Overview
Goal: Partner with your sports property group to engage and activate a corporate partner for Coaching for Literacy's Fight for Literacy Game with your team during the 2017—2018 NCAA basketball season.
Success: Coaching for Literacy is the ideal cause marketing sponsorship for your corporate clients.
- Presenting Game Sponsorships - Coaching for Literacy established a $140,000 media sponsorship with International Paper, a Fortune 500 company, for our 2017-2018 games with LSU Basketball (OUTFRONT) and Memphis Basketball (Learfield).
- Campaign Partner Sponsorships - Coaching for Literacy has has executed a sponsorship with C Spire, Ole Miss Basketball and IMG Sports for three consecutive seasons.
Join the Movement: Coaching for Literacy has coordinated 75 Fight for Literacy Games with 37 different NCAA programs in the past 3 years.
Pitch Contents:
- Introduction: The Issue of Illiteracy in America
- Overview: Fight for Literacy Games
- NCAA Partnerships: How we execute Fight for Literacy Games with NCAA basketball teams and coaching staffs
- Impact: How we are making a difference in the lives of children nationwide
- Sponsorship Proposals: Activate corporate partners, sell media and make an impact in your community
"Our staff and program wants to do everything in our power to better the future, including encouraging our fans to actively participate in this cause." - Avery Johnson, Head Coach, Alabama Men's Basketball
Create a Brighter Future
Our Vision: To be the national leader in the effort to make America fully literate.
Our Mission: Use the power of sports to raise awareness about the problem of illiteracy and generate financial support for literacy programs nationwide.
The Problem: America's illiteracy epidemic
- Crime - 85% of juveniles in the court system cannot read. (National Assessment of Adult Literacy, U.S. Department of Education)
- Education - Students who do not read proficiently by the third grade are four times more likely to drop out of school. (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
- Economy - Illiteracy costs the U.S. at least $225 billion annually in non-productivity among the workforce, crime and loss of tax revenue. (National Council for Adult Learning, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
- Health Care - An excess of $230 billion a year in health care costs is linked to low adult literacy. (American Journal of Public Health)
- Poverty - Among adults at the lowest level of literacy proficiency, 43% live in poverty. Among adults with strong literacy skills, only 4% live in poverty. (U.S. Justice Department)
Our Core Belief: Literacy is a fundamental right of every individual.
"64% of American 4th graders are not reading at grade-level." - National Assessment of Educational Progress
Our Impact Promise: 100% of funds raised by the general public are directed to literacy efforts in our partner communities.
Our Accreditations: Coaching for Literacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a Gold-Level Rating from GuideStar, we are a partner of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and a member of The Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence.
Fight for Literacy Games
Program Overview: Coaching for Literacy's Fight for Literacy Games create a movement of players, coaches, teams and fans who support literacy efforts nationwide through awareness initiatives, volunteer work and donations.
"We know this program really helps to make a difference in communities across the nation by providing valuable resources to local schools and youth programs." - Steve Alford, Head Coach, UCLA Men's Basketball
Partner Teams: In 2017-2018, 28 NCAA teams will host Coaching for Literacy's Fight for Literacy Game initiative
Coaches Council: The members of Coaching for Literacy’s Coaches Council have consistently demonstrated a desire to advocate for literacy work both in their communities and nationwide.
- Adam Cohen - Stanford, Assistant Coach
- Avery Johnson - Alabama, Head Coach
- Josh Pastner - Georgia Tech, Head Coach
- Kevin Stallings - PITT, Head Coach
- Larry Brown - Hall of Fame, Retired
- Ron Sanchez - UVA, Associate Head Coach
- Steve Forbes - ETSU, Head Coach
- Stan Jones - FSU, Associate Head Coach
- Will Wade - LSU, Head Coach
Brand Ambassadors: Coaching for Literacy Brand Ambassadors utilize their platform to promote the cause of literacy nationwide.
- Gary Parrish - CBS Sports
- Dan Wolken - USA Today
- Rob Dauster - NBC Sports
- Evan Daniels - Fox Sports
- Mike DeCourcy - Sporting News
- Lindsay Schnell - USA Today
- Nicole Auerbach - USA Today
- Wayne Drash - CNN
Our 3-Step Game Plan
Step 1: Provide Platform for NCAA Teams to Host a Fight for Literacy Game
Success: CFL has conducted 75 Fight for Literacy Games with nearly 40 NCAA partners. Through our signature cause awareness color — Fight for Literacy Green — we have utilized the power of sports to share the importance of literacy nationwide.
- Pick One Game - Partner athletic program picks one date to host a Fight for Literacy Game.
- Invite Visiting Team - The visiting team is invited to join in the effort.
- Wear Green - The coaching staff and players wear Fight for Literacy Green cause awareness kit (Sport and permissions dictate how the green literacy awareness color is featured).
- Blow the Whistle - Sports information team utilizes platform to raise cause awareness.
- Assist for Literacy - The fan base is engaged to make donations (100% stay in their community), sign up to volunteer and raise cause awareness.
- Lead and Read - Coaching staff and players visit local literacy program partner on a selected date to read with program participants.
Note: Watch the Florida State Seminoles execute the Lead and Read component.
Step 2: Fans Join Their Team in the Fight for Literacy
Success: Our partnerships with NCAA teams give passionate fans the opportunity to Fight for Literacy — supporting children in their community through cause promotion on social media, volunteer work and financial support.
- Get Social - Engage the general public in a hashtag campaign that generates financial support and awareness.
- Volunteer - Connect the general public to volunteer opportunities with our local literacy program partner.
- Assist for Literacy - Fans use the PledgeIt platform to make a donation for each assist made by their team over a given four-game period.
Step 3: Activate Corporate Sponsors in the Fight for Literacy
Success: Coaching for Literacy has activated major sponsorships with C Spire and International Paper via Fight for Literacy Games as well as a strategic branding sponsorship with Peter Millar — the official supplier of the Fight for Literacy apparel line.
- Sponsor - Work with the athletic program's sports property group to purchase media and sponsor the Fight for Literacy Game in a specific market.
- Financial Support - Match what the fans raise via the social funding campaign and Assist for Literacy components.
- Engage - Media and campaign focus is to engage fans to get social, volunteer and make donations.
“Teaming up with Coaching for Literacy allows us to make an impact by creating awareness and providing support to effective, local literacy programs.” - James McDonald, Director of Corporate Citizenship, International Paper
Literacy Impact Approach
Success: Since 2014, Coaching for Literacy has raised more than $500,000, providing funding support for 50 literacy projects, directly impacting 8,000 kids across 11 states and 20 communities.
Funding Methodology
Fight for Literacy Games bring valuable awareness and critical financial support to our literacy partners. The following approaches represent our portfolio of literacy investments:
- Materials - Books and digital readers are key in teaching literacy skills. Unfortunately, materials in areas that struggle with literacy are scarce. We help provide the materials so kids can learn.
- Embedded Literacy Programs - Embedded programs exist within many schools, libraries and other institutions. These programs provide children with the extra attention they require to become better readers.
- Summer Literacy Initiatives - Reading over the summer is crucial to literacy growth. Summer intervention programs ensure that children who need to continue reading during the summer are doing exactly that.
Partnership Methodology
Reading by third grade is the most important predictor of high school graduation and career success. Thus, our efforts focus on improving reading levels among students before they reach fourth grade.
We currently partner with 20+ literacy programs represented by the following organizations: members of the Campaign For Grade-Level Reading, public schools and literacy programs supported by our athletic team partners.
Literacy programs must meet the following qualifications:
- Grade Level - Serve children at or below the third grade level.
- Service Population - At least 80% of the students benefitting from funds must live at or below the poverty line (assessed by student population receiving federally assisted lunch through the National School Lunch Program).
- Proper Qualifications - Literacy partners must share the following documentation with Coaching for Literacy: IRS 501 (c)(3) Determination Letter (when applicable), 990 Form and high-level ratings from charity evaluators GuideStar and Charity Navigator.
“We are incredibly grateful for Coaching for Literacy’s support over these past four years. We have watched our students directly benefit from their donations, improving their reading skills each year.” - Melissa Spradlin, Executive Director, Book'em (Nashville, TN)
Note: Learn about the literacy organizations who are empowered by Coaching for Literacy's work.
Sponsorship Proposals
Coaching for Literacy's Fight for Literacy Games provide sports property groups with a proven philanthropic platform that can sell media, activate corporate partners and make a difference in your community.
Sponsorship Packages:
Presenting Game Sponsorship - A corporate partner promotes the cause of literacy in a selected market for an entire season culminating in a presenting game sponsorship during the Fight for Literacy Game with your school's team. This strategy allows a corporate partner to own the cause and align with the sports team's brand in a powerful way. The approach builds invaluable brand equity, cause awareness and literacy program impact and includes the following media during the entire basketball season: radio, social media, online and in-arena. [Estimated media spend: $45,000 — $80,000]*
Campaign Partner Sponsor - A corporate partner promotes the cause of literacy in a selected market culminating in an entry-level sponsorship of the Fight for Literacy Game with your school's team. This strategy focuses on our digital campaign elements (hashtag campaign and Assist for Literacy) and ensures that a corporate partner creates a positive impact for local literacy programs while elevating their brand's equity. This approach includes the following media over a 3—4 game timeframe: radio, social media, online and in arena. [Estimated media spend: $7,500 — $15,000]*
* Estimated prices are expected spend ranges, Coaching for Literacy understands that media prices vary based on NCAA team brand value, market size and sponsorship assets
Funding Allocation:
Funds given for the purpose of corporate sponsorships will be applied as follows: 75% will be allocated toward media investment, 15% will be retained by Coaching for Literacy and 10% will be directed to our literacy partners. *
* Sports property rights holder receives 100% of media's value. CFL asks sponsoring company's to pay 125% of the media's value to support our nationwide Fight for Literacy. Of the excess 25%, 15% is retained by CFL and 10% is donating to direct support literacy work in the community of the sponsorship.
"We are excited and proud to be partnering with Coaching for Literacy's mission to help increase literacy awareness in our community here in Memphis. This is an opportunity to create an exciting sports platform program with our hometown Memphis Tigers this season and make an assist in the mission for CFL." - Todd Kucinski, General Manager, Tiger Sports Properties
You Could Start a Movement
We believe each and every person is born with equal dignity and literacy is an expression of that worth. We are grateful for your consideration to promote literacy and advocate for the worth of every human being.
Sincerely,
S. Ryan Viner / Executive Director / Coaching for Literacy