Asking for money/donations...

We're hosting a cycling race, our 2nd year doing this. I didn't have too much luck with sponsorships last year, I might not have asked at the right time. I also realize that you'll get a few no's for every yes.

Why I am bringing this up...I want to create a "catchy" proposal to handout to potential sponsors. I want to make it unique/different, but no out there that it won't be taken seriously by anyone. Has anyone received a unique request, either for personal or in a business? I know its a balance between offering too much info and not enough info.

Also, a few notes:
- Yes, there will be a 501c3 organization associated with the event
- This event has been going on for a number of years, but we just took this over last year. We doubled participation from the prior year - so I will be mentioning this.