Sponsorship is when a business provides funds, resources or services to a club, in return for some form of rights and/or associations with the club that may be used to help the business commercially. This could be in the form of a logo on a football, signs at an oval or free advertising in the newsletter.
Remember - donations are different to sponsorships. Businesses or individuals do not expect any commercial advantage in return for their donation.
Before you involve your club in sponsorships, ask these questions:
What rights or benefits can your club offer a sponsor?
There are many reasons why businesses sponsor clubs, here are just a few:
Have you thought about inappropriate sponsors?
Identify any potential sponsors who would be unacceptable for your club.
Do you have appropriate resources?
If you promise to deliver a number of rights and benefits to a sponsor, there needs to be time and members or volunteers to help carry these out.
It is good business practice to create a sponsorship policy within the organisation before you apply for sponsorship. This will help clarify expectations regarding sponsorship deals particularly for members.
Identify in the policy: