How businesses view local sponsorships in 2025
New survey insights from 100+ companies reveal what motivates sponsors, where they spend, and why they renew.
Report summary
This 2025 survey reveals how businesses think about sponsoring local nonprofits and why community impact and shared values consistently outweigh marketing ROI.
Most sponsors give modestly (often under $500 per partnership). Yet, they renew when the relationship feels aligned.
Many see visibility as a motivator, but underestimate how much digital trust those local partnerships build—a growing factor as AI-driven search favors credible community connections.
The report highlights where businesses’ intentions and investments diverge and shows how nonprofits can use those insights to position sponsorships as both socially meaningful and strategically valuable.
Key findings
- 94% rate community impact as “highly motivating.”
- 88% rated shared values as “extremely” or “very” motivating
- 58% have sponsored the same organization for over a year.
- 42% say online visibility influences sponsorships (but few see it as a major driver).
- 40% say sponsorships drive 1% or less of revenue; 7% report 20%+
Why you need this report
If you’re a nonprofit leader or fundraiser, this report shows how businesses think about sponsorships: what motivates them, what budgets look like, and why some partnerships last while others don’t.
It strips away guesswork so you can approach potential sponsors with a clearer understanding. You’ll see what drives renewals, how companies define value, and how to frame your sponsorship opportunities in ways that align with their goals.
As local visibility and digital trust start to overlap, understanding the sponsor’s mindset will help you maximize sponsorship dollars and gain lasting support.
About this report
Founded in 2016 by Garrett French, ZipSprout connects businesses with grassroots organizations to build meaningful community partnerships.
This research, led by Ellen Sartin, explores what motivates local sponsorships and how businesses measure their impact.
Community love
What the communities we help say about ZipSprout
ZipSprout helped us get money from quality sponsored Ads hosted on our website. We are a nonprofit, so every dollar counts towards hosting a FREE Semi-Annual Festival! Love working with the ZipSprout fulfillment team. Always great to hear from them. A wonderful small team of dedicated professionals!
We attracted appropriate sponsors for each particular program. They placed their logos on one of our program pages for one year. When the community saw these pages for special events, they could click on the sponsor site. ZipSprout coordinated the sponsorship connections and payment of fees with greate attention to detail.
Working with ZipSprout has been great. They helped match local businesses and schools together in the form of a sponsorship. We’re both in the business of sponsorships, ZipSprout does a great job of trying to match those and its a huge time saver.
ZipSprout reached out to us via our contact form to provide us with exposure and connect us to great sponsors. They’ve been very pleasant to work with, and the process of being matched was very simple and easy.
Working with ZipSprout has helped us increase our local visibility and connect with community outreach that aligns with our mission. In addition, it has also given us a chance to support local initiatives and build backlinks that may contribute to long-term SEO benefits.
We are hopeful that over time, this kind of exposure will lead to stronger recognition and commitments. We are excited to further our presence through the opportunities that ZipSprout exhibits.
The ZipSprout team has been such a joy to work with. They’ve supported Women in Tech SEO as a WTSPartner and exhibiting at our WTSFest conferences – always showing up with genuine enthusiasm and a real commitment to our mission. They’ve supported further outside our partnership through initiatives like their survey donations that help better our industry and support keeping our WTS community sustainable. Every interaction we’ve had with them has been kind, genuine, and full of enthusiasm for what we’re building together. We’re so grateful for their support and the way they show up for our members.
