Sponsorships support community endeavors, educational opportunities, and people striving to improve their lives. The Idaho Shakespeare Festival has had the same bank-partner sponsorship of its performances for 23 years. Fun runs for causes receive sponsorships from businesses too. Some businesses provide media coverage. Others provide monies. Still others provide in-kind goods or food items for event participants.
Sponsorships in education include endowing a chair for a professor to teach at a university, scholarships for students, and dedicated classroom or building spaces. Educational sponsorships, K-12 and at college levels, benefit our present and future generations of workers, parents, and citizens. Scholarships help students from many backgrounds study in diverse fields, bringing greater knowledge and skills into the workplace.
Camps for adults and youth often look for sponsorships in the form of scholarships (money) for campers to attend for a week, a month, or a summer. Camps often depend on donations to survive. Think: music camps, outdoor camps, art camps, horse camps, and other themed camp experiences. Sponsored scholarships are a great way to know that your money is ensuring attendance for a camper.
Non-profit organizations recruit sponsorships as well as providing occasional sponsorships. Consider the United Way, which is a non-profit and provides funds to others. Also consider the Y in your community – it is a non-profit that often sponsors camps, fun runs, and events for kids through its financial support as well as the sponsorship from other entities.
Sponsorships can occur annually or on an event-by-event basis. Determine which events and organizations are most aligned to your mission in order to determine which sponsorships make the most sense for your contributions. Remember that sponsorships can be in the forms of money, employees-as-volunteers, items that the event/organization needs.
What might your organization sponsor? Sponsorships are a win for the community and for the organization being recognized as a community contributor!
Workplace: Managing the moments of our day-to-day business lives takes work. Together, let’s explore what issues and activities affect us every day (or some days) that we go to work. – Jana