Growing your member group’s finances

Sponsorships

Sponsorships, whilst typically sought for a particular one-off event, can also be for day to day operational activity such as mailing costs, resource production, competition prizes, or even your regular catch ups.

As well as financial aid, sponsorships can also provide the opportunity to expand the reach and brand awareness of a MG via exposure to a larger or entirely different audience.

When thinking of pursuing a sponsorship, there are a number of guidelines that must be followed. Such sponsorship MUST:

1. not be entered into without authorisation and legal counsel from BCS
2. be subject to a conscious discussion/decision by the MG committee
3. not constrain the future MG committees from terminating the arrangement if the sponsorship was agreed in perpetuity
4. be secondary to all primary society activity or function, with sponsorship being overtly declared by the MG
5. not use the MG name in any other manner than that agreed in writing by the MG
6. act in the interests of computing
7. not in any way exclude other organisations from the opportunity of sponsorship
8. be reviewed on its own merit considering the needs of the MG, not recognised or bound by precedent
9. pertain to specific activity (i.e., an event, an award, a product or service, etc)

Download the BCS Community Sponsorship Process Flowchart

Types of Sponsorship

Financial Sponsorship

Financial sponsorship gives MGs a chance to secure financial backing, whilst offering significant acknowledgment and promotion for those who support your efforts to make IT good for society. You may wish to Explore various avenues to attract potential sponsors, such as seeking direct contributions for venue expenses, equipment costs, catering costs, or even proposing matching donation opportunities (to name a few!). Per our typical sponsorship agreement, BCS are obligated to return and residual funds back to the sponsor since the surplus cannot be carried forward into a future year.

In-Kind Sponsorship

In contrast to financial sponsorships, in-kind sponsorships see the sponsor donating services or products (product/service sponsorship) free of charge. Donations can be anything from borrowing equipment, to sponsoring a community competition prize.

Corporate Sponsorship

Establishing formal partnerships with organisations can provide MGs with long-term support. Corporate sponsorship may comprise of media sponsorship, product/service sponsorship or even financial sponsorship. The foundation of this type of sponsorship is that a corporate partner typically agrees to support the MG by the agreed means for an extended period of time. Note, per the above, this timeframe cannot extend beyond the end of one financial year (September – August) into another, nor must it infringe on the rights of any future MG.

Media Sponsorship

As the name suggests, media sponsorship includes the promotion of another’s activity. Such promotion can be on social media, via blog posts, and even via broadcasting and other means of traditional marketing including in publications.

Promotional Partners

Akin to media sponsorship, promotional partners can include individuals such as influencers and thought leaders, who will promote MG activity across various communication channels.

Tips for Procuring Sponsorships

To help create your sponsorship pitch, we’ve created a Sponsorship Brochure Template that can be completed using the below tips:

1. Find the right sponsor

The last thing you want to do is aimlessly email everyone and anyone to find a sponsor. You need to be tactful with which organisations make sense to collaborate with. Local businesses who also contribute to making IT good for society would be a great start. You may wish to approach organisation that can offer you a service or resource that you know you need for an initiative or event.

To increase your chances of successfully procuring a sponsor, why not try and approach organisation who you know have a history with sponsorship and charity. Perhaps you could even consider your own employer or that of a fellow MG member who may be more willing to invest in something closer to home.

2. Devise a compelling pitch

Once you know who you want to approach, you need to make sure that your pitch grabs the sponsors’ attention. To do this, it’s important to include details about BCS and the activity you are procuring sponsorship for. This will help the sponsor determine whether the activity aligns with their brand.

The cornerstone of the pitch should be what the sponsor is getting out of the agreement. Will it be exposure at an event? Could a representative of the sponsors’ be invited to speak to the member group at an upcoming meeting? Or are they investing directly into enabling our fantastic volunteers do real work? Regardless of their gain, make sure you include as much detail as possible. Sponsors would definitely be receptive to some examples of their contribution upfront.

You may want to include details on your target demographic in your pitch to further illustrate who the sponsor will be advertising to though your member group. Prospective sponsors may also respond well to data or analytics from your previous events (where appropriate) to support your claims.

3. Reach out in good time

It can take a while for a sponsorship request to progress through the right channels within an organisation, so approval will likely take some time.

With this in mind, it is good to submit your pitch a couple of months prior to the intended date by which you want to conduct your sponsored activity or event. This also gives you ample time to clarify any points which may be raised by the sponsor upon submission.

An added benefit of reaching out in good time is that you increase your chances of avoiding any competition from other organisations and groups who may not be as well prepared!

4. Uphold your end of the agreement

You will want to consider how you will report back to the sponsor following the completion of your activity or event. Perhaps you will agree some appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) where applicable, or invite a representative from the sponsor to your event to see your work for themselves. This will give the sponsor an opportunity to get more involved and build a closer working relationship with your member group.

Consider following up with the sponsor and thanking them for their contribution, sharing any outputs from the activity or event. This will go a long way when trying to establish long-term relationships and may even open the door for repeat sponsorship.

If you require further support pursuing a sponsorship or wish to submit a sponsorship proposal for consideration, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Community Team at groups@bcs.uk.