EMAIL JOURNAL ENTRY

just what we've been doing to this point in totallity:

For the Gryphon Racing Team and all those involved- this is what is going on, and what I have done so far.




You're all part of the sponsorship team this year dedicated to bringing money to the team so they can compete in an awesome engineering competition in May in PONTIAC, MI! I've talked with most of you a number of times about the project.



Given the large time frame for the project to get sponsorship money, and realizing that Murray's team at the absolute worst will be in trouble if they don't have enough time to implment their ideas into the car, we are pushing ahead with a customizable marketing plan to various large companies to get some sponsorship dollars quickly.



Jason contacted us and I have stopped going to the Gryphon Racing Meetings due to a number of interests that I'm attempting to manage at the same time. It is virtually impossible for me to attend one of these meetings but I will continue to try to do so on a weekly basis and mostly when we have something of enough substance to work on with you guys. The racing team just needs to focus on building the car and we'll have the money for you soon enough.



Anyways, Denisse and I have been working closely with our recent award winning engineering recruitment officer who knows how to sell things, we just come up with the marketing ideas and we'll customize it per company because in the sponsorship world, every company has a different diversified strategy and we have to match those diversified strategies to get the money. This is one of the reasons why this might take some time although I could think of reasons WHY companies would want to sponsor gryphon racing very quickly. That does not happen very often to me so I am convinced that we will do well enough.



I have also contacted Mary Ann and Jacqueline in the engineering department and I will be proposing that they have AGREED to send an email to all registered former almuni of the university of guelph engineering to support the team. I will be designing the idea myself and further implementing it. We can raise a ton of money this way, and they'll get tax deductions, and on everyone's mind right now is taxes anyhow.



Finally, Denisse and I are doing separate marketing approaches for organizations, so we have a really diversified set of tools available to us on the project!



Also, my cousin Alex is President of the Robotics Club at Martingrove in Toronto, so he is along for the ride in learning how to make sponsorship money and as well to assist in any possible way he can through his existing connections!



The process is starting underway this week. I was away most of the time for a few weeks, and I am now back until the end of the semester.



Also- if you know someone of notable fame that went to Guelph or a great motivational futuristic speaker, I'd love to have them for an event I'm running on March 19, 2010- The Commerce Formal.



In the future, we may all need to meet but for now there is no reason to meet unless any of you would like to meet with each other and such, or with me.



Cheers,



Dan Verhaeghe

dverhaeg@uoguelph.ca

519-803-4754

UPDATE!

It was my hope that we could actually get around to e-mailing and calling a number of people for sponsorships, but from the outset of the project we had not been dealing with the SOE recruitment officer, Jason, and rather with Murray Lyons and understanding the Gryphon Racing team and what they're about.

And that was good because it gave us a chance to meet the team, assess the situation, and clearly as a result we've been able to prepare a rough draft of a sponsorship package and a rough draft of what each sponsor would get for the various levels.

Jason will be assisting us with the selling of the sponsorships.

I've also brought on board a couple of people within the administration as per reccomended by Murray- who will also help assist us in a number of ways to get sponsorship money through almuni, past sponsors and what not. They can do some of the calling and knocking on doors for us.

There seems to be different opinions on how such sponsorship money should be raised- there was the suggestion of a contractual approach so that we can maintain relationships with our sponsors unlike we have done in the past. From some people I've talked to it is the belief point that we may have to have four or five big sponsors, while others believe that one giant sponsor could do it all and get us the $20,000. We will see what happens. But definetely sponsorship relationship management is crucial.

I've also picked out a list of ten companies that I think would be credible sponsors for approval by Jason:

1) Grey Power or Guelph Hydro or a hydro company
2) MasterCard or VISA
3) One of TD, CIBC, SCOTIABANK, RBC, BMO
4) Guelph Tourism
5) Honda
6) Toyota
7) Food Companies- Kraft, Unilever, Cara, Campbells?
8) A HOTEL- Delta, Best Western, Holiday Inn, etc.
9) OIL AND GAS- Shell, Exxon Mobil, Petro Canada Suncor?
10) HIGH-TECH SECTOR- IBM, RIM?

SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE

The sponsorship package was sent to Gryphon Racing Team Leader Murray, and is being proofread over the last couple of days (well, whenever Murray finds time).

I've just also recieved the one-pager, which is another tool we can use to send out to prospective sponsors. I'll also be converting a detailed sponsorship package list into a PDF before sending it out.

There has been no word from CPES, looks like we're all alone in this race against time to get sponsors.

It is my hope that the first round of e-mails are sent out tonight based on sponsors already affiliated with other racing teams in the province at other universities like Waterloo, Toronto, Western and McMaster.

Also, we will be meeting with the SOE Recruitment Officer Jason Tyszka Monday.

The project seems to be going full speed ahead. Time will tell what kind of sponsors we can produce.

2010 SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE COMPLETE

It may have taken a long time, but the 2010 Sponsorship Package is now complete. To say the least, it trumps all the other versions.

I have no doubt that the Gryphon Racing Team will race this year.

Hopefully the mass email/phone sponsorship campaign gets underway later this week before I go off to Montreal Friday.

Dan Out.

This is Thursday January 21.

I'd have to say after tonight's meeting that if I wasn't confident that I could pull off the $20,000 in sponsorship money, I'm very confident now. Especially when seeing the other Canadian schools having attracted tons of sponsors for their racing team that had previously been funded in Guelph much by the school of engineering.

There are so many companies out there, but we'll have to start with the ones that we have a previous affiliation with, good potenial sponsorship companies, and then go from there.

There is nothing we can't do in this world if we put in the hard work to make it all happens.

Right now I'm about to put the sponsorship package together before our next meeting Saturday- so we have something real to send out to our very eager sponsors- we're even including a picture of PM Stephen Harper with the race car!

Meeting With Murray Lyons and Updates on the Sponsorship Coordination

I caught up with Murray Lyons, captain of the Gryphon Racing team last Wednesday, and he expressed a sincere need for sponsorship coordination, $16,200 in all. The money could come in either parts or actual donations.

It is expected that we have next to nothing in terms of sponsorship dollars right now but we do know that Linamar is our biggest sponsor.

I am about to look into the Gryphon Racing Database and find some more information before putting together a sponsorship package as quickly as possible, while comparing our sponsorship package to one that I know was put together by a friend of mine for a robotics challenge.

Having been unable to find the Gryphon Racing Team Meeting last Tuesday, I will finally be able to meet the entire team Tuesday Night now that I know exactly where the team meets!

We're just getting underway and hope to have something of substansial value before the end of the month.