The 5-Step MLH Sponsorship Process

Once you’ve assessed how much money your hackathon needs and created your sponsorship materials, you’re ready to embark on the fundraising process.

1. Do Your Research

Compile a list of potential sponsors.
- Check out sponsors of previous MLH events, particularly local ones.
- Search your network (LinkedIn is a great tool for this).
- Check in with career services at your university — which companies sponsor tech job fairs on your campus?
- Diversify your sponsor profile by reaching out to startups, midsized enterprises, and large enterprises.
- Make fundraising announcements to your community.

2. Get In Touch

Send a well-crafted, thoughtful email.
- Remember to include an introduction of yourself so sponsors know who they're talking to!
- Check out our Sponsor Emails Cheat Sheet to learn what to include and avoid in the body of your message.
- Your first email should NEVER contain links, hyperlinks, attachments, or images. Many companies have IT policies that automatically trash new external emails with these to prevent phishing. Do not send your sponsorship prospectus, meeting invite link, website link, image in signature, etc. in your first email. Include them in a follow-up message 1-2 weeks after the initial email!
Reach out to the relevant decision maker at each company. When in doubt, email the CEO.
- Other useful job titles:
  - Developer Relations - aka Dev Rel
  - Marketing/Recruiting/HR
- These contacts will either directly have the budget to support your event or know who to put you in touch with.
Follow up: don’t worry if you don’t receive a response to your initial email! Your contact may have lost your email or simply had a busy week. Wait 1-2 weeks (3-4 days if close to your event date) and ask again; you should ping the contact up to 3 times.

3. Hop on an Exploratory Phone Call

Keep in mind that sponsors haven't received your prospectus at this stage, so practicing a brief elevator pitch based on the information in your packet is a great starting point for this call.

Help the sponsor understand what a hackathon is. Offer analogies such as comparing it to a science fair.
Sell your team and your story. What makes your hackathon special?
- Get the prospect excited about the event. Be sure to share personal experiences about the impact and takeaways of hackathons.
Ask about success metrics. What did they ask for in previous sponsorships?
Let them do the talking! You’ll figure out the company's primary values this way.
- Prompt your contact with guiding questions. You want to make the call as conversational as possible so you can learn their goals while sharing your own experiences and expertise to build trust and credibility.
Don’t be afraid to ask for their budget. "Given the times you’ve sponsored events similar to this one, what have you spent and what did you get out of it?"
Before you hang up, schedule a follow-up call.

4. Make A Proposal

Do this immediately after your call. Sometimes it’s as easy as sending over your prospectus and highlighting the pre-made packages most relevant to that particular company. Other times, you’ll have to put together a custom proposal.
Explain why your proposal is a good fit for the sponsor.
Give your sponsorship deadline.

5. Follow Up And Track Your Progress

Email a week or two after sending your initial proposal by offering to answer questions.
Track your emails with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool, an email service like Boomerang, or a manual platform like Excel.
When a sponsor says yes, invoice them immediately. Create a contract for them to finalize their funding amount and method of payment. Make sure they are paying to an account you can easily access with a currency you can accept.

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1. Do Your Research

Compile a list of potential sponsors.

Check out sponsors of previous MLH events, particularly local ones.
Search your network (LinkedIn is a great tool for this).
Check in with career services at your university — which companies sponsor tech job fairs on your campus?
Diversify your sponsor profile by reaching out to startups, midsized enterprises, and large enterprises.
Make fundraising announcements to your community.

2. Get In Touch

Send a well-crafted, thoughtful email.

Remember to include an introduction of yourself so sponsors know who they're talking to!
Check out our Sponsor Emails Cheat Sheet to learn what to include and avoid in the body of your message.
Your first email should NEVER contain links, hyperlinks, attachments, or images. Many companies have IT policies that automatically trash new external emails with these to prevent phishing. Do not send your sponsorship prospectus, meeting invite link, website link, image in signature, etc. in your first email. Include them in a follow-up message 1-2 weeks after the initial email!

Reach out to the relevant decision maker at each company. When in doubt, email the CEO.

Other useful job titles:
- Developer Relations - aka Dev Rel
- Marketing/Recruiting/HR
These contacts will either directly have the budget to support your event or know who to put you in touch with.

Follow up: don’t worry if you don’t receive a response to your initial email! Your contact may have lost your email or simply had a busy week. Wait 1-2 weeks (3-4 days if close to your event date) and ask again; you should ping the contact up to 3 times.

3. Hop on an Exploratory Phone Call

Keep in mind that sponsors haven't received your prospectus at this stage, so practicing a brief elevator pitch based on the information in your packet is a great starting point for this call.

Help the sponsor understand what a hackathon is. Offer analogies such as comparing it to a science fair.

Sell your team and your story. What makes your hackathon special?

Get the prospect excited about the event. Be sure to share personal experiences about the impact and takeaways of hackathons.

Ask about success metrics. What did they ask for in previous sponsorships?

Let them do the talking! You’ll figure out the company's primary values this way.

Prompt your contact with guiding questions. You want to make the call as conversational as possible so you can learn their goals while sharing your own experiences and expertise to build trust and credibility.

Don’t be afraid to ask for their budget. "Given the times you’ve sponsored events similar to this one, what have you spent and what did you get out of it?"

Before you hang up, schedule a follow-up call.

4. Make A Proposal

Do this immediately after your call. Sometimes it’s as easy as sending over your prospectus and highlighting the pre-made packages most relevant to that particular company. Other times, you’ll have to put together a custom proposal.

Explain why your proposal is a good fit for the sponsor.

Give your sponsorship deadline.

5. Follow Up And Track Your Progress

Email a week or two after sending your initial proposal by offering to answer questions.

Track your emails with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool, an email service like Boomerang, or a manual platform like Excel.

When a sponsor says yes, invoice them immediately. Create a contract for them to finalize their funding amount and method of payment. Make sure they are paying to an account you can easily access with a currency you can accept.