Building Your Sponsorship Packet

Your sponsorship packet is your sales brochure#

A sponsorship packet (sometimes called a sponsor prospectus) is a polished PDF you send or hand to potential sponsors. FIRST provides a Team Sponsor Packet Template inside its Fundraising Toolkit, and strong examples are everywhere - for instance, FRC Team 5587 Titan Robotics publishes its packet online. A good packet answers the only question a sponsor really asks: what is this, and why should my company care?

What to include#

• Cover: team name, number, logo, and a striking robot or team photo.
• Who you are: a short description of FIRST and your team, your school/community, and your record (awards, events attended, students involved).
• Impact / the 'ask': what FIRST does for students (STEM skills, plus eligibility for tens of millions of dollars in scholarship opportunities), and a clear statement that you run on sponsorships and donations.
• Budget snapshot: a simple chart of what it costs to run the team, so sponsors see their dollars are needed and accounted for.
• Sponsorship levels (tiers): a clear table of giving levels and the benefits at each (next lesson).
• How to give: check, online, in-kind, your tax status (501(c)(3) EIN or fiscal sponsor), and a named contact with email and phone.

Make it personal#

Generic packets get ignored. The FIRST fundraising guidance and successful teams agree on one thing: personalize. Add a short, specific note explaining why this company is a fit - 'As a local machine shop, you could help us with both funding and CNC mentorship.' Tailor the photo or the ask to the recipient when you can.

Design it to look credible#

Use a clean, branded layout in Canva, Adobe Express, or Google Slides. Keep it to 2-6 pages. Include real photos of students and the robot - people fund people, not abstractions. Proofread ruthlessly; a typo in the ask signals you would mishandle their money.

Keep two versions#

Maintain a detailed packet (full PDF) and a one-page leave-behind for in-person visits and events. The one-pager should have the levels table, a photo, and contact info so a busy manager can act without reading six pages.

Action step#

Draft your packet this week using the FIRST Team Sponsor Packet Template (in the Fundraising Toolkit) as a skeleton, then study two or three published team packets to see how real teams phrase their ask and structure their tiers.