1. Sponsorship and Fundraising
Planning

2. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Festivals Funding Portfolio
Public
Corporate
Sector
Individuals Trusts &
Donors Foundations

3. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Fundraising Planning Framework
Needs to answer 3 questions:
1. Where are we now?
• Fundraising Audit
2. Where do we want to be?
• Sponsorship and Fundraising Objectives
3. How are we going to get there?
• Strategies
• Tactical Plans

4. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
The Sponsorship and Fundraising Plan
1) Fundraising Audit: a review of the environment; market
analysis and competitor benchmarking; information on
where the synergies lie; who is likely to support activity
and what level of funding is available
2) Fundraising and Sponsorship Objectives: define SMART
objectives and setting of realistic income generation
targets
3) Definition of the strategy and tactics to achieve these
targets

5. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
1. Fundraising Audit
Where are we now?
a. Analyse your competitors
b. Market factors
c. Fundraising Capacity
d. SWOT Analysis

6. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
a. Analyse your Competitors
• Who are the direct competitors to my Festival?
• Who are indirect competitors (activities/ events competing for
same audience)?
• How much are customers paying for my competitors events -
more / less?
• What makes my competitors successful and why?
• What are they doing right?
• How do my competitors position their events in the market?
• What are my competitors major strengths and weaknesses?
• How does this Festival differ from my competitor’s events? Its USP?

7. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
b. Market Factors
2. Market Factors
• Who is financially supporting Festival? Consider each
segment (e.g. Corporate, Individual, Foundation)
• Supporter motivations – why do
audiences/sponsors/donors support Festival?
• Supporter behaviour – How much does each segment
give – longevity of support - reasons for terminating
support

8. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
c. Fundraising Capacity
• Past performance of funding undertaken – successes
failures, trends
• People, Resources, Management
• Fundraising budget

9. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
c. Fundraising Capacity
People, Resources
• How many staff/volunteers are involved in fundraising?
• How much do your trustees contribute to fundraising for the
organisation?
• What time do your staff and volunteers devote to
fundraising?
• What skills and knowledge do your staff and volunteers
have? Where are the gaps?

10. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
c. Fundraising Capacity
Management
• How integrated is the need to fundraise in the culture of
your organisation?
• Is fundraising part of your strategic planning process?
• What limitations does your organisation have on the
sources it can access?
• What procedures have you in place for receiving funding
from a wide variety of sources

11. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
c. Fundraising Capacity
• Past performance of funding undertaken – successes
failures, trends
• People, Resources, Management
• Fundraising budget

12. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
d. SWOT Analysis
• Tool to summarise audit data
• Consider each supporter segment
• Provides realistic objectives over planning period and
strategy tactic to be employed
• Where are your funding gaps and risks?

13. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Example Festival SWOT Analysis

14. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Example SWOT Analysis – Beverley Festival
Strengths Weaknesses
Loyal audience Lack of clear strategic vision
Beverley - attractive location Uncertain organisational governance
Longstanding history with good reputation Lack of marketing and fundraising strategies
Perceived to be good value by attenders Festival is trading in a deficit and could be
Broad programming considered insolvent
Recognised as a regional asset by ACE No major performance venue
Increased revenue generation from Festival Village Lack of maintenance of stakeholder relationships
Few significant competitors in region ‘Folkie’ fringe perceived as unsupportive
Reliant on public funding for continued existence
Opportunities Threats
Take initiative to expand as there are no significant Public funding is withdrawn
competitors in region General economic downturn
Relocation to larger green-field site of Beverley Audience rejects new initiatives
Racecourse Event is rained off
Increase audience attending whole weekend Festival fails to gain appropriate licences
Green values attractive to wider target audience Increased costs of security
Broadening of programme (within folk-roots sector) Advent of a major regional competitor
Attracting key brand sponsorship Loss of venues
Increasing revenue generation to be self sufficient Key personnel leave organisation
Increasing in-house resource

15. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
2. Sponsorship and Fundraising Objectives
Minimum Objectives
• The amount of funds that need to be raised
• The categories of supporters that will supply these
funds (i.e. individual / corporate / foundation / individuals
• The acceptable cost of raising these funds

16. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Set SMART Objectives
Specific: related to one aspect of fundraising activity
Measurable: specify quantifiable values wherever possible
Achievable: derived from analysis of audit
Relevant: consistent with objective of festival – supply the detail
Timely: clearly specify duration over which to be achieved

17. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Example SMART Objectives
• To attract $10,000 income from individual donors by end of financial
year
• To attract $125,000 of (cash) corporate sponsorship by end of March
2012
• To have a Festival title sponsorship for $50,000 agreed by January 2012
• To recruit 50 new Friends of the Festival by December 2011
• To finalise $1 million endowment fund strategy by October 2011
• To agree 30% reduction in hotel accommodation for performers by
February 2012

18. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
3. Defining Strategy
Key Strategies
a) Overall Direction
b) Segmentation Strategy
c) Tactical Plans
d) Scheduling
e) Monitoring and Control

19. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
a) Overall Direction
Existing New
Market Activity
Existing penetration development
Markets
Market
Diversification
New development

20. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
b) Segmentation Strategy
Individuals
a) Demographics – age; gender; income
b) Geographic
c) Psychographic – attitudes; values; lifestyle

21. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
b) Segmentation Strategy
Business
a. Demographic – industry type; company size; location
b. Characteristics – Customer profile matches Festival audience;
positive reputation amongst consumers; Good employer
c. Approach – philanthropic or purely bottom line; current relationships;
previous track record in sponsorship/donations

22. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
b) Evaluating Segments
The Segments must be:
i. Measurable – information about characteristics should exist
ii. Accessible – Approach to target segment should be cost effective
iii. Substantial - large volume (or small with high margins) for exploitation
iv. Stable –enable future development to be predicted
v. Appropriate – allied to Festival objectives
vi. Unique – Clearly distinguished e.g. corporate donor/sponsor;
demographic differences such as age
vii. Sustainable –sponsor/donor long term relationship with Festival -
affinity rather than product driven

23. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
3. Tactical Plans
Case for Support
• Bank of resources – collate:
– Mission statement
– Specific Festival objectives
– Outline of programmes
– Governance structure financials statements
– Festival history
• Understanding specific needs or expectations of sponsors and donors
• Case expressions
– Use above resources to explain clearly the benefits the festival provides
– why festival warrants support – highlight distinctiveness
– tailor to likely interest of segments

24. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
3. Tactical Plans
Determining the Fundraising Budget:
a) Percentage of budgeted sponsorship and donations income
b) Competitor matching – ballpark benchmarking
c) What can be afforded
d) Allow for contingencies

25. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Fundraising Schedule - Example Gantt Chart
Task Jan Feb Mar Apr Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Lead
Sponsorship
Research companies Mimi
Develop sponsorship package Tom
Write Sponsorship Proposal Tom
Sponsor follow-up Rachael
Individuals
Prepare Friends material Mimi
Send pack to database Friends Mimi
Telephone Friends Will
Foundations
Prepare project proposal Tom
Write Application for project Tom

26. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Monitoring and Control
Control Mechanisms
a) the actual income achieved against budget
b) the actual cost incurred against those budgeted
c) the performance of specific forms of the fundraising portfolio
d) the appropriateness of strategy / tactics adopted

27. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
A Thought for Festival Leaders on Survival
Are you plugged into what’s happening in your sector?
You need to:
• Know the national players
• Be aware of current national developments
Without this knowledge, how can you know the best
direction to take your festival?
Business opportunities are likely to be missed and lurking
disasters may not be avoided.

28. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Exercises
1. Review the DMIAF Proposal
2. Decide who ITS potential competitors are
3. Undertake a Competitor Analysis
4. Undertake a SWOT Analysis aiming for at least
6 points in each section

29. British Council Vietnam
Festival Workshop
June 2011
Sharing
• Feedback on exercise
• Considerations?
• Concerns?