Supporting Support for Your Association:
Your role in achieving successful sponsorship partnerships

Farley, L. (2013). Supporting Support for Your Association. boardwalk, Summer 2013, 6.

Revenue generation is almost always a challenge for professional associations. Traditional sources of revenue for associations include membership dues, conferences and seminars, and sponsorships. And while many associations struggle to meet member demands for growth, higher value, and increased service, organizational capacity around sponsorship revenue is an area in which many associations flounder.

Here is what I see a lot in numerous organizations. An event is coming up… we better get sponsors… someone call the same sponsors we had last year and see if they are still in… some are, good… some are not, darn… ask your buddy if he wants to sponsor this year…

To find new ways to add value to the membership, sponsorship has become vital as a key revenue stream for professional associations because it is capable of achieving both revenue and engagement objectives to ensure maximum relevance and mutual benefit to stakeholders.

So what’s the hold-up?
A written plan… and especially, a written policy.

You’ve heard it before. If you really want to be successful you have to have a strategy. You need high level planning and preparation coupled with policy to define the scope or spheres within which decisions can be made and action taken. And it needs to be written down.

Before you research your potential sponsors, contact sponsors, determine sponsorship value, develop a sponsorship proposal, and rake in the dough, you might want to consider that a sponsorship agreement can last from a few hours for a specific event to several years. Your plan will need to assess your organizational capacity for attracting and maintaining sponsorship relationships in the areas of time, motivation, resources, and challenges. You will also need to do some soul searching prior to creating your plan and policy.

A sponsorship policy is a governing principle to establish the framework and guidelines for the creation of productive partnerships between your association and the private sector to generate additional revenues that support your mission and mandate while providing important marketing (and other) benefits to potential partners.

While there will be a myriad of considerations specific to your organization and industry, here is an outline of some of the sections to include in your sponsorship policy.

Purpose
Summarizes your association’s rationale and approach to dealing with sponsorship, and may outline how seeking and receiving sponsorship provides additional resources with which to support specific activities or programs, and suggest how the success and public exposure of an activity can be enhanced by sponsorship.

Scope
Details the type or range of sponsorship opportunities/arrangements governed by the sponsorship policy. Does this policy apply to all incoming sponsorships received by the association, or are there limitations? Does it apply to outgoing grants or sponsorships given by the association, or is that covered by another policy?

Your sponsorship policy may outline your guiding principles related to:

• What sponsorships your organization will and will not accept;
• The responsibilities of all parties involved in a sponsorship arrangement in order to ensure there is neither conflict of interest nor negative impact on the association’s reputation or integrity;
• The process for attracting sponsors; and
• The sponsorship approval process.

Definitions
Might identify terms such as “Naming Rights,” “Advertising,” or other language related to your particular organization, and your policy, to facilitate further transparency and clarity on policy, process, and related procedures.

Policy Statement(s)
Include overarching philosophy or assertions that outline the way your organization intends to conduct its affairs, and act, in specific circumstances. Policy statements will guide the management and operational level of your organization in developing procedures related to sponsorship activities. You may consider drafting policy statements regarding:

• Criteria for attracting sponsors;
• Suitable activities for sponsorship;
• Benefits for sponsors;
• Sponsorships not permitted under your policy;
• Guiding principles to protect your reputation and brand;
• What can and needs to be sponsored and why; and
• Any other area where you determine guidelines are pertinent.

References
Include laws, standards, and other documents that may be read in conjunction with the sponsorship policy that supports, provides background, or details processes that support the implementation of this policy or provide information on best practices, stewardship, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting.

Related Policy and Procedures
Help point members, staff, and volunteers to other important association documents that may have a bearing on this policy. Such information could include: Conflict of Interest, Code of Conduct, Sponsorship Procedures, Sponsorship Plan, Logo Guidelines, Accounting Procedures, etc.

Approval and Review
Once your sponsorship policy has been reviewed, approved, and implemented, don’t forget to check in on it to make sure it remains relevant and current over time. Incorporate approval authority and review frequency into your policy.

Your role in achieving successful sponsorship partnerships includes guiding principles.
What is your organizations policy on sponsorship? Do you have a policy? Do you have a plan?