Guide Sponsorship · Conferences and galas
How to build a sponsor package
Tiers, prices and the deck, in the order we build them for association conferences and galas. Start with what you can deliver, then price it.
List every piece of exposure your event can actually deliver. Group it into three or four tiers with one presenting sponsor at the top. Price from the value to the sponsor and what you need to raise. Put it in a short deck, and have it ready about 22 weeks before the event so the asks go out at 18 weeks. Then deliver every line and send each sponsor a report.
1. List what you can deliver
Write the inventory before you name a single tier. A sponsor buys these lines, not a medal colour. Walk through your event from the first email to the wrap-up and note every place a name can appear or a person can speak.
| Where | What you can offer |
|---|---|
| Before | Logo on the website and registration page, mentions in member emails, social posts, the program |
| In the room | Thank-you from the stage, logo on the screen loop, signage, a booth or table, branded lanyards or coffee break |
| Access | Registrations or seats at a table, a speaking slot, an introduction to the keynote, a meeting with the board |
| Naming | "Presented by" on the event, or a named session, award, reception or breakfast |
| After | Thank-you in the wrap-up email and on social, a short report with photos and attendance |
Mark each line with how many you can sell. There is only one presenting sponsor and only one keynote introduction. A line you can't deliver well doesn't go in.
2. Build the tiers
Three or four tiers is enough. More than that, and sponsors spend the call comparing rows instead of choosing.
| Tier | How many | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|
| Presenting | 1 | "Presented by" naming, a speaking slot, first thank-you from the stage, top of every logo list |
| Major | 2 to 4 | A named session, award or reception, a thank-you from the stage, a table or registrations |
| Supporting | As many as fit | Logo on screen, website and program, registrations |
| Community | Open | Name in the program and wrap-up email. In-kind gifts often sit here |
Keep à la carte items, like the coffee break or the lanyards, outside the tiers. They sell to companies that want one specific thing.
3. Set the prices
- Start from your target. Write down how much cash sponsorship the event needs, then check the tiers can reach it if you sell most, not all, of them.
- Price the top tier first. The presenting price sets the scale for the rest. Each tier below should feel clearly smaller, in price and in what it gets.
- Count the hard costs. Registrations, tables and printed signage cost you money. Make sure each tier covers them.
- Check last year. Past sponsors and their amounts are the best guide to what your audience will pay. Ask your renewals first.
- Say how in-kind counts. Decide in advance whether donated goods or services count toward a tier, and at what value.
4. Write the deck
Eight to ten pages. A sponsor should be able to say yes from it without a call.
- Cover: event name, date, city, and who's hosting
- The audience: who attends, how many, and who they buy for. Use last year's real numbers
- The event: the program in one page, with the speakers you've confirmed
- The tiers: one table, tiers across the top, inventory down the side
- One page per top tier: what the presenting and major sponsors get, with a photo of what it looks like in the room
- À la carte: the single items and their prices
- Last year: photos, attendance and the sponsors who came back
- How to say yes: one contact, the deadline for logo placement, payment terms
5. Make the ask
- Timing. Our spring conference countdown has the package finished 22 weeks before the event and the asks out at 18 weeks. Budgets for the next year often close in the fall, so earlier is better.
- One person, one email. Write to a named person, say why their company fits this audience, and attach the deck. Offer a 15-minute call.
- Follow up on a schedule. Once after a week, once after two. Then take the answer you have.
- Renewals first. Ask last year's sponsors before anyone else, and offer them their old spot.
6. Deliver and renew
Renewal starts on event day. Keep a fulfilment sheet with every promised line, who owns it and the proof it happened. Thank sponsors from the stage in the order you agreed with them, and say their names correctly. Within two weeks, send each sponsor a short report: photos of their logo in the room, attendance, and the mentions they got. Then ask about next year while the event is fresh.
From our work 2026 International Chinatown Conference
54 hosts, funders, sponsors and partners
For the International Chinatown Conference in Edmonton, September 26 to 30, 2026, hosted by the Chinatown Transformation Collaborative and the University of Alberta, we co-led partner outreach with CTC. The five-day conference had 350+ attendees and 70+ speakers, with 54 hosts, funders, sponsors and partners.
Sponsorship and Funding $2,500 setup + 10% of cash secured
Want us to build it and make the asks?
We write the sponsor deck and tiers, run the outreach, track fulfilment and support grant applications. If the cash sponsorships we secure don't cover the $2,500 setup fee by your event date, we refund the difference.
Or see Sponsorship and Funding. The refund deadline is your event date, or 120 days after setup if that comes first. Only cash paid or committed in writing counts. Full terms.