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

1. Set Targets And Do Your Research

• Compile a list of potential sponsors:

  • Check out sponsors of previous MLH events

  • Search your network (LinkedIn is a great tool for this)

  • Check in with career services — which companies sponsor tech job fairs on your campus?

  • Fundraising announcements

2. Get In Touch

• Send a well-crafted, thoughtful email.

  • Keep it clear and concise. Shorter is better.

  • Don’t attach the prospectus yet — your goal here is simply to get to the next step: a phone call.

  • Cover the basics — when, where, why, etc.

  • Ask for a short phone call on a specific date.

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

• Intros are infinitely better than cold emails.

• Follow up: don’t worry if you don’t receive a response to your initial email; wait a week and ask again.

3. Have An Exploratory Phone Call

• Make sure the sponsor knows what a hackathon is — use analogies like comparing it to a science fair

• Ask about success metrics. What did they get from past sponsorships?

• Sell your team and your story. What makes you special?

• Let THEM do all the talking. You’ll figure out what companies most value this way.

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

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

4. Make A Proposal

• Do this right away. Sometimes it’s as easy as sending over a prospectus with the packages most relevant to that particular company. Other times, you’ll have to put together a custom proposal.

• Make sure to explain why your offerings are a good fit.

• Give your sponsorship deadline.

• Less is more! Choose a uniform color scheme and keep text to a minimum on each slide.

5. Follow Up And Track Your Progress

• Email a week or two later offering to answer questions.

• Track your emails with a CRM, an email service like Boomerang, or plain old Excel.

• When a sponsor says yes, invoice them immediately.

Tracking Your Incoming And Outgoing Funds

• Keep in mind that sponsorship money comes in on a rolling basis

• Develop a process for collecting and spending money. Ask about club accounts

• Have one person in charge of maintaining the budget, outstanding invoices, and accounts payable so that they understand when money is coming in and out

MLH Tips

• Appoint one person to act as the point of contact for all sponsors (most likely your head of finance).

• Target local companies. Typically sponsors who are located closer will be able to send more company reps, bring more stuff, and relate more to the hackers. ​

• Be willing to negotiate offerings — to a point. It’s important to preserve the integrity of your hackathon.

• If rejected, ask for something else! Many companies that can’t contribute money are happy to send a judge or an onsite mentor.

• Under promise and over deliver so sponsors feel they got the most bang for their buck.

• Make sure you’ve got your taxes under control. We recommend speaking with an accountant.

Resources

• Webinar: Raising Sponsorship - A Workshop by MLH​

• Webinar: Budgeting for Your Hackathon​

• Webinar: Fundraising for High School Hackathons​

• Webinar: MLH Office Hours: Sponsorship w/ Tyler Laredo​

• Article: How Do I Find Sponsors?​

• Article: Pipedrive: Sales Pipeline Academy​

• Article: Hackathon Fundraising: Getting Started​

• Article: The Hackathon Budget​

• Template: Budget spreadsheet​

• Example: Previous sponsorship decks ​