I'm just gonna post this here because it seems a lot of you don't fully understand what sponsorships are and why they aren't just "handing kids money":
How to Get Sponsors | Piggybackr
Do you know for a fact that the ONLY posted it to facebook without calling or sending a letter? Usually when seeking sposorships, making a phone call, writing a letter, or showing up to the business you are asking to sponsor you happens in the whole thing. If I remember correctly, I believe both of my old gyms had pre-written sponsor letters from the gym that athletes could send to accompany their own written letter - as a way to show that what they were asking money for was a legitimate thing and to support the athletes letter. The only thing that was posted here on Facebook was the image with the user saying "I found this on Facebook" so they might've personally reached out to business and sent that graphic along with it as a attention grabber. (And if, for some reason, they only posted it on facebook and did nothing else, then they are seeking sponsorships incorrectly.)
Sponsoring NASCAR and sponsoring a youth sports team are two different things and I wouldn't compare the two. The company I work for sponsors a NASCAR car and driver. It also is a TOP Olympic partner/sponsor of the Olympic Games. And it sponsors small community events around the world. Each sponsorship is completely different even though they operate under the same theory. The NASCAR and Olympic sponsorship target a much bigger market and hundreds of thousands of dollars are funneled into them. The community sponsorships aren't targeting millions of people, usually only the local community, and they aren't contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to a youth sports team.
A sponsorship also isn't a donation. A donation means the business hands the money to the team and the business doesn't get anything in return. A business gets something in return for a sponsorship in the form of advertisement. The people seeking sponsorships usually create a sponsorship package where they lay out what they are asking for and, more importantly, what they can offer to the business in the form of advertising. That's the "product" the athletes and gyms would essentially be selling to the business. It is essentially "fundraising" in the business world. You can't offer a business the same "products and services" you would in normal fundraisers. Washing their cars or baby sitting their kids aren't things that are valuable to a business. The service you can offer them that they want is advertising. It's not free money because you're providing a service to the business and it's not a donation because they recieve something in return.
It is a thing that happens EVERYWHERE. Not just in poor places where people need money and not just in huge events like NASCAR. Listen, if gyms truly want to help their families afford cheer, they need to consider sponsorships as another revenue for money. Gyms need to either help their families seek sponsorships or the gyms need to start seeking sponsorships themselves to lower the cost for the families. Gyms have a lot of people come through their doors every day and they go lots of places throughout the season. They also are very active on socialmedia and their customer base is spread across a large area. They have a great platform for other companies to tap in to. If a gym offers a sponsorship to a local business, and that local business offers that gym $5-10K in return for advertising throughout the season, a gym could pay off competition registration fees for so many families. Or they could alleviate the costs of choreography and music for a season. Or they could pay for flights/hotels/buses/etc for a team for a big competition like NCA or Worlds or Cheersport. Or they could pay for practice uniforms. Or shoes. Or new equipment.
If gyms say they want to help their families but turn their nose up at the thought of a couple companies' logo on the back of their practice t-shirt then they are not serious about helping their families. You are not helping as much as you think you are by finding more ways for THEM to get money for cheer. Help your families by finding ways to cut down on costs overall. Sponsorships help cut down on costs for everyone. Sponsorships could really benefit a lot of gyms and a lot of cheer families.
