What do businesses gain from athlete sponsorship?

We see crowdfunding as the first step toward securing athlete sponsorship. Social media allows athletes to leverage the power of posting quality, popular content in order to find sponsors and get funded.

In crowdfunding with PledgeSports, athletes can take charge of their futures. All you have to do is follow the advice below!

“If you don’t put the support and resources in at grass-roots level in Athlete Sponsorship then nobody can progress”

We tell our athletes to start with their inner circle, reach out to friends and family who will always have their back, but a more weighty ally lays inches outside these supporters: businesses keen on athlete sponsorship.

Small businesses thrive on local clients and being personable. For them, it’s crucial to give back to their surrounding communities and support the people who are growing their companies with their custom.

We see such organisations getting behind our sports stars every week, offering all sorts of athletes sponsorship, and asked some of the most recent sponsors why?

Dublin-based print management firm Custodian Consultancy pledged €2,000 to Tennis Ireland’s Elite Players Fund, becoming the project’s largest sponsor and earning a personalised package that could include their name on Tennis Ireland’s supporters boards.

Commercial manager Alan Brogan described the company as “down-to-earth” and said it felt it was important to reflect that by getting involved in grass-roots sports.

He said: “As an organisation in Dublin City, it’s important for us that we sponsor organisations like Tennis Ireland, particularly at grass-roots level.

“We see ourselves as a very down-to-earth company and know that’s where it begins. If you don’t put the support and resources in at that level then nobody can progress.”

He added: “We always aim to give something back to the local communities and organisations, be it a local GAA or soccer club, or even our local Taekwondo Club. We can see the benefits of the Elite Players Fund for those involved and for the future of the sport in Ireland and want to be a part of that.”

The small size of Ireland expands the definition of locality, this illustrated by County Mayo fine food producer The Food Store putting forward €100 and Core Media, Ireland’s largest media communications group, pledging €500.

In the UK, Rotherham-based printing company AT Print sponsored British National Champion judo player Gary Hall to the tune of £275 in cash and threw in 1,000 printed posters and flyers to help him spread his message via their brand.

Sales director Topsy Allman said: “I saw Gary’s PledgeSports campaign on Twitter and the story just touched me. He has just become the British judo champion and has to fund himself.

“I think he’s a talented young man and that money should never stop him from achieving his goals and aspirations.”

She added: “We got in touch with him and he said he wanted help to create awareness of his campaign. We suggested we could print him posters and flyers to give him something physical to work with and he came back to us with a reasonable amount.

“It wasn’t going to cost us much, but it has proven invaluable for him with offers now coming in from a much wider circle.”

Hall is also being sponsored by the company he works for, Kellaway Building Supplies. The initiative he has shown in asking AT Print for help beyond cash proves our mantra: to receive to you must ask.

PledgeSports.org does not only work with athletes to attract sponsors, but also takes interested brands and directs them towards the most suitable projects. Contact us or browse our projects if you want your name alongside the next sporting success.