How to raise sponsorship online

It's the same with people who spend a huge amount of time inventing and developing products and then finding out that they actually have to market the things and inevitably have no money left. In many cases, inventing a product or dreaming up an event is the easy part. Getting money to market or sponsor it, is the really hard part.

Fortunately, the internet has made things a little easier and the first step is to create an attractive website that will not just ask for donations or sponsorship but that will do a proper selling job on what's being sold and also, most importantly, offer some sort of reward to those who do sponsor or donate.

The following press release landed on my desk this week and I found it quite fascinating, so much so that I made a donation - not just because one of my kids is involved, but because it was, in my opinion, a good cause in terms of promoting creativity and the arts and because of the way in which the website was put together.

Have a look at it and you'll see what I mean. This is the release I got and if you are in any business that relies on creative skills and ideas being nurtured, then you might consider making an investment in this particular cause.

By now South Africans countrywide know and look forward to the AfrikaBurn Festival, held annually in the Tankwa, Karoo. Each year this festival springs up in the desert, encompassing the principles of radical expression through the building of a temporary community of collaborative arts projects, non-commercialism and collective participation.

At the centre of the festival this year will be KHAMSIN - an innovative structural art project. A massive gridded pavilion inspired by the Khamsin - a five-day period of sandstorms in North Africa, the structure is an experiment in rapid design and construction. With only a week of assembly, the project is pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in such a limited time and with a very limited budget. Rather than a traditional timber structure, Khamsin will be constructed from a cardboard composite and assembled by hand.

With support from the University of Cape Town and engineering assistance from the internationally renowned engineering firm, Arup, the project is currently underway. The AfrikaBurn Creative Grants committee have given the project half of its estimated budget. WE like BASS, a monthly pop-up party concept that promotes bass music through the creation of alternative spaces and audiences, is assisting KHAMSIN in its fundraising efforts. An upcoming fundraiser will be held at Zula on Tuesday, 20th March. An IndieGoGo fundraising campaign has also been launched to try and crowdfund the remaining amount required to make this incredible project a reality.

We are a young, motivated group of creative collaborators. Our sole incentive is to create a temporary piece of art that will last much longer in the minds of those who experience it. The festival takes place from the 25th-30th of April.

Official Site: http://khamsinproject.withtank.com/
IndieGoGo Campaign: http://beta.indiegogo.com/Khamsin
WE like BASS: http://www.facebook.com/welikebass
AfrikaBurn: http://www.afrikaburn.com/