Sponsorship gifts for event sponsors go to the company that paid for the evening, which makes them a different thing from the favor left on every seat. You want the gift still on someone's desk when you call about next year.
Thanking a sponsor well takes a gift scaled to their level and a thank you letter written for the kind of sponsor they are, and this guide covers both. If you are planning gifts for a season of events, our page on donor and volunteer appreciation gifts for nonprofits shows what we make for foundations and charities.
Event sponsors want recognition their company can see
Ask a sponsor what they want back and the answer usually comes in 4 parts.
- Visibility. Their name in front of the right people, on the night and after it.
- Access. Time with your leadership, your honorees and the other guests.
- Proof. A number and a result that show the money did something.
- A relationship. A reason to come back, and someone who calls well before the renewal.
The thank you letter is where you give them the proof. A gift they use through the year helps with the last point on that list, since it keeps your name in front of them until the renewal comes up.
The gift should match the sponsor level
Scaling the gift to the level makes the whole program look planned. The table gives our suggestions, with starting prices from our full catalog. Each design has a minimum of 125 pieces, so pick 1 or 2 from the table and plan to use them across more than one event.
| Sponsor level | Suggested gift | From |
|---|---|---|
| Presenting or title sponsor | Merino throw, silk pashmina gift set or brass paperweight | $88, $90 or $58 |
| Gold sponsor | Bespoke silk scarf, silk tie or enamel cufflinks | $65, $48 or $45 |
| Silver sponsor | Embossed leather coasters, brass or nickel coaster, or card holder | $35, $40 or $32 |
| Table or hole sponsors, volunteers and the committee | Lapel pin or luggage tag | $15 or $28 |
A presenting sponsor gift should live in a home or an office
The presenting sponsor carried the event, so give them the piece with the most presence. A merino throw woven in your colors is one for the home, and a cast-brass paperweight engraved with your crest suits an executive's desk. The third option, a silk pashmina gift set, comes hand-wrapped in a gold or silver foil-embossed box.
A single design can serve a season of events
Most single events have far fewer than 125 sponsors, so it makes sense to plan 1 design for a whole season, or for a campaign, and give it to the board and the volunteers as well. Hand a lapel pin to the table sponsors and volunteers at 3 events and you will reach that number quickly.
Sponsorship gifts should be ordered when the sponsorships are sold
Most of our projects take 8 to 16 weeks from the first hand-drawn sketch to delivery, with samples for approval in between. The best time to start the sponsor gift is when the sponsorship packages go out. Tell us your event date when you get in touch and we will tell you whether the timing works, and you can read how a project runs before you call.
You can present the gift at the event or send it with the thank you letter in the 2 weeks after. Before you choose a high value piece, check the sponsor's own gift policy, because many companies limit what their staff may accept and some would have to send it back.
A thank you letter reports what the sponsorship did
A sponsorship thank you letter is really a short, warm report. It should go out within 1 week of the event, signed by the chair or the executive director, with enough in it for the sponsor to show their own colleagues.
What every sponsorship thank you letter includes
- The event, the date and the sponsor level
- The total raised and the people reached
- A concrete outcome the money pays for
- Photographs of the sponsor's name, sign or table, 2 or 3 at most
- An invitation back, with the month you will be in touch
Each kind of sponsor needs its own thank you letter
Below are 4 templates, 1 per kind of sponsor, each with a short version and the gift that suits them. Placeholders are in brackets, and any line that is not true for your event should come out.
Gala sponsors want the results of the night and a photo of their table
Open with the total raised and 1 result it pays for. Name the sponsor level and their table number, and close with next year's date or the month you will be in touch.
The full letter
Dear [First name],
Thank you for sponsoring [Gala name] on [date]. With [Company] as our [level] sponsor, the evening raised [$amount] for [cause].
That pays for [1 concrete outcome]. Your team at table [number] helped make the room what it was, and we have enclosed a few photographs from the night.
We would be honored to have [Company] with us again next year, and I will be in touch in [month] with the date.
With thanks,
[Signature]
[Name], [Title]
The next-morning email
Subject: [Gala name] raised [$amount]. Thank you, [Company]
Dear [First name],
Last night raised [$amount] for [cause], and [Company] helped make it happen. A few photographs of your table are here: [link]. A letter from [Chair name] follows this week.
With thanks,
[Name], [Title]
A note for the gift
[First name], thank you for standing with [Organization] at [Gala name]. This [gift name] was made for us alone, as a small sign of our thanks.
The recognition gift
Gala sponsors and their guests dress for the night, so give them something they can wear to the next one, such as a bespoke silk scarf and tie in your colors or a pair of enamel cufflinks. Emory Goizueta Business School's silk scarf and tie were drawn from the Goizueta building, and Columbia University's enamel cufflinks carry a lion's head on one link and a C and Crown on the other. The person receiving the gift is usually an executive, so our luxury corporate gifts page is a useful guide to tone.
Golf tournament sponsors want to know their sign was seen
Give the number of golfers and the total raised. Mention 1 moment from the day on or near their hole, and enclose a photograph of their sign on the course.
The full letter
Dear [First name],
Thank you for sponsoring [hole number or sponsor level] at the [Tournament name] on [date]. [Number] golfers played past [Company]'s sign, and together we raised [$amount] for [cause].
[1 line on a moment from the day, such as the closest shot to the pin on your hole.] We have enclosed a photograph of your sign on the course.
Thank you for making the day possible. We hope to see you on the first tee next year.
With gratitude,
[Signature]
[Name], [Title]
The next-morning email
Subject: Your sign on hole [number], and what the day raised
Dear [First name],
[Number] golfers played past [Company]'s sign yesterday, and the tournament raised [$amount] for [cause]. Here is a photograph from your hole: [link]. Thank you for being part of the day.
[Name], [Title]
A note for the gift
Thank you for playing your part at [Tournament name], [First name]. We hope this travels with you to every course you play.
The recognition gift
Golfers travel with their clubs, which is why we suggest leather for golf sponsors. An embossed leather luggage tag from $28 can go straight on the golf bag. The card holder, from $32, is for a jacket pocket, and both are made from English vegetable-tanned bridle leather, with your crest blind-embossed or foil-stamped and the edges stitched by hand. MIT Sloan chose an embossed leather luggage tag and passport holder for its top donors.
Campaign and naming sponsors want a lasting record of their name
This letter comes from the president. Restate the name exactly as it will appear, and say how long it will stand only if the agreement sets a term. Then offer a visit to see the work and mention that a recognition gift will follow.
The full letter
Dear [First name],
On behalf of everyone at [Institution], thank you for [Company]'s commitment of [$amount] to [campaign name], and for lending your name to [space or program].
Every [student, patient or visitor] who uses [space or program] will know who made it possible. Work begins in [month], and we will invite you and your team to see it in progress.
A small token of our thanks will follow, made for [Institution] alone. We are proud to have [Company] beside us.
With gratitude,
[Signature]
[Name], President
A note for the gift
[First name], thank you for putting [Company]'s name to [space or program]. This [gift name] was designed for [campaign name] and made for [Institution] alone.
The recognition gift
For a naming sponsor we would make a piece for the campaign itself. Lurie Children's Hospital gave a pashmina and a silk tie for the launch of its For Every Child campaign, and the Smithsonian's silk scarf and tie were built on the Smithsonian sunburst for the Smithsonian Campaign. Because a campaign design can also go to the volunteers and the board, the 125 piece minimum is easy to reach. See Lurie Children's campaign gifts and the Smithsonian Campaign scarf and tie.
In-kind sponsors want their goods described and never valued
Describe the goods or services exactly, but leave the value out, since putting a value on them is left to the donor. Then say what the donation freed up for the cause, and add the acknowledgment block if the donation needs one.
The full letter
Dear [First name],
Thank you for [Company]'s donation of [description of goods or services, such as the wine for the gala dinner or the printing of 500 programs], received on [date].
Your generosity let us put more of what we raised straight into [cause] instead of event costs. [1 concrete result.]
For your records: [Organization legal name] is a tax exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We received the items described above. [No goods or services were provided in exchange.] OR [In exchange you received [description], with an estimated value of [$amount].]
With thanks,
[Signature]
[Name], [Title]
A short message
Thank you, [First name]. Because [Company] gave [goods or services], every dollar raised at [Event name] went to [cause].
The recognition gift
In-kind sponsors are often local businesses, like the caterer or the printer who did the programs. A set of embossed leather coasters from $35 suits a shop counter or an office desk. For a more formal piece, our brass and nickel coasters are hand-forged and engraved with your crest, and they come as a set. Emory Goizueta Business School gave brass coasters to the 100 honorees of its centennial.
Public thanks to a corporate sponsor must stay neutral
Anything printed in a program or shown on a slide counts as a public acknowledgment, and so does signage or a social media post. The tax rules treat these differently from a private letter, which can be as warm as you like. Under Treasury Regulation section 1.513-4, a sponsorship payment stays a qualified sponsorship payment when the sponsor gets an acknowledgment and no substantial return benefit, such as advertising.
What a sponsor acknowledgment may include
- The sponsor's name, logo and slogans, as long as the slogans make no qualitative or comparative claims
- Its locations, phone numbers and web address
- Value-neutral descriptions of its products or services, including pictures of them
- Its brand or trade names
What turns thanks into advertising
- Qualitative or comparative language, such as "the best bank in the city"
- Price information or any sign of savings or value
- An endorsement
- An inducement to buy, sell or use the sponsor's products
The regulation is plain that a single message mixing advertising and acknowledgment counts entirely as advertising. Keep the program page and the slides to the sponsor's name and logo with a neutral line of thanks.
Gala seats and dinners need a disclosure
Sponsors often receive seats at the dinner. When a payment is more than $75 and the payer receives something back, the Internal Revenue Service requires a written disclosure of the deductible amount, with a good faith estimate of the value received. Publication 1771 sets out the details.
This is general information and should not be read as tax advice. Confirm how these rules apply to your events with your own tax adviser.
A recognition gift carries the institution's story into the sponsor's office
A sponsorship gift works best when it is made for the cause, so that it could only have come from you. We draw every Harris Made gift from scratch around your institution's crest and colors, and the design is never sold to anyone else. The pieces are made in Britain by mills and a foundry that hold Royal Warrants. Our paperweights and coasters, for instance, are hand-forged in brass or nickel and engraved with your crest, and they are built to outlast a career.
Each gift arrives hand-wrapped in a presentation box branded for your institution, often with a notecard that carries your thank you on the front and the provenance of the gift on the reverse. Our craftsmanship page shows the presentation box and notecard.
"We cannot thank you enough for the extraordinary heirloom-quality gifts that reflect our deep appreciation for our Benefactors. With your help, we have created unforgettable memories that they will carry with them and share within the Notre Dame community. Collaborating with you has been a true delight!" Jessica Reasons, The University of Notre Dame
If your sponsorships go on sale soon, start a project and tell us your event date. Our gifts for nonprofits and foundations show more of what we make, and fundraising gala ideas covers the rest of the evening.
Frequently asked questions
What are good gifts for event sponsors?
Lasting pieces tied to your cause and scaled to the sponsor level: a throw or paperweight for the presenting sponsor, a silk scarf or cufflinks for gold, leather or brass coasters for silver, and a lapel pin for table sponsors and volunteers.
How much should you spend on a sponsor thank you gift?
Scale the gift to the sponsor level, using starting prices from $15 for a lapel pin to $90 for a silk pashmina gift set. Check the sponsor's own gift policy before choosing a high value piece.
What do sponsors want?
Visibility, access to your leadership and guests, proof of impact and a relationship that lasts. The thank you letter is where you show the proof, and a gift they keep using helps the relationship last until the renewal.
What should a sponsorship thank you letter say?
The event, the sponsor level, the total raised and 1 result the money pays for. Enclose 2 or 3 photographs and end with an invitation back.
When should you send a thank you letter to an event sponsor?
Within 1 week of the event. The gift can follow in the weeks after if it is still being made.
Can a nonprofit thank a sponsor publicly with its logo?
Yes. Treasury Regulation section 1.513-4 allows a sponsor's name, logo and neutral descriptions, but qualitative or comparative language, prices, endorsements or calls to buy turn the thanks into advertising. This is general information, so confirm with your own tax adviser.