If you have a project that you want sponsorship for, GiveWP has you covered! With the GiveWP core plugin and Recurring Donations, you can set up sponsorships and patronage on any WordPress website.
Why Might You Want Sponsorships?
Some donations might not be what you think of as “traditional” donations. Whether you have a podcast, webinar series, or ezine, sponsorships might be a better way of engaging donors and contributors. You might even want to set up a fund to sponsor people, like children in need, church missionaries, marathoners, or other types of teams.
Think of sponsors more like patrons. Patrons of the arts are the most common example. These are people who choose to support your product, service, or mission over time simply because they enjoy the content you put out or work you do.
When you think about these kinds of endeavors, the idea of sponsorship fits better than ongoing donations.
What is a Sponsorship?
Sponsorships are basically donations, but with a nuanced difference. Instead of thinking of a sponsor’s contribution as a donation to a specific campaign, think of sponsors more like investors for your growth and partners in your success. Sponsors think of themselves as part of the team, or at least tangential to it.
Sponsorships, therefore, are more likely to rally others to support you, share your message, and celebrate your success. Sponsors also usually get some kind of public recognition in exchange for their donations.
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Who Would Sponsor You?
There are many reasons why a contributor may wish to be a sponsor. Of course, the first is the desire to help. Whether you’re a podcaster creating content or an orphanage sponsoring children, the audience you engage with wants to be helpful.
But there’s another reason people choose sponsorship. It’s for the sense of belonging that comes with contributing to a project over time. There’s a deeper investment than simply giving you money. There’s an emotional investment, too. When someone sponsors financially, they feel more connected to you as an individual or organization. They feel more connected to your purpose. They feel a part of it. Like they belong.
How to Use GiveWP for Sponsorships
Create a sponsorship donation form by using GiveWP with the Recurring Donations add-on. Then add a text replacement PHP snippet to change the word “donations” to “sponsorship.” It takes relatively little time to set up.
- Make sure you’ve added GiveWP to your WordPress website.
- Download the Recurring Donations add-on from your GiveWP account, or purchase a pricing plan if you need to get access to the add-on. Then install it on your site.
- Create a form. You can use a GiveWP legacy form, or our new multi-step form.
- Enable Recurring Donations and set the frequency for how often you want sponsors to contribute: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually.
- Use the form settings to add to your story with words and other media, like images and video. Make the story compelling so that people want to sponsor you.
- Publish your form.
- Use the PHP snippet found in the GiveWP Snippet Library to change the word “Donation Total” to “Sponsorship Total,” or whatever words you’d like.
Your PHP snippet might look like this
Check our documentation on adding custom functions to your website if you need more help.
Engage with Your Sponsors
Remember how I said sponsors feel like they belong to your cause now? Make sure to nurture that relationship. Here are a few ways to engage with your sponsors.
- Consider adding an email opt-in to your newsletter using one of our marketing add-ons. Then send out sponsor-only news, tips, and opportunities.
- Craft a different “Thank You” page for sponsors that asks them to share their sponsorship on social media, using our free Per-form Confirmations and Simple Social Shout add-ons.
- Mention your sponsors by name in your podcast, videos, social media, or newsletter, and thank them for continuing to support your cause.
- Send out handwritten notes.
- Consider a fun attachment with your sponsor receipt using our free add-on. You could include a PDF printout/poster or eBook.
Remember that sponsors are committed and engaged. Make sure to include them, dialogue with them, and make them feel special for their continued support. Do you have other ways that you engage with your sponsors? We want to hear about it. Tell us in the comments!
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