Society Sponsorship Guide: Types, Process, Proposal, Contracts

1. Sponsorship For questions/advice, please email: studentactivities@warwicksu.com

2. What will we cover? • Types of Sponsorship • Potential Sponsors • Writing a proposal • The Sponsorship Process • Contracts and Agreements • Approvals • Sales Invoice Forms

3. Sponsorship • Finding a sponsor is a very effective way of funding your Society's activities - and many organisations will consider a sponsorship relationship to be something with mutual benefit. • The opportunity to find a sponsor (or sponsors!) is largely limited only by your imagination and creativity - so long as the terms of your arrangement are within the law, within what SU By-Laws and policy allow, and do not set out unreasonable expectations.

4. Sponsorship • There are two forms of Sponsorship for you to consider: • External Sponsorship: • Sponsorship from an external company • Requires a contract to be drawn up between you and the Sponsor, signed by the SU. • Internal Sponsorship: • From an internal department at the University. • Requires a purchase order number and email confirmation

5. Potential Sponsors • When you are looking for a potential sponsor, think about the aspect of the business that is going to benefit most from involvement with your society: • Approaching companies that have something in common with your 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 regular custom and will also promote their name locally and amongst the University community. • 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.

6. Potential Sponsors – Important things to consider • Please communicate with your Coordinator 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. • 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.

7. Writing your Proposal • Your proposal is the first impression that the Sponsor will have of your Society, therefore you need to ensure that you show all of the best aspects of your Society, and sell yourself. • 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.

8. 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

9. 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 society and what aspect of it is being sponsored: • The company name and logo on all society 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 society events and tours • The opportunity to come to run a presentation evening to which all your members will attend • To help companies who have a particular product or service to introduce or promote. • 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.

10. Selling 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: • When writing to companies make sure that you make the letter concise, whilst really promoting 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 them an insight into your society's activities and give them a 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.

11. Stand out from the Crowd! • For some companies, you are unlikely to be the only Society to reach out to them. You need to grab their attention and offer them something that other Societies may not. • 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 that you could name after the company. • If your 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. • 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 to 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 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.

12. I’ve got a Sponsor – What now? • The first thing to do is have a contract drawn up. Some companies will draw one up for you, however there is a template available for you to use an amend, which you can find here: • https://www.warwicksu.com/societies/finances/sponsorships/agreement/ • When you are drafting your contracts, you should make sure 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!

13. I’ve got a Sponsor – What now? A Sponsorship agreement can only run from 1st October – 30th September. It cannot run across academic years. Insert everything that you and the sponsor have agreed to do as part of the agreement. The Student Activities Manager MUST be the first to sign any contracts. Do not sign anything before the SU have approved it.

14. I’ve got a Sponsor – What now? • 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. • 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.

15. The Sponsorship Process • Once you have discussed terms with the Sponsor and you have drawn up a draft contract, you should contact your Coordinator. • At this point, you should not have signed or agreed to anything, as the SU will still need to approve this. • If the agreement is not approved, you will need to take it back to the Sponsor and discuss the terms again. • If the agreement is approved, the Student Activities Manager will sign the contract and it will be sent back to you for your signature and the Sponsor’s signature. • When the contract has all signatures, you will need to send it back to your Coordinator with a Sales Invoice Form for the amount required. • This will be processed by the SU and the Sponsor will receive an invoice within 3-5 working days. • The funds will appear in your account once the invoice has been raised by the Finance team, before the Sponsor has paid the SU.

16. Sales Invoice Form If you are submitting for Internal Sponsorship, you will need to attach an email confirmation to this form. If your Sponsorship is External, you will need to attach your completed contract. In order to set up an invoice, we will need a postal AND email address for your Sponsor, as well as a contact to send the invoice to. You can find your details for this section on your Finance Web (Contact your Treasurer if unsure!)

17. Any Questions? Georgina.wood@Warwicksu.com