SponsoringAfter having been granted permission by the Delft University of Technology (DUT) to start setting up the AfricAlive Expedition, we received some financial support from them. This was a good start, but not nearly enough to cover all of our future expenses. Because we are all students, and we do not have a lot of direct cash at our disposal, we decided to search for different means of funding by approaching several big companies and by applying for subsidies. Due to a time constraint, we had only four months to cover our expected fixed costs and operating expenses; and this did not leave us much room for error. We decided our every move had to appear professional, and we were determined to acquire all the valuable information we could get our hands on, by talking to the right kind of people. Because we are financially independent from the DUT, and we have to be a legitimate partner to sponsors, we decided to set up a foundation; the Student Foundation for International Development Projects (SSIO in Dutch). For setting up an initial plan for acquisition we asked Martien Heijnen for help. Martien, together with Cees-Rijn van den Hoogenband, set up the PSV swimming team. This way he acquired a lot of practical experience dealing with big companies, convincing them to support a solid cause. Martien recommended us to find five equal partners to support our expedition. This was less than the initial ten we had in mind, but it did have some distinctive advantages and it saved us time, which was most crucial. We set up an initial list of probable sponsors, which we readily started to approach. Another advice he gave concerned the best way to approach a prospective. Weekly, companies receive many different requests which apply for funding. It was therefore imperative that our application stood out above all others. The most efficient way of approaching companies was to skip making indirect contact via email and telephone, which is seldom working anyway, and to try to find someone we knew who could easily introduce us to the right person within a company. Finally, Martien gave us some crucial advice concerning the aid we could offer the companies in return of their support. In addition to generating media attention, we should make use of our contacts with the universities, which can be very valuable for many companies. Another contact we approached for strategic advice, was Mark Blaisse, partner of Pilgrims Consult. After having given a presentation at the Amsterdam based office, we managed to convince Mark in supporting us. Anna Damsma, one of the employees, was assigned part-time to our project for offering strategic advice. Later, Nico Blaauw, the other partner of Pilgrims Consult, introduced us to E.ON Benelux, who would later become our main sponsor. In February, before having consulted any of the potential sponsors, we decided on a go/no-go, on the 1st of May. Here we would make a definite decision to go along with the expedition to Africa, or cancel the whole undertaking. At this specific date, we would have been able to acquire a minimum amount of money to cover all of our expenses, minus an amount of €30,000, our own commitment. To have been able to get this far, and then not be able to go because of a ‘small’ amount of money, would be unacceptable and a big waste of time. Therefore we integrated this safety clausal, so in the worst case we would have to put in some of our private money. But we were determined to achieve enough funding for the whole expedition from external sponsors. Because it is impossible to have a motorcycle expedition on this scale without motorcycles and an expedition vehicle, we set of to find the right partners to help us acquire these. We visited the motorcycle fair in Utrecht, The Netherlands, where we talked to many different people. We also approached people with a lot of experience traveling Africa overland. We obtained some good advice on which kind of motorcycles to use. It became clear that this would have to be Yamaha, who luckily agreed with us. Nissan provided us with a Nissan Pathfinder. They had recently sent a car on an expedition to Singapore, and at their return we could lent this car for our expedition. Another contact we approached was Wubbo Ockels, the first Dutch man in space, and professor of sustainability at the faculty of aerospace engineering for the Delft University of Technology. He brought us in contact with Yacht, a Dutch based human resource and recruitment agency, who decided to sponsor us. The moment we obtained the trust of some big companies, the acquisition became a whole lot easier. Soon we were visiting several multinationals. We had a meeting with Rijn Willems, CEO of the Dutch department of Shell, and with Peter Hartman, CEO of KLM. Soon after this, the city of Delft decided to support us, as did InHolland Delft, a school for higher education. Also there were many smaller companies who decided to supply us with aid, like Fjällraven Outdoor Equipment, the CO2mpensatiepolis, the Travel Clinic, Econcern, Mango Capital, the Visumdienst and Fraxin. |