By Brian Schwartz
While the financial health of CIPA has made a significant improvement this year, we can’t exist on the member dues alone. In order to keep CIPA financially viable, we need sponsors.
To meet our sponsorship goals for the month of May, we are asking for help from our members to pitch in and help with a sponsorship drive. I’m confident that if we each reach out to a few companies, we’ll meet our goals by month end. And to make the game exciting, I’m happy to share that there will be cold hard cash available to the individuals who step up and secure new sponsorships for CIPA.
You will earn 10% for every dollar raised up to $5,000. And if the result of your efforts exceeds $5,000, you’ll earn 20% for every dollar raised! How cool is that? The reason is simple: fundraising often comes down to who you know. There are no doubt companies and individuals you know better than anyone else. When the request comes from someone they know, the odds of securing sponsorship go up significantly.
Who could benefit from sponsoring CIPA? Any organization that has anything to do with literacy, writing, publishing, fulfillment, printing, graphic design, web design, marketing, or any other product or service we as authors and publishers utilize. Think of the partners you’ve used in the past.
The process of registering to participate in our fundraising drive is simple. You need to first sign up at https://www.cipacatalog.com/become-a-cipa-agent/ and we’ll send you a short one page contract and all the details you need to get started – including what to say in an email, on the phone, details of each sponsorship level, and a special webpage for sponsors to sign up or learn more about becoming a CIPA sponsor. We also have a list of companies that we feel could benefit from becoming CIPA sponsors that we can provide to you.
Sponsorships begin at just $100, and if you are a service provider who could benefit from greater visibility to our members, I’d encourage you to check out becoming a CIPA sponsor yourself.
Note: Sponsors who sign on before May 15 will have the additional benefit of special recognition at the CIPA EVVY Awards dinner on May 18 – in addition to the perks that extend into the 2013-2014 CIPA Year.
I hope you’ll consider joining us in this campaign – the future of CIPA heavily depends on it! And I’m glad the board has approved compensation for those willing to step up to the plate. We are also looking for a Sponsorship Chair – someone to join the CIPA Board who will pick up the ball for the coming year and work with agents who sign on to solicit funding on behalf of CIPA.
CIPA EVVY Awards Banquet is May 18!
Ward Lucas, Former 9News Anchor
A quick reminder about the upcoming CIPA EVVY Awards Banquet. This year, it will be hosted by Ward Lucas, a name you might recognize as he’s an Emmy Award-winning journalist and longtime news anchor on NBC’s 9 News. But did you know that Ward is also a published author? I’m sure he’ll have plenty of entertaining stories to share as he announces this year’s award winners. As I mentioned last month, I strongly encourage you to support your fellow authors and publishers whenever you can. Also – if you buy your banquet tickets by May 10, you can come to the May 11 CIPA Meeting on Radio Interviews for FREE!
P.S. May 18 may also be your last chance to see yours truly, as our house in Fort Collins is on the market and we are expecting to move back to the central coast of California (where I attended college) this summer. If I don’t see you, know that I will miss all of you very much and am forever grateful for the opportunity to serve as your president.
Get out and enjoy the spring weather (while you still can!),
Brian Schwartz
CIPA President 2012-2013