Shortly after launching our startup, Mogul Millennial held our first in-person event in Dallas, Texas called Sip & Spin. Sip & Spin included networking for Black professionals and entrepreneurs, a spin exercise class at a Black-owned facility, low calorie cocktails by a Black-owned mixologist, healthy bites, and a bomb gift bag at the end.

As entrepreneurs and busy professionals, we can all attest that it is easy to get lost in our schedule and lose sight of what matters that most – our health. Because exercise is first class in relieving stress, clearing thoughts, and giving energy, we wanted our attendees to have a good time sweating out their stress from work and life (and then of course we wanted them to enjoy a few libations afterwards because cocktails are life).

The Sip & Spin event was an absolute success – all of our tickets were sold out, and everyone had a blast! To be totally honest, selling the event tickets was fairly easy – but getting donations and sponsors for the event was very difficult in the beginning.

As a startup, we wanted to be frugal and smart about our spending when it came down to Sip & Spin. We knew we wanted to throw a dope event, but unfortunately we didn’t have the cash to support what we wanted. We knew we needed to ask for donations and sponsors, but we didn’t have any idea on how to do so.

Initially, we drafted up an email and we sent it to a few people – but that email wasn't hitting the spot, and didn’t interest anyone. It wasn’t until we reached out to one company that asked to see our sponsorship deck that we realized we were approaching getting sponsors the wrong way.

If you didn’t know, a sponsorship deck is essentially a professional document that details everything about your event, your company, your target audience, and why someone should sponsor you.

After learning that we needed a sponsorship deck, we spent a few hours browsing on Google and YouTube and FINALLY were able to create our own deck. If you are planning an event soon (or in the future), here is everything you need to know about creating a sponsorship deck.

Be short and sweet

Be respectful of the people you are reaching out to, and don’t send them a huge Powerpoint presentation. Instead, send them a PDF document that’s no more than 10 pages long.

Don’t forget to include your contact information

You should never make it difficult for someone to contact you and learn more about you and your biz. In your sponsorship deck, be sure to include your website, phone number, email address, social media profiles, etc.

More facts, less fluff

As aforementioned, the deck should be short and sweet, and to the point. However, be sure to still include the who, what, when, where, and why in your deck. Also, always remember more facts, less fluff.

Be detailed

Make sure you include how many people you are expecting, and as much info as possible about your event’s target market. Really drill down and give as much info on your target market as possible because it will be valuable to potential sponsors.

Including stats is a must

If you held an event last year, include photos, notable numbers, and quotes from last year’s attendees or sponsors about how great your event was. Providing this information to a sponsor will be golden because they will be able to see that you have already successfully put on an event that works.

Include information about your sponsorship options

If you are offering different levels of sponsorship, include that information in the deck so that the potential sponsors can see all of that in one area. It should never be hard for a potential sponsor to learn how they can support you.

Don’t forget to tell them what they would get

Are there benefits to being a sponsor?

Many conferences/events sometimes offer many different types of benefits including promoting that brand via social media, free marketing exposure, or being included in press releases about the event that will reach masses.

Always tell the company why sponsoring you will benefit them.

Below you will find a link to the deck that we sent out for Sip & Spin.

Keep in mind, this was our first time doing a deck so don't judge us!

Click here -> sponsorship deck

*Pro-tip, we used Canva to create our deck and it made the process very easy!*