2015/16 edition
Sponsorship
imperialcollegeunion.org
Sponsorship 2015/16
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Contents 02 03 04 05 06 07 09 11 12
AA AA AA AA AA AA AA AA AA
Contents Frequently Asked Questions Introduction Identification Selection Proposition Negotiation Signing the contract and securing payment Summary and Contacts
Tell us what you think of this training publication Š 2015 Imperial College Union Version 1 - 2 June 2015 imperialcollegeunion.org/training/training-feedback
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This manual will:
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Support students to identify and select sponsors
Outline how to contact sponsors and make an application for sponsorship
Provide an understanding on how to gain a good deal and secure sponsorship money
Frequently Asked Questions How do I find companies who can sponsor my group? Pages 5 – 6 give advice on identifying and selecting sponsors.
What needs to be in a sponsorship proposal? Pages 7 – 8 go over the core basics that you need to include in a proposal.
How do we process sponsorship once it’s agreed and what paperwork is necessary? Page 11 explains our requirements here.
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Introduction The Purpose of this Training manual Sponsorship can be an important source of income for Clubs, Societies & Projects. This training manual looks at how to go about getting sponsorship and other forms of external funding, and the Union’s rules for how that funding must be administered.
When to Seek Sponsorship The best time to get sponsorship is before the start of the Autumn term. Most companies will have spent the majority of their allocated sponsorship funds by Christmas. Competition for sponsorship is high and companies have less money available due to the economic climate. If you have any questions not answered in this training manual, contact the Deputy President (Finance & Services) or Student Activities Manager.
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Identification Firstly, you must identify what the benefits of sponsorship would be, both for the supplier and to your Club, Society or Project. It is better to consider what you can offer a company rather than your needs. Benefits to the sponsor may include: AA raising awareness of their company/ brand/product AA enhancing their image AA creating good relations with students who may be potential future employees AA being associated with a certain cause The benefits to the Club, Society or Project would be the solution to a funding or product requirement as well as increased publicity by being associated with the sponsor.
Make sure you also know who you are – make sure you know about your Club, Society or Project in detail, its history and any future plans that you or your predecessors have published. Make sure you know what the turnover of your group is, and what the demographics of your members are. Also, ensure you are aware of the College and where it currently is in university rankings – both academic (such as the times’ Higher Education Ranking UK and Globally) and nonacademic (such as the College’s position in the BUCS rankings).
Sponsorship can be offered for a number of activities. Some of the time they will be one-off deals: a charity show, publication, sporting event, leaflets or posters. Sponsorship may also be sought for longer-term projects and gifts-in-kind. In return, the Club, Society or Project can offer advertising to students and others; raise the company’s profile amongst some of the most sought-after graduates in the country; gain coverage with student and local media and also think about how it might wish to include the sponsor at an event (e.g. sitting on a judging panel, running workshops, guest speakers etc).
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Selection Initially, think about who has sponsored your group in the past; speak to older and former members and review your online transaction pages from previous years. Also consider your equipment suppliers, and contacts that you and your committee may have within suppliers and companies. Once you have a shortlist of companies you think you should approach, you need to refine your search and then establish contact with the potential sponsors. Ask them for their Annual Report, advice on what projects they may or may not support and establish a contact within the organisation or gain contact details for their marketing department. If you already have a contact within the company then go via them or ask for an endorsement.
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Attending careers events is also a great way of making contacts with companies. Remember to delegate one committee member who will be responsible for any questions potential donors may have – and make sure they actually answer questions and maintain regular contact.
Proposition Now that you have identified some potential sponsors and what you can offer them, you need to formulate a proposal. The length of your proposal is dependant on the scale of the project, but should contain: AA Activity title AA Proposal summary (see below) AA Options – can they sponsor the publicity, a portion or are they the sole sponsor?
AA Key-strengths – re-emphasise the benefits of the activity
AA Signatory and Contact details AA Enclose any relevant materials such as photos of your Club, Society or Project, quotes from members or articles from Felix.
Benefits Ensure you make it clear to the sponsor what benefits they will gain from sponsoring your event. Some examples of benefits to the sponsor include: AA Displaying the company logo on the header
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or footer of all official Club, Society or Project emails Arranging talks by the company to gain exposure to members of your Club, Society or Project Having logos on banners and flyers at events, or printing on the programme Advertisement space on your Club, Society or Project website A targeted email to your members or an item in your newsletter
Sample Proposal
by contributing £<amount> towards <activity> and will receive <benefits>. 1. I ntroduction (to the organisation and the activity to be funded). 2. Outline any previous support received. 3. The proposal – clearly: 3.1 What you want 3.2. Why you want it 3.3. What you want it for 3.4. When you want it 3.5. How they can help 3.6. How they will benefit (what will they gain) 3.7. H ow much will it cost (a breakdown of the budget) Remember to address letters or emails to a specific individual – otherwise it will almost certainly end up being binned. When constructing your proposal, remember: AA Do not under-cost. Ask for more than you need
AA Be creative AA Include all costs and allocate overhead costs if possible
AA Do not pull a number out of thin air AA Don’t forget to add VAT to any costs AA Describe what you intend to do with the money
AA Break down expenditure to help identify all costs
AA Cost each item using best estimates and obtain quotes
AA Decide whether this is a reasonable total AA Does your proposal offer value for money?
<Company name> is requested to fund <Club, Society or Project name> work Sponsorship 2015/16
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Proposition
Don’t cut corners and write a letter on cheap or non-headed paper – it makes you look amateur and a bit unprofessional. It is worth investing a little bit of money. Remember basic letter skills – get the addresses in the correct places and make sure the spelling and grammar are correct. Don’t have the Sponsorship Officer of your Club, Society or Project sign any proposal letters – always have the Chair or President do it; this gives more gravitas to the proposal. If you can get an endorsement from someone within the College this may also help give weight to your proposal.
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You shouldn’t just write to say “please can we have some money because we are good and we want to get better”. Remember, different levels of sponsorship can be offered to different companies – but make sure you are clear about the benefits to each potential sponsor, and be careful not to duplicate benefits if they cannot be duplicated. Plus, don’t forget that sponsorship doesn’t necessarily need to be financial – free equipment or supplies can be just as helpful to the running of your Club, Society or Project.
Negotiation Your initial reply may be yes or no. However you may not hear anything at all. In this case, you should chase up your proposal with a phone call to confirm the proposal has arrived, ask when it may be considered, and ask if any further information is required. However, be careful not to harass them. Be sure to keep track of your progress by keeping a record of all information sent out to each individual company. Some companies will reply saying no in a variety of ways, e.g. they are not able to support at this time as they do not have the budget or it does not fit with their criteria. Other companies may show an interest and get back with specific questions or say they will be considering your application at the next meeting.
Careers Events Hosting some form of careers event is a good way of securing sponsorship from a graduate recruiter. There are specific guidelines for hosting careers events though. However don’t host any if it doesn’t fit with the aims and objectives of your Club, Society or Project or is not what your members want. Events which Clubs, Societies & Projects are encouraged to organise.
Speakers/presentations from companies whose field falls within the remit of a Club, Society or Project, e.g. British Antarctic Survey speaking to the Exploration Society, Rio Tinto speaking to de la Beche Society (Geo Dep Soc). AA Visits to companies or locations, e.g. CivSoc visiting a construction site.
AA Alumni networking, e.g. inviting ex-members Don’t expect to hear back from the majority of the companies you contact. When you receive a positive reply, respond with a brief thank you. If they have turned you down, think about approaching the company on another occasion, perhaps during the next academic year or for a different type of event. Remember some companies may prefer to sponsor a more academically meaningful event rather than a ball or party.
who are now employed by companies to talk about their experiences.
AA Events included in a sponsorship package which include either presentations or skillsbased sessions specific to the members of the Club, Society or Project being sponsored. Events which Clubs, Societies & Projects are not encouraged to organise. AA Careers Fairs – If you do want to run one, even if it has departmental backing, you must liaise with the College Careers Service and the Union’s Student Activities Manager.
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Negotiation
Events which Clubs, Societies & Projects should not organise. AA E vents or presentations in conjunction
with 3rd party recruitment agencies, e.g. monster.co.uk, gradjobs.co.uk. AA Main company presentations which are targeted at all students, e.g. PWC or Deloitte doing their once-yearly presentation. These MUST be organised by the Careers Service. AA One-off presentations/talks where a company pays a Club, Society or Project to specifically book a room and organise catering outside of a wider sponsorship package. NB: All events must be organised entirely by a Club, Society or Project, i.e. all room bookings, liaison with the Union or College, finances and catering. It is
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NOT acceptable to book a room and then tell the company to organise their own catering through College or the Union. Once you have concluded the negotiations and you have a willing sponsor, you will need to draw up a contract. The Union has its own specifically designed sponsorship contract template that can use; this should make the whole process quicker and easier. It can be downloaded at imperialcollegeunion.org/ activities/ running-club/forms. Some companies may draw up their own contracts, this is fine however be sure to read the entire document carefully upon receipt and question anything you did not agree to.
Signing the contract & securing payment Before you sign any sponsorship contract, it must be approved by the Deputy President (Finance & Services). After your contract has been signed off by the relevant authorities, you can invoice the company for payment. Be prepared to chase companies for payment. You will need to create a sales invoice from the Union in order to get the money from the company, all the details are contained in the Money In training manual.
Keep in regular contact with your sponsors. Report back, let your sponsors know how everything is going and what their money has achieved for the Club, Society or Project. However if things go wrong be prepared to the return the money if the planned activity does not ahead.
Allow 30 days for the sponsor to pay the invoice. If the invoice is still outstanding after this time contact the sponsor and chase them for payment, if they havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t paid after 60 days make contact with the Union Finance Team to seek advice upon what to do next. Please note that chasing paying of any outstanding unpaid invoices attributable to Clubs, Societies or Projects older the 90 days since the issue date becomes the responsibility of the Union centrally. The Union will charge a fee of 10% of the invoice value once payment of the invoice has been secured, to cover the staffing costs of doing this. A consultation period for up to 90 days exists where Clubs, Societies & Projects are more than welcome to seek advice and help from the Union about securing payment of the invoice.
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Summary and contacts Important Notes AA Do not start your email “Dear Sir/Madam”; this is the fast route to the recycling bin. AA Do not assume they know who you are, explain in explicit commercial terms who you are, and AA AA AA AA AA AA
what the potential benefits are for them. Make sure the contract states clearly whether the fee includes or excludes VAT. Do not promise what you cannot deliver. Be to the point and concise – make the proposal easy to scan. Plan ahead, give them at least two months to consider the proposal. Try to stand out from others in terms of professionalism; you will be competing other causes. Be persistent and don’t give up until you get a definite no.
Help and assistance You may need some help with what is discussed in this training manual Please see the Key Contacts for Volunteers for staff and officers from the Student Activities and Finance Teams, or the Deputy President (Finance & Services) who will be able to offer advice and support.
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Imperial College Union Beit Quadrangle Prince Consort Road London SW7 2BB Registered Charity No: 1151241
Tel: 020 7594 8060 Fax: 020 7594 8065 Email: union@imperial.ac.uk Twitter: @icunion imperialcollegeunion.org
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