Team Sponsorship Tips

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How to Find a Team Sponsor

Teams may participate in the Birding Classic as a sponsored team if they have a corporate, community, or non-profit sponsor (or sponsors) willing to pay the Sponsored Team Registration Fee for their tournament category (price range of $250 - $1000, depending on the tournament category).

If one sponsor is not able to cover the entire sponsored registration fee, teams may choose to find multiple sponsors to split the fee and share co-sponsorship name recognition in Birding Classic materials and in the team name.

Toyota teamWhere should you look?

Think Local!  Would the company you work for be interested in sponsoring your team for recognition during the tournament and on the Birding Classic website as a team sponsor? Do you have any connections with local businesses?

Approach organizations such as a birding club, a state Audubon society or local chapter, a non-profit organization, a business or corporate enterprise, an individual, or a combination of organizations to cover your sponsored entry fees.

Sponsors in the past have been as varied as:

  • Local grocery stores (could possibly donate food to your team for competition day)
  • Hardware stores (think of all the bird seed and feeders they sell!)
  • Banks
  • Environmental consulting companies, 
  • Car dealerships (can also loan you a vehicle for the tournament day potentially)
  • Optics companies
  • Birding magazines
  • Oil and gas companies
  • Convention and Visitors Bureaus or Chambers of Commerce
  • Local nature centers

They can pay all or part of the sponsorship, but your team must be covered by the full Sponsored Registration Fee amount in order for your team to carry any organization's name in your official team name.

How does the sponsor benefit?Big Sit

Team sponsors receive name recognition in the following:

  • Team name (or give team ability to name their team for school, park, or other affiliation)
  • Any team gear the sponsor chooses to donate or have made for the team to wear or display throughout the tournament
  • TPWD Birding Classic website under team listings
  • Team photos submitted by teams for TPWD website and Facebook pages
  • In press releases and other media opportunities for all winning teams

 

Does the Sponsored Team Registration Fee cover travel costs, food, lodging, team clothing or other marketing or promotional materials for your sponsor(s)?

No. Any additional travel fees your team plans to incur during the Birding Classic must be paid for by you and your teammates or worked out directly with your team sponsor. Their registration fee payment to TPWD is separate from any of these additional potential costs during the tournament. Many sponsors have provided t-shirts from their organization or even specially made shirts for this event to their teams in the past. Teams have also had car magnets and other materials given to them by sponsors as a way for sponsors to get further recognition during the tournament.