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| Football, Trains and Money | ||
| or Seeking Corporate Sponsorships | ||
| By Bob Loehne | ||
| Ever think about what you would do if some corporation with a bucket full of advertising dollars came to your little old not-for-profit whistle stop and said, "Put 'BigCorp Inc.' on the sides of your coaches and we'll contribute $50,000 to your organization?" | ||
| Fifty grand may not be your breaking point, and you may be aware that BigCorp, Inc. can't legally attach strings to a not-for-profit gift, but it brings up the concept of selling your organization's soul - at least, that's the way many will perceive it. | ||
| "Money for ads on our equipment? Not in your life. Hey, the New York Central never did it that way!" | ||
| Bear with me for a moment as I digress miles and lifestyles away from the railroad scene and back to an older world of college football bowl games. | ||
| I grew up with a sense of purity about football bowl games. They were part of our lives and, in retrospect, symbolic of the way many things were then ... rather virginal when compared to today. To me, the bowls were just games about winning and losing, school spirit, New Years Day, and even a little sportsmanship. Certainly, in spite of the TV ads, they appeared to be noncommercial traditions of that time. | ||
| Then, along came the logos and the big bucks. Some of us looked down upon what appeared to be greedy sell outs to big business. The innocent bowl games began sprouting new names like Prudential or Toyota or Tostito. What was going on with our pure, virginal bowl games? Why were they willfully selling their names and, apparently, their souls, too? | ||
| Looking back, the sponsorship movement was a matter of playing the game ... that is, of course, the money game. Those who could play it were working their ways to the top or doing what it took to stay there. Getting the big sponsorships was as important, maybe more important, than getting the big name teams. Certainly, who won and lost on the field was of little importance. | ||
| Game sponsorships mean megabucks. The TV ads last longer and occur more frequently. The games, however, are still darned good football. Placing Outback, Jeep, McDonald's and CompUSA in the bright lights did not destroy the games. In fact, there are now more bowl games, which translates into more money, especially for the needy (?) universities. The initial corporate sponsorships of bowl games may have been controversial at the time, but the social context of the game lives on. In fact - if you can live with the extended time outs - the ethics of the game itself have not been degraded. | ||
| Is anybody really getting hurt in the college bowl sponsorship game? Are there losers in this mix? I'm not a one-man Neilson, but my ratings see it this way. The fans are happy - they tune in in record numbers and the games are pretty darned good. The TV networks seem happy as they fight with mega bucks for the right to broadcast college bowl games. The TV sponsors seem happy as they write big checks to the TV networks. The corporate sponsor gets its moniker associated with a fabled bowl and keeps coming back for more. | ||
| If there are any, where are the losers? | ||
| "Ahhhh ... " says an onlooker. "Over there by the railroad tracks." | ||
| "Losers! Somebody calling us losers?" shoots back a vested 49-patch volunteer. | ||
| "Well ... no - - er, yes," I reply. | ||
| Like many rail enthusiasts, I've had a great time following American railroads. However, during the last score of years, I've read about whole steam locomotives sold for scrap, huge roundhouses razed for real estate, and wonderful excursion trains scratched for one reason or another. I want to tell you, those are losses - big time losses, painful losses - and we are the losers. I'm not saying that everything is worth saving and that every rivet lost is history doomed, but it appears that most non-profits would rather be poor an proud than sponsored. It's that old worry about bowl game purity. | ||
| At what level of need are you willing to sell out to the fat cats? Put another way, at what level of need are you finally going to wake up, go out in the big world and solicit corporate sponsors? How much longer can you get the job done with only your trusty volunteers or how can your museum get by on just those small donations? | ||
| Few businesses - and you should view your organization as a business - do well as static entities. Growth is imperative. Let me rephrase that: Growth is not an option. Grow or wither, there's no standing still. | ||
| "Where," a greasy face stuck out from between the drivers asks, "can my organization get that kind of money?" The answer is simple and short: Any business is a prospect). | ||
| Guys who drive in circles (well, ovals) and jocks who play with balls are sponsored. Why not those of us who preserve railroad artifacts? Our industry has proven itself eligible; why not jump on board? | ||
| Look for the big spenders, the ones who love to see their names in light, and, most importantly, those who have the big bucks to spend. Often, all you need to do is figure a way to use BigCorp's name that will bring rewards to BigCorp, Inc. Other times you may work with the sponsor on a mutual project to reach individual goals. | ||
| Let me suggest a steam excursion as a project worthy of sponsorship. You've got a great 4-8-4, and you know where to get some well-maintained coaches without holes in the upholstery. But the costs are daunting, and it sure would be nice to have a sponsor. | ||
| Here's where BigCorp comes in. For a sizeable donation, BigCorp gets its name and logo splashed inside (and maybe outside) the train. If bigwig makes consumer goods, perhaps sample products could be placed in each coach seat. The excursion tickets are sold by your organization (BigCorp probably rates a big discount on a few) your customers pay less than they might have otherwise, your trip runs. It appears everyone wins. | ||
| And if Railroad X is reluctant to give you track space? Well, if BigCorp is a major shipper, you might stand a better chance of getting a "yes" from Headquarters. | ||
| While money can make things happen for your restoration hobby, just reading my words won't bring in donations. After all, you cannot win the lottery without buying a ticket. Hit the streets. Find out what will make BigCorp say "yes." Use the money in the way you promised. | ||
| Of course, if BigCorp gives you money, it's incumbent upon you to thank them sincerely and often. If instead of sponsoring an excursion BigCorp has donated to your restoration fund, make sure that their name and logo is visible in your shop. Deal with your donor in a way that has the donor asking, "Do you have any more locos? Maybe even a bigger one?" | ||
| If you ask me, "BigCorp" on the inside of your coaches may be a small price to pay to further your goals. It sure didn't hurt those virginal college bowl games. | ||
| Bob Loehne is a member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation, and President of the Winston-Salem Chapter NRHS. | ||
| What's your reaction? Send your comments to mail@steamcentral.com. | ||
| From Mike Brown, TVRM: | ||
| "It is my opinion that the 4501 would look just fine with a Coca-Cola wave on the tender, running down the railroad (at least for a finite period of time) if they wanted to fork over the money that TVRM felt necessary to do such a thing. On a more serious note, however, the New Georgia coach restoration and décor with advertising was more than palatable, it was in fact very creative advertising that served to meet the needs of the involved parties." | ||
| From Bob Thatcher, President, Bluewater Michigan Chapter - NRHS: | ||
| "Seeking corporate bucks to augment the organization's funding is all well and good, but there are some potential problems as well: 1. Internal Revenue Service - The IRS casts a wary eye on anything that looks like "unrelated business income," and sold advertising (in whatever form) on the equipment might qualify. I know the bowl organizations ("John Hancock Bowl," etc.) received a favorable ruling in this area, but nonprofit historical organizations generally don't have this kind of clout. In addition, the for-profit tour operators have been lobbying for years to eliminate various tax relief the nonprofits now enjoy, and they would be sure to seize on this. 2. Post Office - Lately, the USPS has been denying use of a nonprofit permit to mail material that contains any commercial reference to a for-profit's operation. Being switched to a bulk rate permit really drive up mailing costs. 3. Effect on Volunteers - This is difficult to predict, but some potential volunteers may think: "Why should I give up my spare time? They can use that corporate money to hire some help." Seeking corporate funding is a worthy goal, but the side-effects must also be considered." | ||
| From Randy Minter, President, Atlanta Chapter - NRHS: | ||
| "This was done to some extent during the operation of the New Georgia Railroad in Atlanta. Corporate sponspors such as Coca Cola were involved in "tasteful" sponsorships that provided the car sponsored with company logo, and in some cases decor that highlighted the company. As for using these affiliations as pressure sources, I personally do not know how effective this could be. I am of the opinion that if you could get the Georgia Powers of the world to buy off that the larger railroads would still have the attitude that the customer/shipper is a captive and that there is no harm in saying no. UPS is a shipper ripe for a bending of this attitude lately, as they have reportedly pulled their contracts with CSX and NS. One other possiblity would be to consider running trips with the express intention of a percentage of the profits going to a large charity like the United Way, thus "bombing" the railroads with the support of many companies and a high level of public relations visibility. | ||
| From Jim Lundquist: | ||
| "My take - better to be saved and operating than scrapped or not running. However, I would stop short of taking a historic piece of equipment and putting Big $$$ Corp on the running boards or tender. We are a museum first! We can still educate the public without running trains. Most museum do not have their artifacts operational." | ||
| From Aarne Frobom, Michigan State Trust rof Railway Preservation: | ||
| "The rest of the nonprofit world is far ahead of railroad museums at hustling corporate sponsorships, so museum managers would do well to heed Bob Loehne's advice. I doubt that purity of purpose or esthetics is a concern for many in this business; I know our train has an implicit "Your name here" on the tank. Maybe it should be explicit. "But two ingredients are needed before museumists go off trying to get BigCorp to say "Yes." You will need numbers and quality. Sponsorship (or, better, partnership) decisions are made on the basis of 1. How many potential customers are exposed to the corporation's message, and 2. How well the nonprofit's program reflects on the corporation's intended image. "Here's where railroad museums face a huge challenge. Most of us can't guarantee that significant numbers of the public will see our operations. Because museums deal in first-person experiences more than in mass media exposure, we're at a disadvantage compared with events that put sponsors' names before millions. And we can't guarantee that the quality of the operation is one that will reflect well on someone whose name is attached to it. The holes in the upholstery will look very large to a corporate P.R. person. "But is it impossible? No, but like everything else, you might have to start small. Local restaurants, stores and suppliers may want to conduct joint promotions with museums, enabling us to improve quality and numbers to the point where BigCorp gets interested. "Some advice from Michigan nonprofit fundraisers: don't go looking for a straight money gift or sponsorship, but rather for a joint operation. Your point of contact shouldn't be the firm's community-affairs or P.R. office, but the advertising department or the firm's operating officers. Make a proposition, not a plea for help. Look for a firm with an image that might be complemented by the content of your museum program. And be prepared to show them the numbers." | ||
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