How to find sponsors

Because Django Girls tries to reach a demographic of (usually) young women who are interested in technology, our attendees are possible employees or customers of a company that may sponsor your event.

We look for sponsors who are active participants in the local technology scene, from startups to big corporations to non-profits to government organizations.

Also, non-technology companies can be approached: beverage brands, local restaurants, etc. They all should have some affiliation or interest in technology, perhaps by sponsoring or hosting other technology meetups.

Django Girls should always be kept non-profit: if there’s money left, it should be used to support the future activities of the attendees or donated to the Django Software Foundation, who frequently support us. Don’t forget that you don’t need that much funding, and even a two-person startup could be willing to chip in. It may be easier to get many small companies on board than to get one large sponsor.

What can’t you offer to sponsors?

The most important is: never give the data of your attendees (names, emails, etc). We are really serious about this. You shouldn’t break this rule even if it means more swag, money or a cool place to do your workshop. Just don’t.

You can send e-mails to attendees on behalf of the sponsor, but you can’t share private information of people with them.

Sponsors are of course free to hang out during the event and talk to attendees directly.

What can you offer to sponsors?

The usual offer is to give sponsors an opportunity to showcase their product or service to people who are attending the event. That may include:

• logo, description and link on the website
• banner/roll-up in the venue during the event
• flyers/gadgets distributed to attendees during the event
• a couple of minutes for a sponsor to talk during the event
• public thanks to them from your social media accounts
• e-mail sent to attendees after the event (but sent by you on behalf of the sponsor!)

We recommend talking to sponsors and ask about their goals. We always try to collaborate with our partners and we make sure they get actual value and are happy with the results.

How to find sponsors?

If you have time for that, we really recommend creating a simple Sponsorship Offer - a PDF file, a couple of pages. Say who you are, what Django Girls is (and why it’s so awesome!), who is going to attend the event and what’s the value for them.

You can use the Sponsorship Offer we prepared for our first event and modify it to your needs.

Price your sponsorships in a range of 300 - 1000 Euro, but remember that even the smallest contributions are important.

Who can be a sponsor?

• Look for similar events in your city and try contacting companies who support those events.
• Look at the websites for prior Django Girls events and see if any of those sponsors have offices in your city.
• E-mail or call local companies that are familiar to you. Finding local sponsors might be more work than contacting big global companies, but in the end it pays off because a local company is more likely to sponsor you and want to build a relationship with you. It is very likely that they will help you out with a future workshop or follow-up event in your town as well.
• Post a “call for help” on your social media channels. Maybe someone will join you!
• Create a list of local companies who use Python on daily basis and email them asking for help
• Reach out to global companies and organizations or ask the Django Software Foundation for help. Keep in mind that the Django Software Foundation is a charity with a very limited budget, so only ask them if you really need their help. Also try to find global companies that haven’t sponsored Django Girls events yet.
• The Python Software Foundation (PSF) typically provides up to $25 per attendee grant for Python Educational Programs (you are eligible for that!) and will consider funding up to two workshops per year, per organiser and region (workshops must be a minimum of 6 months apart). Keep in mind that the Python Software Foundation is a charity, so before asking them for help, try exploring local companies who use Python & Django first. To send them a grant request, download and edit the grant propopsal template available here and follow the PSF’s instructions described on their website.
• Lincoln Loop and Divio are companies who support us via Patreon, so please don’t get in touch with them, as they can’t handle replying to emails from organizers from all over the world.
• Please be aware that if the company is already listed as a Django Girls global sponsor, they might not be open to support local event. Target local companies first and if you reach out to the global sponsors, please be tactful and take into account that they may not have any extra budget left.