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Festival Sponsorship
Know it, find it, get it
Katy McCormickArts & Charities Communications Advisor
Presentation Aim:To explain business sponsorship and demonstrate how it can
support community festivals
• Know the difference between sponsorship and donations/philanthropy
• Have a clear understanding of business sponsorship objectives
• List an inventory of your festival’s “offer” to sponsors
• Begin to develop a corporate prospect list• Prepare a proposal that will get results• Learn how to get the meeting and close the deal
Presentation contents• Session 1 – Sponsorship in context• Your festival’s ambitions• Exercise: Post-it notes for the future• Understanding sponsorship – what it is, what it can do • What is your offer to sponsors? • Exercise: Ideas session – listing the inventory
Break
• Session 2 – Building sponsor relationships• Re-cap first session• Find potential sponsors• Exercise: mapping your contacts - template• Research, target and tailorLunch• Making contact• Crafting the proposal• Exercise: Action plan • Sponsorship and charity law
Close: Summary, questions and evaluation
Sponsorship in context
• Your festival’s ambitions for the future• Do you need sponsorship?• Other sources of income
Why look for sponsorship?
• Money! Possibly lots. Set realistic targets in your first year • A sponsor can become a long term partner who can help the
festival develop and achieve its ambitions• A good sponsor brings a certain authority (third party
endorsement) to the festival – eg, sponsored by Waterstones; the Guardian
• A good sponsorship match helps reinforce the festival brand• Sponsor’s own PR can enhance festival public relations• In kind support – food, drink, venue, competition prizes,
merchandise, volunteers• A potential source of audience – other customers, clients, staff
The current market• Small festivals can get sponsorship• Even in a poor economy, companies that do sponsor, are
investing more in sponsorship• Live events are preferred above advertising by 47% of
companies• Top categories for sponsorship:
– Sporting events or venues– Travel or entertainment organizations– Educational or non-profit organizations– Art related organizations– Web based businesses or organizations with highly visited websites
Understanding sponsorship
• Difference between sponsorship and donations• International Chamber of Commerce definition of
sponsorship:“Any commercial agreement by which a sponsor, for the mutual benefit of the sponsor and the sponsored party, contractually provides financing or other support in order to establish an association between the sponsor’s image, brands or products and a sponsorship property in return for rights to promote this association and/or for the granting of certain agreed direct or indirect benefits/”
In short, sponsorship is
• A mutually beneficial business relationship. The sponsor provides money, or goods or services, in exchange for a benefit to the sponsor’s brand.
• Therefore, if you want sponsorship, don’t talk to a sponsor in terms of the outcomes their money will have for your organisation. Instead talk about how sponsoring your organisation will help them to achieve their organisational goals.
Why do companies sponsor?
• To achieve their organizational goals• To generate more business• To strengthen their brand• To engage with stakeholders - customers,
suppliers, regulators, employees
The sponsor’s objectives
• Enhancing Image/Shaping Consumer Attitudes • Differentiating from competitors • Helping with good "Corporate Citizen" role • Driving Sales • Creating positive publicity/heightening
visibility • Enhancing business, consumer and VIP
relations
The festival offer
• Take inventory: what can you offer that will achieve the sponsor’s objectives?
• Brand benefits – beyond the logo• Engagement with your audience and
stakeholders
Brand benefits• Naming/title rights• Category exclusivity (the only hotel, restaurant, solicitors, etc.)• Recognition on festival collateral material (leaflets, bookmarks)• Recognition on merchandise (T shirts)• Brand included on media advertising• Press kits/press releases• Sponsor branded giveaways• Ad space in programme• Sponsors displays at events• Web links on festival site to sponsor’s site • Sponsor can contribute website content• Sponsor can use event images & logo on its own website, magazines,
newsletters
Engagement benefits• Access to VIPs, partners• Corporate entertainment opportunities• Priority seating• Priority parking• Complimentary or discounted admission tickets to events• Opportunities for employees to participate/volunteer• Employee team building/staff reward• Sampling• Coupons• Sales point at events• Access to mailing lists• Opportunity to collect data from audience/mailing list members• Mention in press releases• Mailing inserts• email message tags
Find your sponsors
• Media partners• Retail partners• Local authorities• Get these on board first. They will be part of
your inventory.
Long list
• Matching sponsor objectives with festival “offer”• Find companies in your local area who will
sponsor• Get your board to work! Use personal
connections• How networking events can increase your
potential sponsorship pool • Internet research
3 steps to success
• Research – find the right person at the right company & know their objectives
• Target – narrow down your long list. Don’t waste time on spam!
• Tailor – fine tune your offer to exactly match the sponsor’s business objectives. Why bronze, silver and gold are NOT good ideas.
Materials
• Email vs post• The fact sheet• PDF everything!• Sticky notes• The proposal• Photos• Press coverage
Making contact
• Phone calls to get the meeting• How to find the decision maker• Getting past the gate keeper• “Send me a proposal” – how to respond• The fact sheet – what it’s used for• Get the appointment
The meeting• Be creative• Always tailor the proposal • Be flexible – add benefits that will enhance their
sponsorship• Getting to yes• Closing the deal• Agree the promise – how will the sponsorship ROI be
measured• Follow up in writing• Keep the relationship going
Sponsorship and charity law• Any charity can enter into a commercial partnership with a company, regardless of its nature and size. It is not the preserve of large national
charities. • Commercial partnerships can be worth a great deal and represent big business, both for charities and companies. Benefits for charities
include financial donations, gifts in kind, influence within the partner company and a raised profile, all of which can enhance a charity's reputation, lead to further support, and help achieve the charity's objects.
• However, charities choosing to raise funds through commercial partnerships need to recognise that the mechanism also carries inherent risks. They should take appropriate steps to identify and address these risks before starting an agreement. A number of charities have also stressed the importance of placing commercial partnerships within the framework of a wider fund-raising strategy. Whilst partnerships can be effective, they may not be the most effective way of raising funds and the more traditional pursuit of legacies and direct appeals can generate more with less initial costs and less risk. However, a partnership can tap into "new" sources of income which a traditional appeal will not reach and the raising of a charity's profile may, in the longer term, boost other fund-raising ventures.
• A successful partnership can raise both a charity's income and profile. An unsuccessful one, where stakeholders perceive the charity to have "sold out", can damage income and profile.
• The main difficulties that the Commission encounters in this area are cases where charities: • Have not complied with the relevant fund-raising legislation; Part II of the Charities Act 1992 and The Charitable Institutions (Fund-raising)
Regulations 1994.• Have not recognised the value of their name and reputation and have failed to take adequate steps to protect them before entering into a
commercial agreement.• Have failed to effectively identify and manage any potential risks that the commercial partnership brings with it.• Have failed to establish an ethical policy which can be used to ensure that there is a common understanding of the charity's ethical values.• Have not considered how they will monitor and manage the commercial partnership once the agreement has commenced.• Have failed to check the credentials of the company before entering into the agreement.• Charities can mitigate the chances of problems occurring with commercial partnerships by ensuring that they have robust policies and
procedures in place prior to entering into an agreement. These should be incorporated within the charity's wider fund-raising strategies and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they stay relevant and fresh.
Recommendations from the Charity Commission
• Charities should recognise that their name is a valuable asset and that, in a commercial partnership, association with a charity can generate substantial benefits for the company. Accordingly, charities need to take steps to protect and, where appropriate take professional advice on valuing, their name.
• Charities need to clearly establish what they expect to gain from a commercial partnership prior to entering into an agreement and set up appropriate systems to monitor and review the partnership.
• Charities should consider establishing an ethical policy which clearly sets out the charity's values. This will form part of their wider fund-raising strategy and they can use it to ensure that trustees, staff and any potential commercial partners share a common understanding of the charity's ethical values.
• As best practice, charities should highlight their ethical policies and any commercial partnerships they have in their Annual Report and yearly accounts.• Against the framework of their ethical policy, charities need to carefully consider whether a proposed commercial partnership is appropriate and in the best interests
of the charity.• Regardless of the size or nature of the commercial partnership, all charities should take appropriate steps to ensure that they identify and manage any risks connected
to a commercial partnership fund-raising agreement.• All charities need to ensure from the outset of a commercial agreement that the expectations of both the charity and the company have been agreed and can be
managed effectively and appropriately.• All charities should research proposed commercial partnership proposals carefully and, if they prove to be an appropriate and viable proposition, establish a plan of
how the partnership will be managed.• All charities should consider taking advice from a professional or specialist prior to commencing a commercial partner agreement.• Charities must ensure that they comply with the legal requirements detailed in Part II of the Charities Act 1992 and The Charitable Institutions (Fund-raising)
Regulations 1994 if they are involved in, or thinking of becoming involved in, fund-raising with a commercial partner.• Charities must exercise control over the commercial agreement and must not simply accept an agreement drawn up by a company without seeking appropriate
advice.• Charities should use the legal requirements detailed in Part II of the Charities Act 1992 and The Charitable Institutions (Fund-raising) Regulations 1994 to provide a
framework for commercial partnership arrangements made between the charity's trading subsidiary and the commercial partner.• Charities need to consider the tax implications of a commercial agreement prior to entering into a commercial partnership and take advice as necessary.• Charities need to make certain that the proposed commercial agreement represents a fair deal for the charity. We also recommend that charities familiarise
themselves with the good practice guidance available on this topic, before entering into an agreement.• As best practice, charities should check the credentials of a company, consult with other charities or organisations that have dealt with the company and take
professional advice to ensure they are getting a fair deal.• Charities must establish clear agreements with the commercial partner before the partnership starts. The precise nature and complexity of the agreement will depend
on the size of the charity and company and the type of commercial partner.• Charities should exercise their ability under Regulation 5 of the 1994 Fund-raising Regulations to request documentation from commercial partners as part of an on-
going monitoring and review process.• Charities should monitor and review the performance of commercial partnerships on a regular basis, to ensure that they remain an effective means of fund-raising.
Summary
• Review of key learning points• Is sponsorship right for you?• Template for fact sheet• Template for proposal• Where to find out more• Professional support – can your festival afford
it?
Credits• 6 reasons companies sponsor (From “Special Events - Inside and
Out” by Schmader and Jackson ISBN 0915611279 )• 12 Steps to successful sponsorship: Sylvia Allen, Allen Consulting
www.allenconsulting.com• The Sponsorship Handbook: Essential Tools, Tips and Techniques for
Sponsors and Sponsorship Seekers Editors William Fenton & Pippa Collett
• Kisha Mays, a Corporate Sponsorship Expert Consultant and CEO of Glow International Group, LLC who enjoys the art of securing corporate sponsorship for any event or project
• Anisha Robinson Keeys www.bestpracticefundraising.com• RS2 – Charities and Commercial Partners, The Charity Commission
