If you're still sending one-off sponsorship emails and chasing invoices in a spreadsheet, you're leaving money on the table. A well-structured sponsorship program turns that chaos into a repeatable revenue stream, and it gives local businesses a clear, professional way to invest in your district.

Here's how to build one from scratch.

Start by Identifying What You're Offering to Sponsors

Before you set a price, think about what your organization actually puts in front of people. Main Street organizations and chambers run more sponsor-worthy programs than they realize. Some of the most common ones:

• Annual gala or awards dinner — a high-visibility event with your most engaged members in the room
• Golf classic or charity tournament — popular with business sponsors who want face time with community leaders
• Restaurant week or sip and stroll — multi-business campaigns with high foot traffic and media attention
• Fall festival, holiday market, or street fair — large public events with wide community reach
• Downtown beautification or banner program — year-round visibility on light poles throughout the district
• Monthly networking events or ribbon cuttings — lower cost, consistent exposure for presenting sponsors
• Passport challenges or scavenger hunts — digital engagement campaigns that drive people to participating businesses
• Community cleanup days — great for sponsors who want to show visible investment in the neighborhood

Each of these is a sponsorship opportunity. You don't have to offer all of them at once, but knowing your inventory helps you build packages that feel worth the price.

How to Structure Your Sponsorship Tiers

Most organizations use three tiers. Naming them is up to you. Gold, Silver, and Bronze works. So does Presenting, Supporting, and Community. What matters more than the names is that each tier has a clearly different value.

In Proxi, you create a sponsorship program for each initiative (your Annual Gala, your Restaurant Week, your banner program), then add tiers inside it. For each tier, you set a name, a description, a price, and a billing frequency.

One-Time, Monthly, or Yearly: Which Billing Model Fits

Not every sponsorship works the same way. Proxi lets you charge sponsors one-time, monthly, or yearly, which means you can match the billing model to what you're actually selling.

One-time sponsorships make sense for event-specific packages. Examples:

• Title sponsor of your Annual Awards Gala ($1,500 to $5,000)
• Hole sponsor at your Golf Classic ($250 to $500)
• Presenting sponsor of a ribbon cutting ($150 to $300)
• Stage sponsor at your Fall Festival ($500 to $2,000)

Monthly sponsorships work well for ongoing visibility programs. Examples:

• Downtown banner sponsorship ($75 to $150/month for logo placement on a light pole banner)
• Featured listing in the district's digital map and business directory ($50 to $100/month)
• Presenting sponsor of monthly networking breakfasts ($100 to $250/month)

Yearly sponsorships are your annual packages, usually bundled across multiple events or touchpoints. Examples:

• Gold Annual Partner ($2,000 to $4,000/year) — recognized at all major events, logo on website, featured in email newsletter, social media spotlight each quarter
• Silver Annual Partner ($1,000 to $2,000/year) — recognized at select events, logo on website, monthly newsletter listing
• Community Sponsor ($500/year) — logo on website, recognition at two events, directory listing

Annual packages are the most efficient to manage and the most predictable for your budget. If you can move sponsors onto a yearly package, do it.

What to Include in Each Sponsorship Package

Generic benefits don't close deals. Specific ones do. Instead of "recognition," say exactly what the sponsor gets and where they'll appear. A strong sponsorship package might include:

• Logo placement on event signage, banners, and printed programs
• Dedicated feature on the district's interactive map in Proxi
• Social media post spotlighting the sponsor (with audience size noted)
• Logo and link on the organization's website for the duration of the sponsorship
• Verbal recognition at events (specify which events and how many)
• Reserved seats or a table at the annual gala
• Email newsletter mention to your subscriber list (include list size)
• Subheader or featured placement on the district's digital map
• Vendor space at a festival or market

The more you can attach numbers to your benefits, the better. "Social media post to 4,200 followers" is more compelling than "social media recognition."

How to Send the Sponsorship Link and Get Paid

Once your program is built in Proxi, go to the Organizations section, find the business you want to approach, and add them to your sponsorship program. Then send them the sponsorship link by email.

They'll see your tiers, choose the one that fits their budget, and complete checkout on their own. You get a notification, the transaction shows in your history, and the funds deposit to your connected bank account. No invoice follow-up needed.

A Few Things to Get Right Before You Launch

Only promise what you can deliver. If you list social media as a benefit, build the posts into your calendar. If you offer a featured map placement, make sure it goes live when the sponsorship is activated.

Use consistent program names. "Summer on Main" should appear the same way everywhere so your team and your sponsors are never confused about what they bought.

Review your packages after each cycle. Ask sponsors what they found most valuable and adjust. The best sponsorship programs get better every year because the organization is paying attention.