Gun Certificates for Match

[accu9]

I have this posted in another section as well, not sure exactly where to post.

Does anyone have any personal experience on how to get gun certificates for match sponsorship/ donations? This is for a large state match with 250+ competitors.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[DKnoch]

Nobody appears to have responded, and i have no experience honestly. But I would just call several manufacturers, especially if you have a local one. Tell them what you're doing with the match, and numbers signed up to shoot. Basically you need to sell your product (the match) as a worthwhile event for them to sponser

Daniel K

[Sarge]

I have this posted in another section as well, not sure exactly where to post.

Does anyone have any personal experience on how to get gun certificates for match sponsorship/ donations? This is for a large state match with 250+ competitors.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Truthfully, if you don't know by now how to work up sponsorship it's too late. Unless you can find a well connected shooter in the industry to pull some springs I think the best option is to contact Springfield Armory. They have a great program where you can buy guns wholesale and get a free one for every so many bought(3 I think).

Once you start posting all the great prizes you are getting lined up then you will have more clout to try to get some better sponsorship.

[accu9]

I called every manufacturer I could think of to no avail. A word to the wise, most companies require 6 month notice to "evaluate" a request. Similar to what Sarge said, I was able to contact a team CZ shooter that saved the day for us.

[Sarge]

I called every manufacturer I could think of to no avail. A word to the wise, most companies require 6 month notice to "evaluate" a request. Similar to what Sarge said, I was able to contact a team CZ shooter that saved the day for us.

Yep. I worked for a solid year on getting sponsors.

Best of luck and have a great match

[dynamicalflinch]

Contact a local gun store as well. Locally, most sponsors get their banner hung on a stage and mentioned in the WSB, and are also awarded a single slot (or two) for the match. This gets their name out there, brings a customer in the store to pick up the gun, and allows one of their employees to shoot free or a customer of theirs to be gifted a slot. If they do not take the free slot, it is given to a youth shooter.

[dynamicalflinch]

Forgot to add: Look at the match book from other local-ish section or state matches and see who THEIR sponsors were. That will likely be a good place to start. Good luck!

[davidwiz]

When I worked for a nationally-known gunsmith, we would get swapped with requests for match donations. I would imagine that a firearm manufacture would be even more swamped. As pointed out above, you have to be able to tell the vendor what they are getting in return for the donation. Do you know the demographics of the people who will shoot your match? How are you putting the sponsor's name out there, who will see it, etc?

[Round_Gun_Shooter]

A long time ago I helped at a match getting donations. What I found was all manufacturers have a budget for competitions. It is distributed from the top on down mostly by usual participation and by when the request was made. By January, most allotments for the following year are made.

If you are having a match next year, now is the time to start contacting potential sponsors. Make sure you include a marketing plan that shows you will be advertising the sponsors so their advertising is worth while.

[cmalin06]

Have you attempted to use social media to your advantage? The days of calling asking for donations are over.  Get out there on social media and promote your sponsorship level packages.  The sponsors want to know how their investment will be used and who will see it