Wikimania 2008/Bids/Atlanta/Sponsorships

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Confirmed endorsements[edit]

The Wikimania 2008 Atlanta bid thanks these universities for helping us along with the bid. Without your support, it would not have been possible.

Business contacts[edit]

Awaiting final decision[edit]

Company Name User Contact Contacted on Response/Notes
Georgia Tech ICPA Andrew Guyton August 29
Georgia Tech Research Institute Andrew Guyton August 29 Offered the use of GTRI conference space
Georgia Tech College of Computing Andrea Forte Aug 29. Positive response, possible place to hold hacking days.
Cox Enterprises Mike Halterman August 28 Talked to Steve Brown at WSB-TV, directed to Steve Riley, who Brown said would be very interested. Left message and will be contacted tomorrow. Also left message for Sharmen Gowens at the AJC.

Talked the next day with Steve Riley in a detailed conversation about Wikimedia, Wikimania and what we hope to accomplish by having Wikimania in Atlanta. Gave him my e-mail address if he needed any more questions answered, and he said he would contact me after considering the bid. Riley also has link to bid page and other pages describing what Wikimania is and its goals.
Turner (incl. CNN) Mike Halterman August 28 E-mail sent on September 5 to marketing directors at Turner.

Directed to Selah Abrams through Leonard Witt on September 17, forwarded proposal to the New Products Group who would decide on sponsorships.

Mike Halterman personally met with Selah Abrams on September 21, and he would be able to organize tours of the CNN Center for attendees at a discounted rate, and could possibly have auditorium space at Turner set aside for a panel discussion. This sounds like a good opportunity to hold our Journalism Unconference there. More plans to come.
Georgia-Pacific Craig Spurrier September 5 E-mail sent, awaiting reply
Rayovac Craig Spurrier Sept 13 E-mail sent, awaiting reply
Siemens AG Craig Spurrier September 5 E-mail sent, awaiting reply
The Weather Channel Craig Spurrier Sept 13 E-mail sent, awaiting reply
Web.com Craig Spurrier Sept 13 E-mail sent, awaiting reply
Atlanta Convention Center and Tourism Bureau Mike Halterman August 30 E-mailed Dawn Curry and contacted Cookie Smoak's office, both in charge of sales and might be able to give us a list of sponsors they use for their organization.

Dawn Curry e-mailed back on September 4 and volunteered to send us a CD of all the Fortune 500 companies in Atlanta, with contact people. Mailed to Hillary Lipko.
Chunghwa Telecom Mike Halterman September 5 I had contacted Chunghwa Telecom previously since I saw their large donation to the Taipei bid. They have now forwarded my e-mail to their stateside partnership to let them know of our bid and our request for sponsorship.
Virgin Unite USA Mike Halterman September 5 E-mailed Leah Hung at Virgin Unite USA in New York City and prefaced with gratitude about the donations to our past endeavors, and asked if we could get such help again. Described Wikimania and the Atlanta bid. She will be out of the office until tomorrow.

Less advanced stages of contact[edit]

Possibility of sponsorships

Company Name User Contact Contacted on Response/Notes
Coca-Cola Foundation Mike Halterman August 22, directed to website The Coca-Cola Foundation strives to give aid to non-profit groups whose aim is to promote education, both at the national and the international levels. Last year, the Foundation gave over $10 million in aid to various groups. To apply for a grant, 60 days' time is needed for processing and response.
The Coca-Cola Company Mike Halterman August 28 Contacted Crystal Phipps, was directed to sponsorship e-mail address. Letting them know it's time-sensitive speeds up the process.

E-mail sent out on September 5. Reply received on September 6 from Lesley in Industry and Consumer Affairs. She says to contact our local bottling plant and tell them about the proposal. - Coca-Cola Enterprises?
AT&T Mike Halterman August 28 Need actual direct line number. Only got automated systems. - This form maybe?
Earthlink PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE Contact page
IBM (since they own ISS now) Craig Spurrier September 5 E-mail sent both to IBM and IBM ISS, awaiting reply. IBM corporate has replied with a form letter stating they do not typically consider unsolicited sponsorship requests. They however did invite us to call them at 1-800-426-4968 (the general IBM number).
Bank of America Jessica Gibson Aug. 28 Directed to website.
Home Depot Jessica Gibson Aug. 28 Directed to website.
Delta Air Lines JodyB September 14 States they are not accepting any new sponsorships
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Nintendo Andrew Guyton Contact page
Newell Rubbermaid PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Scientific-Atlanta (A Cisco company) Andrew Guyton Contact page
Scientific-Atlanta Foundation Andrew Guyton N/A "In order to focus our contribution resources, we do not support:... Conferences, seminars, trips, tours or similar events" (source: [1])
SunTrust Bank PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Ford Motor Company PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
General Motors PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Atlanta Sports teams JodyB September 14 Email sent and requested a quick reply; requested hospitality suite; sponsorship of a convention room; celebrity welcoming speaker; game tickets. Awaiting response.
City of Atlanta Mike Halterman August 28 Left message on Shirley Franklin's voicemail. Talked the next day with Shirley Spencer, who said that e-mailing the mayor with the request would be the best avenue, and that she or her staff would read and consider a partnership or a possible speaking engagement.

E-mail sent out on September 5. Call received on my cell from Greg Pridgeon with the same office, but I was not available. I returned his call immediately, waiting for a response.
Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Mike Halterman August 28 Directed to Glen Gould's office, left a message, will be contacted tomorrow. Gould's office directed us to ACCTB (see below)
State of Georgia Mike Halterman August 29 This may very well go nowhere as the woman I spoke with misunderstood what we were trying to do and went so far as to ask for the Foundation number. I tried to explain to her the bid process and how the office would not be involved, but I just don't think she knew enough about it to really tell her superior anything good about the bid.
Carter's PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
ChoicePoint Mike Halterman
Allied Holdings PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Haverty's PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
World Airways PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Carmike Cinemas PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Cox Radio Mike Halterman
AFLAC PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Gray Television Stations PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
The Kroger Co Mike Halterman
Arby's Mike Halterman
Popeye's PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Freshens Yogurt PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Holiday Inn Mike Halterman
Church's Chicken PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Chick-fil-A PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Aaron's Rent to Own PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Waffle House Mike Halterman
Cinnabon Mike Halterman
Carvel Ice Cream PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Huddle House PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Moe's Southwest Grill Mike Halterman
Microtel Inn and Suites PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Atlanta Bread Company PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Planet Smoothie PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
Scottish Inn PLEASE CONTACT THIS BUSINESS AND ADD YOUR NAME IN THIS PLACE WHEN YOU HAVE
United Parcel Service (UPS) JodyB