Hospital programs funded by sponsors

You may need to find a sponsor for the books if the hospital cannot afford the cost of the books but will agree to distribute your Create-A-Books to new patients. With this method, the sponsor provides the funding for the books that are given to each newborn and their parents. If you need several sponsors to offset the orders from a large hospital, remember you can add sponsor sheets as needed.

Finding a Potential Sponsor:

Get of list of locally owned businesses that specialize in new baby related products or services. The list can be obtained from your local Chamber of Commerce, the yellow pages, or even the Internet.

Approach these businesses just like you would a hospital. If the business(es) agreed to pay for the books, make sure they approve of the sponsor page before you place it in the books. If they only agree to provide a percentage of the book cost, develop a brochure or flyer that prominently displays the business and defines the percentage they are providing the new parents.

Contact any organization that is interested in promoting reading at an early age. Try getting a subsidy for a local hospital through a local literacy organization. Contact community minded clubs and churches who are interested in making sure that local children get a head start in their education.

Getting Sponsor Approval:

1. Before you contact a potential sponsor, find out the number of babies born per year in the hospital you are targeting. This information is available from the hospital's public relations department.
    
2. Determine how much one or each sponsor will have to pay in order to fund the project for one or two years.
    
3. Call the business office and ask to speak to the Director of Public Relations or Director of Personnel. If you are contacting a national company, call their corporate headquarters and speak to the Director of Marketing. If you know someone who works there contact him or her first.
    
4. Make an appointment to deliver a presentation. Bring samples of the different types of baby books available. Bring any sales information you have including brochures, news articles and any advertisements you have seen about their product or service. Prepare a fact sheet about the number of babies, and therefore future customers, born at a particular hospital. Try to match a local business with small hospitals and corporate sponsors with large hospital.
    
5. Make the presentation. Be sure to include this selling points during the presentation:
   
   - Their business name will appear on the sponsor page of each book made.
   - This is an inexpensive way for the business to advertise to a specific target audience.
   - Explain the difference between the price they are paying and the standard retail price.
   - Point out that the books promote reading and literacy.
    
6. If the sponsor agrees to fund the books, you will need to work out the program details with the hospital administrator. Each sponsor will have their own criteria about what they expect to gain from this program. Make sure all the options are agreed on; which book, books or brochures, price per book and turnaround time for completion.