Sponsorship During a Global Pandemic:

How to Build Partnerships When There are ‘Virtually’ No Benefits

By Curt Mosel

Among many industries, the arts and independent venues were hit hard in 2020. Venue after venue, were forced to shut their doors, and all the memories they kept, for good. ArtsQuest is a nonprofit arts and cultural organization located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania at the iconic SteelStacks. Once home to Bethlehem Steel Corporation headquarters, the campus is now a vibrant cultural centerpiece in the heart of the community. In a typical year, ArtsQuest presents more than 4,000 in-person programs and events for the community, including hundreds of free concerts year-round and the nation’s largest free music festival, Musikfest. In March 2020, the team went from planning a busy summer schedule, to not being able to offer a single piece of programming, losing 90 percent of its revenue streams. It was clear, the organization’s survival would depend in part on support from the political and corporate community, as well as individuals. We quickly went to work to generate any revenue we could. In the process, we learned lessons that can be applied at organizations across the country to help make the shift from survival mode to growth.

Photo by Jeff Auger

Relationships Are Key

Just like with personal friends and family, it takes work to maintain relationships. Remembering this is key to success in a professional capacity as well. The pandemic impacted everyone in different ways. Checking in, calling and genuinely asking partners how they are faring in their industry can go a long way. Some industries, like health care, were forced to the frontlines. Other industries that once were thriving, were forced to make tough decisions, often including layoffs.

During the height of the pandemic, when we spoke with one of our largest longtime supporters Laurie Hackett, head of philanthropy and community relations for Air Products, she said we would have her “full commitment, regardless of what happens with Musikfest.” Promises like that don’t happen out of the blue. They come only after a strong relationship has been built over many years and through authentic engagement. Yuengling, a worldwide brand headquartered in Pennsylvania, is another one of our largest corporate sponsors. We spoke with our contact Tyler Simpson who informed us while Yuengling lost a fair amount of on-premise business in 2020, their off-premise business was strong and allowed them to continue with their support. This was solidified with subsequent conversations with Wendy Yuengling and our President and CEO Kassie Hilgert, speaking directly with Dick Yuengling. These relationships have blossomed over the years into genuine friendships and the corporation’s support has become invaluable. After a couple conversations with key partners, that momentum led our team to have discussions with other large corporations like B. Braun, PNC Bank, Martin Guitar, Service Electric, Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Health Network. All of our partners responded differently, but the key was a strong foundation. Some gave small gifts without expenses or requiring benefits. Other gifts were similar to support from previous years.

It is important to lay the groundwork early and often. Let your elected officials and partners know what you deliver, along with your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Engage regularly, ask about their priorities. Do not wait to have these conversations when you need something. Get to know each other authentically and build trust before times of crisis.

Photo by Jeff Auger

Adapt, React, Then Adapt Again

ArtsQuest has been committed to providing free and low-cost arts, cultural and educational programming to the region for almost forty years. With in-person events coming to a halt in 2020, our organization shifted gears to offer as many virtual programs as we could.

ArtsQuest at Home, presented by BSI, launched in 2020. This collection included livestreamed concerts, movie talks with our cinema staff and livestreamed ‘Improvised Standup’ comedy programming. This series was shared digitally and used the power of the arts to keep people connected. Musikfest went almost completely virtual in 2020 and provided live concerts thanks to partners Martin Guitar, Service Electric Network and more. Service Electric Network (SEN), our regional cable provider, made a six-figure investment to make 2020 Virtual Musikfest possible. They built an entire infrastructure around opportunities for virtual performances. SEN converted their production truck garage into a full music venue and hosted 40 live musical performances that were televised to fans in lieu of attending the festival in person. This original programming benefitted both organizations leading to some of their best ratings ever and more than two million video views.

Our visual arts team also found ways to engage the community. We introduced ArtSmart@Home; an afterschool art enrichment program offered virtually. We created digital exhibitions to promote artists’ work over the pandemic. We also held Virtual Toddler Storytimes and Stay Creative Family Workshops where staff and educators demonstrated ways to stay creative while at home. We also introduced a Keep Moving Dance Series teaching salsa to help people stay active in quarantine. In 2020, we were all glued to our screens which made virtual programming attractive to our sponsors.

For doing a fraction of the programming in 2021, our organization still did about half of our “normal” sponsorship budget. When planning our flagship festival, Musikfest, in 2021, we created many different iterations of our plans. When the state and local government updated restrictions on Memorial Day, we had only a matter of months to adapt and make the call to have the ‘fest in person.

In the end, the festival featured approximately 500 free performances from more than 300 musical artists, providing paying gigs for musicians after a challenging year and a half in the industry. Highlights of the ‘fest included headlining acts Darius Rucker, Zedd, Sam Hunt, Shinedown, Phillip Phillips, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jimmie Allen, Colin Hay Band, The Wood Brothers, Black Violin, Hector Tricoche and Michael Stuart.

Overall, an estimated 1,127,000 people attended the festival and Musikfest had an estimated $67 million impact on the economy in our region of Pennsylvania. The 11-day festival featured 150 corporate sponsors, more than two dozen artisans/ retailers and more than 30 food vendors. It was clear there was an appetite in the corporate community for this event to return.

“After spending a year apart, Highmark Blue Shield was thrilled to once again be a supporter of Musikfest and couldn’t be happier to see it return to an in-person celebration in 2021,” Jane Brooks of Highmark Blue Shield said. “We recognize how art and music are vital contributors to the overall health of the community and look forward to seeing this event bring people together for years to come in the future.”

Photo by Jeff Auger

Deliver More Than Entertainment

As a nonprofit, our organization delivers more than concerts and events. When we do well, the community does well. Make sure what you are offering is not simply transactional for entertainment purposes only. Guests are buying more than a concert ticket, their spending goes directly back into the community.

“Musikfest is a tradition unlike any other and we are proud to partner with ArtsQuest year after year,” Former Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez said. “It is an honor to see our community come together once again to support small business, tourism and economic development.”

In addition to the economic impact, we work to make sure our programs serve a purpose. During Musikfest 2021, in honor of those impacted by COVID-19, our organization partnered with the local nonprofit New Bethany Ministries to present Poppies of Remembrance, Lanterns of Hope. Performers across dozens of stages were asked to #PauseTheMusik at 7 p.m. on Fri., Aug. 13. Red lanterns illuminated at City Hall and at homes across the community in honor of those we lost, those still struggling and those fighting on the frontlines of the pandemic. The 2021 original Musikfest poster painting, created by Pennsylvania artist Mandy Martin, was auctioned off with all proceeds benefiting The Fund for Racial Justice and Equity (FRJE) powered by United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.

In addition to Musikfest, our organization’s other key events, Oktoberfest in the fall and Christkindlmarkt (our holiday market) in the winter, came back bigger and better than ever. ArtsQuest’s 11th annual Oktoberfest, presented by Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), returned to the SteelStacks campus supporting local businesses, performers and vendors. An estimated 42,000 people attended the outdoor festival which took place the first two weekends of October 2021. More than 93,500 people attended our 2021 holiday market, Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, presented by Univest Financial ® . This attendance number is second only to 2019’s record-setting estimated attendance of 95,000. Guests supported the market’s 167 unique craft and retail vendors for five weekends during the holiday shopping season. Indications from vendors at both Oktoberfest and Christkindlmarkt showed food and beverage sales were up significantly when compared to both 2019 and 2018.

During our holiday market, we also introduced new community hours, where entry was free thanks to the generosity of one of our partners T-Mobile. This increased attendance (more than 2,000 guests) led to a significant bump in sales for participating crafters, retailers and vendors. Our organization is continuing to explore opportunities like this in the future to make our programming more accessible, while thanking our generous partners.

Photo by Jeff Auger

Find Ways to Say Thank You

Our partner’s decision to support ArtsQuest has allowed us to fully reopen and re-engage with the community we serve. In addition to the corporate community, ArtsQuest is always looking for ways to thank elected officials who provided CARES Act funding that kept our doors open. To say thank you, we kicked off Musikfest 2021 with an opening ceremony honoring sponsors and local leaders for everything they did to keep us afloat.

Photo by Jeff Auger

You don’t need a large budget to find ways to thank supporters. We display corporate names and logos throughout our campus on outdoor and indoor digital screens, signage and banners. We also tag partners in social media posts and create specific targeted campaigns. In addition to including sponsors in internal and external communications, we also connect supporters with local and national journalists. Whenever we can, we offer up publicity opportunities to key partners on television, radio, print and digital outlets. Corporate sponsors also get the typical shoutouts at the beginning of shows and ticket holds for certain programs and events. For all of our key partnerships, we provide specific return on investment reports highlighting how well sponsors did during set periods of time. While these benefits are important, at the end of the day it all comes down to relationships. The best way to say thank you is one-on-one in person (when possible) or virtually. We cannot say thank you enough!

Throughout the pandemic, something we already knew to be true was even further solidified. Our organization would be nothing without our dedicated and loyal supporters. These supporters were some of the very first voices we heard say that they were staying by our sides to ensure we would make it through this unprecedented time. Although we do not know what the future holds, we will continue to provide all that we can for our community. We hope these lessons can help your organization work toward a brighter future for the entire festivals and events industry.

Curt Mosel is the Chief Operating Officer for ArtsQuest, a nonprofit arts and cultural organization located in Bethlehem, Pa. Mosel has been with ArtsQuest for more than 12 years and has fulfilled various roles in marketing and corporate partnerships. Mosel has an extensive background in advertising, sales and marketing. He has worked for media outlets, the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves franchise and Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire.

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