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Sponsorship Opportunities


The Cottonwood Institute has exciting sponsorship opportunities for businesses that walk their talk in terms of environmental sustainability. The Cottonwood Institute is committed to helping our sponsors:

  • Achieve their marketing goals and drive sales.
  • Provide opportunities to give away product samples or to promote their services.
  • Demonstrate to the community that they are committed to reducing their environmental footprint.
  • Highlight how they are good corporate citizens and that they care about the local community, local nonprofits, education, the environment, and the youth of America.

SPONSORSHIP OVERVIEW:
Compelling Educational Partner + Inspiring Program + Strategic Sponsor + Media Exposure = Nonprofits and businesses collaborating to change the world one adventure at a time!

DEMOGRAPHICS AND REACH:

  • Network. We currently have more than 3,000 contacts in our network, including students, parents, donors, prospective donors, educational partners, schools, and youth organizations. Our network is rooted in Colorado but also spans nationwide.
  • Participants. In 2009, the Cottonwood Institute served over 800 participants, including high school and middle school students and adults through our award-winning education and outreach programs.
  • Website. The Cottonwood Institute averages 65 absolute unique visits per day or approximately 25,000 visits per year. Absolute unique visits are defined as the number of unique sessions initiated by a visitor.
  • Base Camp Bash. The Base Camp Bash is our major annual fundraising event to raise money to underwrite our public school programs and to support our Jason F. Griffith Scholarship Fund. Invitations will be sent to 1,500+ environmentally conscious donor and donor prospect contacts. We will actively promote the event through media releases, which are sent to 160+ prominent media contacts in Colorado. In addition, public service announcements will be sent to all popular radio stations in the Colorado Front Range. Your company will also receive visibility through the Cottonwood Institute website and Blog and the event will be attended by approximately 150 - 200 constituents.

COMPELLING EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS:

  • I Have A Dream Foundation serving low-income youth in Boulder County, CO.
  • Urban Peak serving homeless youth in Denver, CO.
  • Inner City Outings serving inner city youth leaders in Boulder and Denver, CO.
  • A/D Youth Works program serving at-risk youth in Arapahoe and Douglass Counties in CO.
  • Peace Jam serving diverse youth leaders in Boulder, CO.
  • Front Range Earth Force serving diverse youth leaders in Denver, CO.
  • Colorado Youth At Risk serving diverse youth in Denver, CO.
  • Gilpin E-8 School serving inner city public school students in Denver, CO.
  • New Vista High School serving alternative public school students in Boulder, CO.
  • Lakewood High School serving at-risk 9th graders in Lakewood, CO.

INSPIRING PROGRAMS

  • Cesar Chavez Organic Gardening Project
  • Three Trees & A River Project
  • Community Adventure Program
  • 1-Day Field Trips for Schools and Youth Organizations: Physiology of Survival, Physiology of Winter Survival, Avalanche Science
  • 7-Day Course for Teenagers of Military Families: Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking, Stone Age Survival Project, Wildland Firefighter Project, Horse Caretaker Project, and Mountain Biking Survival Project.

STRATEGIC SPONSORSHIPS - WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU:
•    Exciting cause-related marketing opportunity.
•    Strengthen public image by supporting youth, education, and the environment.
•    Media exposure.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER:

  • Create professionally designed sponsorship banner w/ compelling photo and sponsor logos and recognition at all 2010 events (Base Camp Bash, Ripple Effect Awards, REI Clinics, Private Tasting Parties).
  • Featured sponsor banner ad will rotate on the home page and all internal pages of our website.
  • Collaborate with sponsor’s Marketing and PR department to customize a compelling cause related marketing opportunity and to create a strategy about how to leverage media exposure for specific programs.
  • Recognition ad in 5280 Magazine, Denver Business Journal, or other publication for sponsors that fully underwrite a project.

PRICING:
Here are the base-line costs to implement our courses:

  • $1,000 for 1-day field trips: Physiology of Survival (Winter, Spring, Fall), Avalanche Science
  • $2,500 for a weekend overnight trip, including: Winter Survival Overnight, Essential Survival Skills Overnight, Mt. Evans Volunteer Project
  • $3,500 for the Cesar Chavez Organic Gardening Project
  • $5,500 for the Three Trees and a River Project
  • $7,500 for our week-long courses: Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking, Stone Age Survival Project, Wildland Firefighter Project, Horse Caretaker Project, and Mountain Biking Survival Project
  • $9,000 per quarter for our core quarter-long program the Community Adventure Program.

Please Note: Ads in 5280, Denver Business Journal, or other publications will be an additional cost built into the sponsorship price. We will customize a sponsorship proposal based on the program you would like to underwrite, the ad size you want, and the publication in which you would like your ad to appear.

OTHER SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:

  • Pick a month to have “Jean Month.” Employees can donate $1 per day to the Cottonwood Institute for the privilege of wearing jeans to work for the entire month.
  • Encourage employees to come to our annual Base Camp Bash fundraising event on Friday, April 16, 2010 from 7-10pm at the Rox Room next to Lodo’s Bar and Grill located in downtown Denver.
  • Organize a team of volunteers for Sunrise Century to benefit the Cottonwood Institute. Donate $10 per volunteer hour to help underwrite a specific program that is meaningful to your employees. Sunrise Century will match your donation.
  • Sponsor the Mt. Evans Volunteer Project. The Cottonwood Institute can provide leadership and team building opportunities to sponsors that want to adopt our Mt. Evans Volunteer Project. We are looking for corporate sponsors to provide volunteers and financial support to help underwrite the costs of this weekend project. Cost: $2,500.
  • Reward employees with a fun 1-day Winter Survival or Survival Workshop. Donate $100 per day per employee to help underwrite a specific program that is meaningful to your employees.
  • Sustainable Vehicle. The Cottonwood Institute is interested in partnering with environmentally conscious businesses to acquire a 15-passenger van or mini-bus that will be converted to run on Natural Gas, Biodiesel, or Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) to walk our talk in terms of environmental sustainability and to solve a transportation issue for our educational programs. This vehicle will also serve as a marketing tool for the Cottonwood Institute and our corporate sponsors through vehicle advertising. Cost: $35,000 - $40,000 to acquire and convert the vehicle and $1,000 per year for vehicle advertising.
  • Sponsor a Program or Course. Funding for public education and extracurricular programs are being cut in our public schools. We are interested in partnering with corporate sponsors to help underwrite our public school programs and courses for underserved youth to help inspire the next generation of future community leaders and environmental stewards. $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 levels available.
  • Support the Jason F. Griffith Scholarship Fund. In 2009, we awarded over $10,000 in scholarships to increase the accessibility of our Summer Courses to students that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford our programs. This represents a 45% increase compared to 2008. With your help we hope to raise more than $15,000 for 2010!
  • Sponsor our “Official” Cottonwood Institute Merchandise: including our Survival Kit, Water Bottle, Coffee Mug, Reusable Grocery Bag, and Organic T-Shirt. All sales of our official products benefit our Griffith Scholarship Fund and help highlight our commitment to reducing our environment footprint. Cost: TBD.

FOR A CUSTOM SPONSORSHIP PROPOSAL, CONTACT:
Ford Church, Founder and Executive Director
303.447.1076
Email