In message .com,
davek writes

Also try contacting the bigger local businesses
directly. I wouldn't bother with any of the really big
national/regional companies - not at first, at least - because they
tend to get lots of requests of this kind (having said that, the UK HQ
of Pfizer is local to me and I know someone who successfully tapped
them up for a few quid on a recent charity endeavour).

Most large and multinational companies draw up charity policies to avoid
getting tapped by every person looking for sponsorship for this or that
charity. They vary in nature, but in my experience it's usually a lump
sum for a year over an agreed number of years, before the policy is
reviewed and another charity selected (sometimes voted on by staff from
a shortlist produced by the HR office).

There's usually nothing to stop local offices supporting their own local
charities, but these tend to be ones in which the staff, or whoever in
the company takes on the job of fundraising, already have a specific
interest.

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