Sponsorship

Alongside grant funding, clubs and societies can also seek alternative funding opportunities such as external sponsorship. 

Clubs and societies can also apply for sponsorship from external organisations. External organisations may choose to provide your group with funding which you can spend on your activities. Some sponsors may alternatively provide goods or services, such as equipment.

If a company chooses to provide your group with sponsorship, they will usually ask for some form of acknowledgement such as their logo on your merchandise.

Sponsorship agreements must be outlined in a contract, signed by the external organisation and the Union. You must not sign contracts on behalf of your group as it will hold you personally liable for the contracted conditions.

Before approaching a sponsor, you need to make sure that they meet the Union guidelines below. Please make sure to expand all sections below and read through them carefully. 

What is a Sponsorship Agreement?

A sponsorship agreement (or contract) governs the legal relationship between a sponsor and those entitled to enforce the sponsorship obligation. It has a number of terms and conditions agreeing a service (or services) in return for a fee. Remember - do not sign a contract yourself.

Typical issues that arise under a Sponsorship Agreement are:

• The definition of benefits to the sponsor.
• Any payments due under the contract.
• The circumstances in which trademarks/logos of the sponsor should be used/displayed.
• The rights of each party, including termination clauses.

Club and society presidents and treasurers are responsible for working with sponsors to draw up this agreement. To help you get started, we have created a Sponsorship Agreement Template that you can use. We have set out the full process for arranging sponsorship on this page. 

Prohibited Sponsors

There should be no conflict between our Students' Union UCL policies and any potential sponsor. All our policies can be found here.

Some companies which may not be approved due to our belief in inclusive clubs/societies are, but not limited to:

• Arms manufacturers.
• Tobacco manufacturers.
• Alcoholic beverage manufacturers.
• Gambling or betting agencies.
• Fossil fuel companies.
• Any sponsor which may restrict persons of certain groups from joining your club/society.

We also cannot approve sponsors which compete with a service which Students' Union UCL itself provides. This includes:

• Local cafes
• Local bars
• Local gyms

This is because money made from our services is used to fund your activities. Please note that restaurants, takeaways and late-night clubbing venues are not prohibited, and any cafes, bars or gyms outside of a reasonable distance from campus may also be approved.

Finally, sponsorship contracts must only last for the year during which your committee are in office. This is because it is unfair on your successors to bind your club/society into longer-term agreements.

• If you envisage a longer-term agreement, then we would advise having a clause in your contract allowing that company first refusal on other sponsorship, or a clause whereby the club/society will re-approach them next year.

How to create a Sponsorship Agreement

1. Consider who might want to sponsor your club/society. Make sure you are giving yourself ample time to negotiate a contract ahead of your activities and get the contracts signed off so that you get the funds in time. Check that your potential sponsor would not be one of the prohibited sponsors detailed above.
2. Approach your sponsors! We suggest you have some kind of formal proposal document or sponsorship pack to hand over to any potential partners.
3. If the sponsors agree, begin drawing up a proposal. Remember only to offer that which is actually in your remit, and NEVER sign a contract yourself.
   1. If you sign a contract yourself it makes you personally liable to for the terms of the contract and must pay any damages if something goes wrong.
   2. You must always have the contract signed by a Union representative to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
4. When both you and your sponsor agree on terms, you should draw up a contract (using our Sponsorship Agreement template) and ask your sponsor to sign and return the contract. When this is completed, please submit through our Club and Society Contract Webform to have your contract checked and signed by the Activities and Engagement Officer.
   1. You must ensure that your contract is submitted at least 10 working days in advance of when it is required to be completed by.
5. Once your contract is signed, you can invoice the company (where applicable) for the sponsorship fee. You should use our Sales Invoice Request Webform for this purpose (also see 'Income' section below).
   1. All Invoices are raised by our Activities Finance team, and cannot be issued by clubs/societies.
   2. Once this form is submitted, your sales invoice will be sent to the company and the money will be paid into your account.
6. Don’t forget to honour your end of the agreement and provide the necessary acknowledgement for your sponsors.