After all that work, it can be disheartening when you don't even receive a response, but be prepared for this. Many companies do not have an official policy about giving, and may therefore be disinclined to respond. Some may acknowledge the letter; others may tell you that they will respond again only if you are successful.

Larger companies will have a system to reply, as this is good PR on their part, but it may only be for customer responses and a reply to you may take a long time or not cover the points you request. Smaller companies may not have that infrastructure, and many applications will end up in the bin. Try to read between the lines; no company will be openly rude about your request, but may be trying to tell you to apply later, or not at all.

• If you are successful, remember to acknowledge their response and thank them.
• If you are unsuccessful, try to find out why and go back later. Treat this experience as further research.

Tags:

• sponsorship
• in-kind
• proposals
• grant