What
businesses and organizations are active in your state? Look
for lists at your state's chamber of commerce, the Better Business
Bureau, state business associations, or the office of the secretary
of state, which issues licenses to every organization doing
business in a state. Don't overlook out-of-state-based companies
like supermarket chains - they're large employers with significant
potential
as sponsors, and they're valuable sources of volunteers.
Ask your governor
or another prominent politician to send a letter urging the
executives of top companies and organizations and philanthropists
to support NetDay. Before the first NetDay in 1996, President
Clinton sent a letter to 100 CEOs in California to encourage
their support. Many states have educational technology task
forces with corporate members who are prime candidates for
NetDay partnerships.
Then get on
the telephone. Start with the head of the organization, but
be ready to work your way down the hierarchy to find the
right person to talk to - usually in the public relations,
education, or government relations department. This stage
of NetDay is extremely time consuming and takes plenty of
persistence. It may take five calls to reach the right person,
and once an organization has agreed to be a NetDay partner
it's best to make a few more calls to make sure they follow
through. Be aware that you may play endless rounds of telephone
tag. You won't reach every organization on your list, and
not every organization you reach will respond, despite your
best efforts.
However, once
NetDay attracts enough attention in your community, your
efforts will pay off.
Business
Categories
You will want to divide the task of contacting businesses among several people.
Here are some business categories to start with.
- News media
(see The Media as Business Partners)
- Cable installers
- Service-sector
companies, restaurants, supermarkets, retailers
- Consumer products
companies
- Entertainment
companies and sports teams
- Health care
providers
- Real estate
firms
- Financial
institutions
- High-technology
companies
- Telephone
companies
- Utilities
- Aerospace
companies
- The military
- Agribusiness
- Service organizations
- Educational
institutions
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