Don’t Go Overboard!

If you are a new race director looking to get your race established in your local area and become an annual community event create manageable and reasonable sponsorship levels. Don’t go overboard!! As a new race the goal should be to attract the maximum number of sponsors rather than trying to land that one big fish. For example, if your committee goal is to raise $5000 in sponsorships you are FAR better off having 10 sponsors with an average sponsorship level of $500 rather than one sponsor at $5000. Why is that you wonder? Remember that old saying, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. While having a $5000 sponsor is awesome, what if you lose that sponsor next year? You’ll be right back to the drawing board. If you lose 1 or 2 $500 sponsors those are easier to replace and will have far less of a negative financial impact on your event. Plus, once you get past your first year (the inaugural race is always the toughest) you are now “established” and other sponsors are more likely to jump on your ship when they are contacted in year #2! So in year #2, 15 sponsors would be a reasonable goal AND you might find that several of your year #1 $500 sponsors (based on your success in year #1) are now willing to go to $1000! Building a sponsorship base takes patience and perseverance. Finally, the more companies you get to sponsor your race opens up greater marketing opportunities as well as increasing your potential pool of race registrants and volunteers. Each sponsor will have their own social media audience which you can tap into that market to greatly increase your race exposure. Cast a wide net and keep those feet in the boat!