What we hope to achieve
Lands Village Hall Trust is a registered charity that supports a small but vibrant local community in Teesdale. The Trust closed the hall for a short time before 2020 because of a lack of investment. However, the new team of Trustees completed a plan to raise funds and support the work on the hall. Now, it has reopened. We now have a Trustees team with a programme to reopen the venue. In summary, our goal is to make the hall the heart of the local community again; and to help us reach that aim, we offer sponsorship opportunities.
To achieve our goals, we need to develop income for the hall. Therefore, we offer inviting options to local firms and other national bodies of all shapes and sizes.
You can find out more about funding our work on our how to donate page. This page explains the various sponsorship types, offers a real-world example of how it can benefit both parties and gives an examle of how packages might work.
Types of sponsorship
We deal with three types of sponsorship, in particular:
- cash sponsors;
- in-kind sponsors; and,
- promotional partners.
We do not design media event packages, on the other hand.
Cash sponsors
Monetary sponsorship offers cash support for a package in exchange for publicity or other agreed benefits. This type is the most common of our offers, letting us to split up a package into discrete parts.
Sometimes, we will have a primary sponsor plus one or more second tier sponsors for distinct minor packages within an event. Although, the primary sponsor may decide to offer to cover all the deals under their contract.
In-kind partners
Rather than giving cash for benefits, an in-kind sponsor trades goods or services for a package. The offer must be specific to the deal, for example, a buffet lunch for an event, the prizes for a raffle, or printing a newsletter.
This type is usually brand-specific and aligned closely with the firm’s line of work. For example, a well-known chocolate firm would sponsor the easter egg prizes but is unlikely to support an apple crumble contest. Although, in-kind support can act as an inlet for a brand that wants to offer a service.
Promotional partners
Promotional sponsors help by using their existing media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and others, to promote an asset. This way, the supporter gains a connection with the sponsored event, while the property vastly multiplies its audience reach. This form of support usually has a cash price attached to it also.
Case study
London Underground launched its Busking Scheme in 2005, and overnight, it became a huge success. The scheme expanded within a year of its launch, and metro systems worldwide descended on London to find out how to reproduce its success for themselves.
In May 2005, Carling sponsored the project. As part of the sponsorship package Carling “rebranded” the Busking Scheme and gave its pitches a new look.
Carling sponsored the scheme for two years. Their contract ended in 2006. Carling spent millions of pounds buying the rights and investing in building awareness. There have been numerous other sponsors of the scheme since Carling. But people still refer to the scheme as the “Carling Busking Scheme” years after their deal ended.
The power of sponsorship as a business tool can be incredible. Carling benefited from an ROI many times over. Most importantly, they continue to do so even though they have not paid for these benefits for years!
How we work
Sponsorship opportunity
A sponsorship opportunity is anything offering one or more assets with value to sponsors. When considering a property: the Trust weighs up what it offers as assets and assesses how an opportunity might work.
Sponsorship asset
A sponsorship asset is each discrete part of an opportunity available to potential sponsors. Any property can have many underlying assets and packages associated with it. Each package offers options of different values. We hope to attract a diverse range of sponsors with this approach.
Sponsorship package
The Trust thinks about each asset on its own merits and offers a package around it. The sponsorship package consists of the property and some options that the sponsor can use. Usually, options are advertising or promotional chances that raise awareness of the sponsor, options to take part in the event or to have a role in the online hype.
These options are usually flexible and can change by consent. We give sponsors scope to propose their preferred promotions. Although the Trust has the right to refuse a request, we are open to sponsors’ ideas.
Occasionally, we combine packages to form a larger or more attractive option. If this would work better for them, a potential sponsor might suggest merging packages.
Generally, we sell sponsorship on a first-come-first-served basis. The exception to this might be the primary asset; it can often set the tone for the other assets.
In the following section, we discuss an example prospect. To avoid any doubt, we are not offering this example for sale. For options on offer, please refer to our existing list.
An example
For example, the Trust is putting on a Christmas Fayre. The event itself is the asset. Having thought about the fayre, the Trust feels it can offer the following to sponsors:
- overall sponsorship of the Christmas Fayre;
- the Pudding Competition;
- the Mince Pies give-away;
- promotion of Santa’s Grotto;
- the Christmas Hamper raffle; and,
- the Lucky Dip for children.
The Trust opts for offer a primary sponsor package and two secondary sponsor packages for the fayre. In addition it combines the Pudding Competition and Mince Pies into one package. We keep the other assets as discrete options for now. Later, a sponsor might want to merge some of these options into a larger group.
The Lucky Dip package allows the sponsor to decorate the lucky dip barrel and the stall and (depending on the sponsor) supply the prizes. In addition, all online promotions of the fayre mention the sponsor.
