Funding Your Maker Faire
Unless your Mini Maker Faire is entirely underwritten by a Fairy Godfather, you will need to articulate a plan to recoup expenses.
SPONSORSHIP
Define levels for business sponsors to participate and have a presence at your event—this can be a great income source. You’ll need to identify potential targets for sponsorship and devote time and energy approaching them, following up, and then representing them on your website and marketing materials.
Traditional Maker Faire demographics are a desirable audience for businesses (techies and smart families). Remember too that sponsorships are more valuable for the business the earlier they are arranged, so don’t procrastinate.
Also, if sponsors participate at a level that allows them floor space at your event, you will need to fold the sponsor in with the makers, ensuring that they receive the same information on load-in and load-out, as well as possibly some coaching on how to design or orient their booth to a maker mindset. You also might like them to sign a Sponsor Agreement form. (See, copy, and customize Maker Faire’s 2011 sponsor agreement.)
Here are some example language and packages from the East Bay Mini Maker Faire:
Becoming a sponsor of the East Bay Mini Maker Faire is a great way for local businesses, media outlets, trade associations, and non-profit groups to get in on the ground floor of this exciting and enriching community and family-oriented event.
There are several sponsorship levels with a range of associated benefits that will help promote your work, cause, or organization. Please email interest and/or inquiries to “info AT ebmakerfaire DOT com,” or contact us via our contact form.
Event sponsors: $2,000
Sustaining sponsors: $1250
Presenting sponsors: $750
Contributing sponsors: $250
HINT: If this is your first year running your event, it’s a little more difficult to pitch sponsorship, as you have no idea how large your audience will actually be. Remind them that, as a ground-floor participant, their business will be rewarded by this very loyal and passionate Maker Faire audience. Also, be flexible—you may have “wheel and deal” a bit to secure sponsors.
And if you have limited resources, it is probably more rewarding to focus on your Media Sponsorship recruitment effort (see Media Sponsorship Packages ”below). Get the crowds there; produce an amazing event and your sponsor dollars will follow.
MEDIA SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES
Having media businesses identify with your event typically will result in a huge boost to your PR and marketing efforts—especially if you are a first-year event.
Make a list of each media type (TV, radio, newspaper, weekly) and your preferred partners for each medium. Phone or email the appropriate person and pitch your event. Refer them to your business sponsorship packages on your website, and find out how they do things with community events like yours.
Essentially the media sponsor package will be a list of exposure opportunities—number of print ads, eblasts, website ads—with a dollar value attached. Given what you offer your business sponsors, you can gauge what kind of exposure to provide your media sponsor in return.
Review and adapt this media sponsor agreement from Maker Faire Bay Area: Maker Faire Bay Area Media and Community Sponsor Package
And see Public Relations for more on media outreach.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Connect with schools, colleges, preschools, local businesses, the HR departments of larger companies with local branches, youth centers, libraries, art centers, congregations, coffeeshops, gyms … really anywhere that people experience community in your community. These contacts can help promote your Call for Makers and ticket sales, display posters, generate volunteers, and build community enthusiasm for your event. Offer comp tickets to those who really went above and beyond to help. Think about making one of your volunteer roles a guerrilla marketer, where you recruit a diverse set of people to spread the word about your Mini Maker Faire in exchange for tickets.
FUNDRAISING
There may be community or family foundation grants available for your Mini Maker Faire. It’s possible there could be city or other government agency grants available to get your event off the ground. Sometimes you can find the funding with a “planning grant.” If you are partnering with a not-for-profit agency, get advice from the fundraising staff who may be able to suggest the right foundations to approach. Ask around.
There are also online fundraising tools available like Kickstarter.com and Indiegogo.com (there are many more – search crowdfunding or fundraising) that help you conduct pointed fundraising campaigns towards a specific goal. Rhode Island Mini Maker Faire has used this tactic successfully.