Sponsorship can be an important source of income for Clubs, Societies & Projects. These training pages look 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.
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Sponsorship can provide your group with resources, opportunities, and support to enhance your activities.
Imperial College Union Student Groups have achieved sector-leading success in attracting sponsorship funding and many ICU Groups boast a strong tradition of sponsorship support, enjoying long-standing relationships and retaining the same partners year on year.
Securing Sponsorship opportunities and developing partnerships can be an effective way to boost your income and cover costs such as equipment, facilities or events throughout the year. A sponsorship should be thought of as a business partnership and requires a different approach to seeking donations or fundraising. It requires perseverance and consistent and open communication with potential sponsors. It should not be thought of as a one-off act to secure funding but a long-term partnership that will benefit the club for now and the future.
Sponsorship can come in many forms and isn’t solely financial. The two models of sponsorship are cash vs contra – cash being the obvious one, with contra or ‘in-kind’ sponsorship being an exchange of goods or services. For example, the Badminton club may seek free or discounted court hire from a local sports center, or Choir may seek free or discounted venue hire for a concert or rehearsals. Many clubs receive contra sponsorship in the form of hospitality, e.g. free food or drink for an event or activity. The difference is essentially boosting your income (cash) vs reducing your expenditure (contra/in-kind).
These articles look at how to go about securing sponsorship for your Group and the Union’s framework for how that funding must be administered.
Important Things to Note:
- You cannot sign a Sponsorship Contract yourself - only designated staff and Officer Trustees of Imperial College Union are authorised to enter into contracts or agreements on behalf of the Union.
- ICU will only accept requests that are submitted using our Sponsorship Agreement Form.
- VAT is only applicable to companies based within the EU (if outside the EU, please PUT £0 in the VAT line on the form)
- You cannot give companies access to mailing lists or share any personal data with them. You can send out emails on their behalf instead.
- You cannot share CVs or applications with companies, unless you have written permission from each individual allowing their data to be shared with third parties.
