A few people asked for another update about my sponsorship journey for a podcast I spent the past three years developing. Even though it's been about a month, a lot has happened since the last post. Here are the two previous posts: April and first post.
Right off the bat, I still haven’t closed a sponsorship yet. However, I’ve got a much clearer picture now of what the actual challenges are, and honestly, that’s been very useful.
TLDR: the biggest obstacle so far hasn’t been lack of interest. It’s been timing.
Here's what's happened since the last update in April.
Two organizations passed. That’s the bad news. The useful/good news is neither passed because they thought the concept was weak, overpriced, or misaligned. They passed because of timing.
I learned the first one had shifted to a January fiscal year in 2026 for the first time instead of the usual July fiscal year they've been doing for decades. They told me the changed tightened this year’s budget more than expected. So the person I spoke with said they couldn't sponsor anything this year, but if the show is running, come back in October so we can talk about next year. They did agree, however, to post episodes on their platform, which has over 100,000 followers on Instagram, and daily website visits in the tens of thousands.
The other org told me something similar. They run campaigns in the Spring and Fall months, but this year’s budget and campaign priorities were already locked before we spoke. Their answer was essentially the same: circle back later this year or early 2027 when we’re planning the next round.
So, the reality is I didn't get a "yes" from either one, but a "come back later" is a positive sign. I take that as less of a rejection and more of a bad timing on my end.
That’s been very helpful with keeping me motivated to find other organizations to have conversations with, but also start planning to hear more "not this year" conversations.
In the good news/hopeful column, another organization is still in internal review. They took my pitch deck and their meeting notes back to their leadership team because they saw direct alignment between the show and the work they’re already trying to do in their district, specifically around supporting culturally relevant businesses, events, and venues.
If that funding comes through, I'll be able to run the podcast for about 3-4 months. I'll be working for free, but I'll at least be able to pay my writers and journalists for their work, which is fundamental for this to happen. A 3-4 month run of weekly episodes will hopefully gain enough traction to get further funding because of episode data and listener statistics.
Another positive conversation was a city department tied to arts, culture, and conferences. That meeting ran more than two hours, which I took as a good sign on its own. They grilled me about so many things, in a good, healthy, positive way, and we also went off on wild, funny tangents before coming back to the topic at hand.
They’re now looking into whether support could take the form of grants, paid partnerships, or another funding path. Nothing is guaranteed there, and I was told pretty clearly this may take several weeks, possibly a few months, before anything could happen.
That’s slower than I’d like, but at this point, I've learned this is a marathon, not a sprint. These are the most serious, realistic funding conversation I’ve had so far.
So, one important thing I've learned since April is timing. The initial challenge was getting people to see value in the concept. Since then, the challenge evolved to the timing of budget cycles. It's like the song says, "I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger." If I had more knowledge about budget cycles, I may have waited a little later in the year to ask. Or maybe it's good I asked when I did, so I got these conversations started, so when I ask later, we've already built a relationship and they have familiarity with the project.
If you've got questions about the process, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to share what I can and hopefully get you closer to finding funding for your podcast.
Cheers!
Disclaimer: I own a production company. I do not seek clients from this community.