Ballinasloe, Ireland. Internationally regarded as the Queen Mother of Sponsorship Sales, U.S-based business leader, philanthropist and author Sylvia Allen has been invited to return to Ireland at the end of this month to participate once again in the Association of Irish Festival Events annual workshop.

Allen will kick off the training workshop in Ballinasloe on Saturday, April 26, and will join in engagements throughout the week, until the workshop ends on the following Saturday, May 3.

During her week-long visit, Allen will be teaching AOIFE staff the fundamental steps of membership recruitment, networking success, and sales and sponsorships. She will also discuss how to identify a sponsors needs, determine how those needs can be met through a festival or event, and subsequently help them to manage the process.

A recognized thought leader in the worlds of sponsorships and integrated marketing, and founder of Holmdel, N. J.-based Allen Consulting, Allen has been providing services to both for-profit and non-profit organizations for close to 40 years. Some of her clients have included the PNC Bank Arts Center, New Yorks San Gennaro Festival, Alaskas Iditarod, the James Beard Foundation, and Singapores World Gourmet Summit. In one year alone, she produced more than 100 events and raised more than $1 million worth of sponsorships for clients.

Allen has received global praise for performing the pivotal role of helping to revitalize many downtown communities through her award-winning and proven event marketing and PR services, sponsorship sales, and the coordination of popular events, which have all helped put many of these communities on the map.

Not solely a dedicated and sought-after professional speaker and corporate sponsorship and fundraising expert, Allen is also an internationally recognized author, having written A Womans Guide to Sales Success and How to Be Successful in Sponsorship Sales, as well as countless articles on sponsorship sales and marketing. Her books and DVDs are purchased daily from those around the world.

The recipient of over 50 awards, including a New Jersey State Governors Jefferson Award for Ambassador, Top 50 Women in Business, and the Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction Award, Allen is also an inductee of the International Festival and Events Associations Hall of Fame, a very prestigious honor.

Allen is also the founder of Sylvias Children, a non-profit she founded in 2003 with a mission of improving the lives of over 1,000 children in Uganda, one third of which are orphans. Through her organization, she has helped transform countless lives through the implementation of various facilities. For this, she has had the distinction of being featured in such publications as the Huffington Post, Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, among many others.

In addition to the Association of Irish Festival Events, Allen has a number of other engagements on the horizon. See where she will be next, below.

  • On May 14, Allen will host a special webinar on festival and event sponsorship for the Ohio Main Street Program. Administered by Heritage Ohio, the Ohio Main Street Program works with communities across Ohio to revitalize their historic or traditional commercial areas.
  • On May 16, Allen will participate in a panel entitled Leadership: How to Lead and Succeed in Todays Business World, at the Fair Media Councils 2014 Womens Empowerment Summit at Briarcliffe College in Bethpage, New York.
  • And from May 18-20, the professional speaker will be participating in the 2014 National Main Streets Conference, entitled Works in Progress, in Detroit, Michigan. The conference will offer important lessons on resilience, innovation and hard work, all of which exemplify the National Main Street movement across the country and can be seen first-hand in Detroit.