Sponsors help us make CodeDay the amazing event we know and love. Beyond contributing to the financial bottom line, sponsors also...

• ...give CodeDay more credibility with parents and teachers, particularly if the sponsor is well-known in the community.
• ...help with PR and promotion by sending information to their employees.
• ...can contribute swag and other fun things to remind the attendees of their CodeDay experience.
• ...are evidence for students that the community cares.
• ...often send mentors or provide internships!

What companies should I reach out to?

Ideally, reach out to sponsors where a partnership with them will provide value to both the company and CodeDay. Usually, this means that they are either:

• looking to hire developers (ex. StateFarm or SAP)

  OR

• looking to promote a developer-facing product (ex. Splunk, Fastly)

Alternatively, they could be looking for share in High School/College students who are interested in technology, an example of this would be Kinesis Gaming, who partnered with us to advertise their gaming products.

If you have an idea for a potential sponsor, please add it as an "Idea" in . This helps us stay coordinated and not waste any redundant effort reaching out to the same people.

When brainstorming companies, the best potential sponsors are companies that are aligned with who we are. We are dedicated to uplifting BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and low-income students. Does the company you’re looking at support BLM and is actively caring about underrepresented communities? If a company is proven unethical/immoral/evil (like Facebook - sorry not sorry) in your quick research (a simple Google search into the founder and company background should tell you all you need to know), we would prefer to not be directly affiliated with them.

Who should I email?

Sometimes finding the right person to talk to can be the hardest part of garnering new sponsorships. If you can't find someone who looks relevant on the company's website, you can use tools like Conspire, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Facebook to find the right person. You can also try Googling for "[company name] Developer Evangelist" or "[company name] Community Relations".

You'll generally be looking for someone with a title including either Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Marketing, Developer Evangelism, or Community Relations. If you absolutely can't find the right person, you can try emailing the CEO or another executive at the company, or anyone you know who works there. They're usually happy to refer you to the right person.

When making contact with a company, you should first see if you know someone who could introduce you to your intended contact (a "warm intro"). LinkedIn is great for helping you find these connections. Emailing someone "cold" is an acceptable option if you can't find a warm intro, but you should expect a lower response rate.

Social media tip: Tech company accounts with "4good" like SAP4good (current sponsor example) are also places to start looking for contact information.

The First Email

Because your goal with the email is simply to get them on the phone, your first email should be: