read, clear about the ask and honest about what they get.

A deck works better than a letter because each slide does one job. Owners can flick to the tiers, look at the photos and see the price without reading every word.

Before you start

You need two things first: your asset inventory, so you know what you are offering, and your rate card, so you know the price. The deck is the story wrapped around those two.

A slide by slide outline

This is the shape we use. Keep each slide to a headline, a few lines and a picture.

1. Cover. Your club name, your logo, a strong photo and "Prepared for" with the business name.
2. Who we are. When the club started, what you do and who you serve, in three or four lines.
3. Our people. Members, teams, age grades and families. Use your own numbers and say where they come from.
4. Our community. The suburb or town, the schools and the families you reach. This is the audience the sponsor is buying.
5. Our season. Key dates: first game, home games, tournaments, prizegiving.
6. What we are raising for. The specific thing the money pays for. New kit, travel, coaching. Be specific.
7. Where a brand shows up. Photos or mockups of kit, signage and social posts with a sample logo in place.
8. The tiers. Your rate card on one slide.
9. Tier detail. One slide per tier if you need more space for what is included.
10. Extras. Things a sponsor can add, like a named award or a staff day.
11. How we look after sponsors. Who their contact is, what you will send them and when.
12. How we report back. Photos, post links and a short end of season summary.
13. Next steps. What happens if they say yes, and the date you need an answer by.
14. Contact. One name, one phone number, one email.

Our own pack deck runs to 16 or 17 slides because it adds a few slides for detail. Fewer is fine. Clear beats long.

Write for skimming

• One idea per slide. If a slide needs two headlines, it needs to be two slides.
• Short sentences. Plain words. Write how your committee talks.
• Numbers you can back. If you say you have a certain number of members, it should match your registrations.
• No claims you cannot keep, like crowd sizes you have not counted or reach you have not measured.

Use real photos

Photos of your own players, volunteers and families do more work than any stock image. Get permission from parents for junior photos, and use the ones where faces are clear and people look like they are having a good time.

Make it about them as well

A good deck shows what the club needs and what the business gets. Think about why that business might want to be seen by your people. A builder might want families who are renovating. A café might want parents on a Saturday morning. Say it in one line on the cover slide or the tiers slide.

Tailor it for each sponsor

Keep one master deck and change three things for each business: the name on the cover, the tier you suggest and one line about why them. It takes ten minutes and it shows you did your homework.

Send it the right way

1. Talk first. A deck lands better after a short phone call or a visit.
2. Send it as a PDF so it looks the same on every screen.
3. In the email, say in two lines what you are asking for and by when.
4. Follow up once, a few days later, by phone if you can.

A quick checklist

• Is the business name right on the cover?
• Is the price clear, and does it match the rate card?
• Is there one named contact?
• Is there a date for a decision?
• Have two people on the committee read it for typos?