What's the best way to find or contact potential sponsors for a bluegrass fe

Question:you have to put together a proposal or prospectus and write to companies that may do such things, often beer companies, musical instrument companies, etc.

they evaluate proposals

you also need to have a budget put together

it would help to have support from well known local artists who have strong resumes

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: you have to put together a proposal or prospectus and write to companies that may do such things, often beer companies, musical instrument companies, etc.

they evaluate proposals

you also need to have a budget put together

it would help to have support from well known local artists who have strong resumes

I'm no concert promoter, so I'm not sure how big of a festival you are talking about, or for that matter, where it would be. Are we talking about a big town like Nashville, or some small town like Hazzard, Kentucky? Do you expect to draw fans from a large area (i.e. several states), or only people who live fairly locally?

I'd say one of the first things to consider is what does your festival have to offer the sponsor? A sponsor that vend their product(s) at the event is a natural. For instance, perhaps Coca-Cola might be a sponsor if Coca-Cola brand soft drinks are exclusively the only soft drinks offered for sale at the festival. If you have a local meat-packing plant (lets say Johnsonville as an example)...same idea, if all the hot dogs, bratwurst, mettwurst etc. offered for consumption at the festival are Johnsonville products, they might be a sponsor. If pickup trucks are the favored vehicles of the bluegrass listening community, you might get the all of local dealers from one specific brand (Ford, or Dodge, or Chevy) to pitch in and be a sponsor by allowing them some space to display some of their new trucks that the buying public can look at, and have some of their sales people around to ask questions and get sales leads.

Sponsorship is an advertising opportunity for the sponsor. By convincing the sponsor that they can get new customers or increase sales by sponsoring the event, you set up a win-win for both the festival promoters and the sponsor.

Look at the sponsor lists for other events in your area. If you can show a good probability of large attendance, you can contact Martin & Fender, etc. All the music stores in the general area may want to advertise or have a booth. Banks, Real Estate, and Insurance companies are good to contact. "Country" type restaurants may want a booth for food sales. PS - If you tie in a Contest (Banjo / Fiddle etc) it draws more kids and parents.