After you Get A Quote for your order, the first step is setting a fundraising goal. Set Your Goal high enough to cover your order cost and any additional funds you would like to raise. Remember, your school gets to keep all additional funds earned through your t-shirt sponsorships!
Note: When thinking through the number of shirts you’ll order, consider students, faculty, staff, PTA/PTO volunteers, etc. We highly recommend including extras in each size in case additional students come in or incorrect sizes are ordered.
Get a Quote Here Set Your GoalAfter you’ve set your goal, you’re ready to brainstorm potential sponsors. Grab a few members of your PTA/PTO to help you. Below are three suggestions for the most common types of sponsors.
Your school may already have longstanding relationships with organizations who are supporting your school in some way. Many of them will likely love to help fund your shirts!
Think of businesses your PTA/PTO members have relationships with, as well as ones that are close to your school. Below is a list of the most common types of businesses that sponsor school shirts.
Most parents own, work for, or know of a business that would love to sponsor your school. Many schools have funded their shirts solely by sending home our "Letter to Parents" Resource (found in Step 4).
Now that you know your financial goals and have a list of potential sponsors, it’s time to create sponsorship pricing levels. We know that every community is unique, and price sensitivity can fluctuate. Therefore, some schools find it best to customize their sponsorship levels, while others choose to use our standard sponsorship levels. Regardless of what you choose, we want to stress the importance of not undervaluing your sponsorships. Remember that students will wear their shirts throughout the year and become “walking billboards” for the sponsors. The goal is to offer fair pricing to the sponsors that still achieves your financial goals.
Check out our Sponsorship Package Resource to see a few examples based off of our recommended pricing. You might be surprised to see that it only takes a few sponsorships to reach your fundraising goals.
If you want to get creative with your sponsorship packages, we recommend “sponsorship bundling.” Many schools find it helpful to include additional sponsorship benefits to each level. This is a great option if you typically seek sponsorships for any other event or fundraiser throughout the year.
Note: the maximum number of printed sponsor logos is 15 on the back and 1 on each sleeve. However, you are free to have as many name-only sponsors as you would like.
Schools tend to be more successful at getting sponsors when they use a variety of communication channels. Use the three editable resources below to help you communicate your need for sponsorships with your community. In order to reach the most potential sponsors, we recommend using all of these resources. And don’t forget to follow-up!
Other best practices for getting sponsors:
1. Ask for help. Recruit a team of your fellow PTA/PTO members. This will take the full responsibility off of your shoulders and leverage your team members’ unique relationships in the community.
2. Divide and conquer. If each person on your team reaches out to two or three sponsors, the success rate will be higher, more ground will be covered, and it will take a lot of pressure off you!
3. Follow up. Regardless of the communication channel, make sure to follow up with potential sponsors. People require multiple touch points before they respond.
You have a committed sponsor! Now what? We recommend asking for their payment to secure their placement (all money is given directly to your school/PTA/PTO). Then, ask for the business logo they would like on the shirt. We need high resolution vector art files for printing, as described in our Art File Guide.
Sponsors are making an investment with their sponsorship, so we want to make sure their logo is as clear as possible. If the sponsor does not have a vector file, please ask for the highest resolution file they have (we can convert many of them to vector files for you for FREE). If we’re unable to convert a logo, our graphic designers can recreate it for you. We can recreate three logos for FREE. After three, the recreations cost $15 per logo. Please refrain from sending in business cards as sponsor logos (they don’t convert well). All sponsor logos will be printed in one color: navy, black, or white.
Since print space is limited, the maximum number of printed sponsor logos is 15 on the back and 1 on each sleeve. If a business or parent buys a name-only ad, or does not have a logo, please list out the names of those sponsors. You are free to have as many name-only sponsors as you’d like.
Once you have your sponsor logos, email all of them to your Spirit Wear Consultant, including your name-only sponsors. Please make sure your school name, sponsor name, logo size, and desired logo placement are in the email. Then we’ll send all of your logos to our graphic designer to add to your t-shirt mock-up after your order is placed.
It’s a BIG deal when sponsors commit to partnering with your school and sponsoring your shirts. We want them to know their support is appreciated, so we’ve created an editable Thank You Letter Resource for you to use. We also suggest ordering an extra shirt for each sponsor and inviting them to the Fun Run!
View Thank You LetterWe would love to answer any questions and help with any challenges. If you have a question or need help, simply reach out to your Spirit Wear Consultant!
