Society and Club Sponsorship

Sponsorship is a business expenditure, not a donation, so you have to go about it in a business-like way. The following guide is meant to give you some pointers in finding sponsorship.

There is a wide variety of sponsorship proposals to think about; sponsors will mostly want to contribute financially but there may also be opportunities for companies to provide services. Services could be kit, other materials that the club/society can use, or providing speakers for events or training sessions. It is often cost-effective for companies to sponsor through donations.

 

Quicklinks:
1. Writing a proposal
2. Who to apply to and how
3. Contracts
4. Honouring the agreement
5. Help & contacts

1. Writing a Proposal

There are two main things that will essentially form the core of your proposal:

  • What the sponsor can do for you
  • What you can do for the sponsor

These will determine the what you need and will dictate the terms of the agreement.

What the sponsor can do for you

The first step in writing a proposal is to consider what the sponsorship is for, whether it's an overall sum of money to help your club/society, provision of specialist equipment, or a particular event. Potential sponsors will be keen to know what you're going to do with their money or support, and how it's going to help your club or society achieve its goals.

Some ideas are:

  • Improving or purchasing equipment that is available for all members to use
  • Reducing the amount that members have to spend, for example on clothing or publicity
  • Helping you achieve greater success through improved facilities and equipment
  • Offering more opportunities for people, go on tour, take part in events, or generally get involved
  • Giving you the chance to run your own event or tournament

What you can do for the sponsor

You obviously need to be able to demonstrate the benefits to the company of sponsoring your society. This will depend on the nature of your club/society and what aspect of your club/society is being sponsored.

A few ideas are:
  • The company name and logo on all society/club merchandise, clothing, kit and/or equipment
  • A section on your website or a link from your homepage
  • The company name and logo featured on all emails sent out, as well as letters and any other publications (including publicity material) produced
  • Company banners at club/society events and tours
  • The opportunity to come to run a presentation evening to which all your members will attend (very good for larger societies and clubs)
  • To help companies who have a particular product or service to introduce or promote. Often societies/clubs have a clearly defined specialist audience, and sponsorship allows a company to target those people very precisely (See the Who to Apply to section).

Always make sure you factor in what it costs you to offer your sponsorship. If, for example, you offer a logo on the sleeve of your hoodies make sure the sponsorship covers the additional print costs.


Sell yourself

Once you've established what you require the sponsorship for and what you can offer a sponsor in return you then need to sell your proposal. A few things to think about here:

  • When writing to companies make sure that you make the letter as snappy and concise as you can, but make sure you really promote what packages you can offer them.
  • A nice personal touch is to add photos or publications, maybe even with examples of the benefits past sponsors have had so they know what they've missed out on previously!
  • Be sure to mention any successes that your club or society has had
  • Be realistic - to claim that a logo on your society hoodie will be seen by all 20,000 students at Warwick is probably a little misleading. Potential sponsors would prefer you to be honest and give information that will offer than an insight into your club/society's activities and give them a good and realistic idea of what exposure you are offering.
  • Push benefits rather than features. Facts and figures are of interest to a potential sponsor, but what's more important in terms of selling your proposal is relating those features to a tangible benefit to the sponsor.

Stand out from the rest

Sponsors love quirky ideas that you may be able to come up with, such as a new event, tour or an award for your society/club that you could name after the company. If your club or society is holding an event/awards dinner/ tournament, invite a representative from your sponsors to give out a prize or say a few words about their company.

Let them know that this really matters to you - if you don't hear from them, follow up your proposal with a polite call to see how things are going.

A good proposal should be:
  • Short & sweet - if your proposal is more than 2 sides it is too long. If you're e-mailing a document, make sure the filesize isn't too large - you don't want crash their inbox.
  • Well presented - you don't have to be a graphic designer but spending a little bit of time to make sure your proposal is easy on the eyes won't hurt - images aren't a necessity but can be useful giving your club/society an identity and really getting them to understand the promotional opportunities.
  • Innovative - try to make your proposal stand out, think about what you can offer that no-one else can. From a sponsor's point of view, if you can make your proposal stand out then they'll be thinking what you can do for their brand.



2. Who to apply to and how


Important Thing 1
Please communicate with the Societies Officer BEFORE you approach any sponsor so he/she can check with the Marketing department to make sure you're not competing with them for the money! This would almost certainly damage your bid.

Important Thing 2
Union policy can restrict which companies are allowed to advertise in or sponsor parts of the Union. Currently there are restrictions on McDonalds, Esso/ExxonMobil, Nestle, and all arms and tobacco companies. These are all restricted due to policies passed through Union Council or Referenda.

General Advice
Who you should contact when offering a sponsorship proposal varies. Think about the aspect of the business that is going to benefit most from involvement with your club or society, and then try to get in touch with someone responsible for that aspect of the business.

Approaching companies that have something in common with your club or society will give you a better chance of obtaining sponsorship, but don't feel constrained solely to companies of a certain field.

  • Graduate recruiters like getting involved in Students' Unions as it puts them in contact with potential employees.
  • Inside contacts within companies are often a good way to achieve sponsorship so ask your members if they know anyone who may be willing to sponsor you.
  • Local companies are often very interested in sponsoring local students as it helps them to get their name to as many people as possible.
  • Pubs and restaurants in Coventry and Leamington are often very interested in groups of people who can offer some custom and will also promote their name locally and amongst the University community. A good way to approach these is by agreeing certain dates where you will hold socials or dinners at their establishment.
  • A company who has been an active sponsor in the past should always be approached, if only to maintain a good working relationship that can be built on in the future.

You may find that some companies come back to you offering slightly less than you asked for, or they may come back and ask for something else in addition to what you've offered. Whether you take them up on these is up to you, just make sure that whatever you take you are still able to honour your proposal. You should also consider the possibility of offering smaller packages to multiple sponsors, though this may mean more legwork.


3. Contracts


If you've managed to get yourself a sponsor there are a few things you need to do just to finalise it all. Some companies will provide you with a contract detailing the agreement. You should make sure of at least the following:

  • Ensure that the terms of the contract match that of the proposal and/or anything else you have agreed with the sponsor.
  • Check whether or not the contract stipulates exclusivity - if you are looking to get multiple sponsors for an event make sure you have made the sponsor aware there will be other sponsors.
  • Check whether or not the company will provide you with banners/flyers/posters for you to display or distribute, or whether you have to produce them at your own expense.
  • Make sure there's a specified payment date! Otherwise it will be much more difficult to chase payment if you do not receive it.
  • Make sure you do not offer services you cannot honour. For example, the Union has costs for external companies for venue hire. You will not be able to get around this to offer them to your sponsors at club and society rates!
  • If they don't provide you with a contract, then you can create something using the example. Bear in mind that not all of the lines of the example agreement may apply to your agreement so edit it as appropriate.


Once you have an agreement with your sponsor you need to inform the Societies or Sports Officer, and get them to sign the agreement. With the full weight of the Students' Union behind the contract, it will be much easier to follow up if there are any problems.

Please also make sure you provide the Sports/Societies Officer with a copy of the contract. If at any point you'd like someone to look over your proposal or agreement then email it to the relevant officer, or pop up and see them in Union North.


4. Honouring the agreement


Make sure you stick to the terms of your agreement, and keep your sponsor updated on how everything's going. The better a relationship you build with your sponsor the more likely it is they will wish to continue sponsoring you in the future. E-mail them photos of their sponsorship money in action and offer them invitations to events you are holding.

Keep a full record in words and pictures of everything your club/society has done related to the sponsorship agreement. This way you can ensure that both you and your sponsor are happy with the arrangement.

In the event that you are unable to carry out part of the agreement speak to your sponsor and see if you can arrange an alternative - don't just try to get away with not doing it.

By going above and beyond what the sponsor expects and providing them a detailed record of what their sponsorship has got them you have a much better chance of them renewing there sponsorship for another year.

Use a Sales Invoice Requisition (from the Resources Room or the forms page) to raise an invoice to obtain payment.


5. Help & contacts


If you would like any assistance with any aspect of sponsorship, get in touch with the relevant officer:

Sports: sports@warwicksu.com
Societies: societies@warwicksu.com