Designing Sponsorship Tiers

Why tiers work

Sponsorship tiers give donors a menu. A company that would never write a blank check will happily pick the ‘$1,000 Gold’ level because the benefits and the price are spelled out. Tiers also create a natural upgrade path: this year’s Bronze sponsor is next year’s Gold sponsor.

A common tier structure

Teams customize names and amounts, but a typical FRC ladder looks like:

• Diamond / Title - $5,000+
• Platinum - $2,000-$4,999
• Gold - $1,000-$1,999
• Silver - $500-$999
• Bronze - $250-$499
• Friend / Supporter - up to $249

Many teams align top tiers with meaningful costs (‘$3,200 = a full additional event’ or ‘$6,500 = title sponsor covering our registration’).

Benefits that escalate by level

Benefits should clearly grow as the gift grows. Common examples across published team packets:

• Top tiers (Gold/Platinum/Diamond) : large logo on the robot, logo on the team banner, a private robot demonstration at the sponsor’s site, prominent placement on the website, social-media features, and recognition in your pit and at events.
• Mid tiers (Silver) : logo on the team t-shirt, recognition plaque, sponsor shout-outs, and website listing.
• Entry tiers (Bronze/Friend) : name or small logo on the website and printed materials, and a thank-you.

Real space on the robot and t-shirt is finite, so make sure your top-tier promises are physically deliverable. Over-promising and under-delivering is the fastest way to lose a sponsor.

In-kind sponsorship counts

Not every sponsor gives cash. In-kind contributions - donated aluminum stock, machining time, laser cutting, printing, meeting space, transportation, or pizza for build nights - are hugely valuable. Assign in-kind gifts a fair dollar value and place them in your tiers so a machine shop donating $1,500 of parts gets Gold-level recognition.

Make giving easy

For each tier, state exactly how to pay (check payable to your org or fiscal sponsor, an online donation link, or a purchase order) and how the company gets its tax receipt. The less friction, the more conversions.

Action step

Draft a five-row tier table with names, dollar ranges, and 3-5 escalating benefits per level. Cross-check that every top-tier benefit (robot logo space, banner space) is something you can actually deliver.

Key takeaways

• Tiers give companies a clear menu and an upgrade path; align top tiers with real costs like an event or full registration
• Escalate benefits with the gift size, but only promise robot/t-shirt space you can physically deliver
• Include in-kind donations in your tiers by assigning them a fair dollar value

This lesson was adapted from learnfrc.com.