F1 in Schools in PA Seeking Sponsorship
Sponsorship is very much part of the "ethos" of Formula One (F1). We suggest that it would be prudent of any F1 in Schools team to seek sponsorship from local companies.
Approach 1
Approach 2
Important Considerations
Approach 1
- Write a letter to several companies in your area, requesting sponsorship for your F1 in Schools team. In the letter, include some background information about the challenge, your team, and what the company could gain from sponsoring your team.
- Follow up the letters with a telephone call inquiring about the letter you have sent and the possibilities of arranging a meeting. It is often much easier to sell your ideas to a potential sponsor face-to-face.
- Prepare a presentation using presentation software, an overhead projector, or handouts for use at your meeting. If you need any special equipment at your meeting (such as a screen or projector), don't forget to organize these beforehand.
- Be professional at all times.
- Be clear about your expectations and what the sponsors will get from their investment.
Approach 2
- Explore potential sponsors through parents, teachers, your school, business, or industrial links. You might find a suitable contact through a parent, a parent's friend or work colleague, a teacher's friend, or a team member's present employer.
- Ask the contact whether it would be possible to write and/or telephone the potential sponsor. Before making contact, ensure that you prepare yourself thoroughly and don't forget to mention to your potential sponsor how you became aware of their possible interest.
- Again, it might be worth asking your contact if they could arrange a meeting for you. If this happens, always send a confirming letter to the potential sponsor indicating that you (and members of your team) will be attending the meeting.
- Prepare a presentation as outlined in Approach 1.
Important Considerations
- Always approach companies in a professional manner.
- Keep written proposals – such as team reports – fairly short (no more than one page, front and back).
- Check the spelling before using any documents.
- Practice any presentations before visiting a sponsor. Organize equipment beforehand.
- Keep presentations concise and to the point (generally no longer than 10 slides/display boards and/or no longer than 10 minutes in duration).
- However, feel free to take any extra materials along to meetings. If the sponsor shows interest in a particular area, you can always expand your presentation or leave information or work for closer inspection.
- Before you attend a meeting, try to develop a piece of work specific to the sponsor – such as a drawing of your car with the company logo already in position. This will impress upon the sponsor that you are keen to work with them.
- If a company sponsors your team, try to provide them with copies of any work, possibly even a duplicate model of your car, for display in their headquarters.
- Perhaps invite your sponsor to any events at your school to see your design being developed or manufactured.
- At the end of the season, always remember to thank your sponsors for their valuable support.
