Finances
Sponsorship
Clubs and Societies at Queen's are permitted to engage in sponsorship agreements with a variety of stakeholders. In essence, a sponsorship agreement represents a fair exchange between your Club / Society and another party, in which both groups receive some kind of mutual benefit.
Sponsorship could be financial (e.g. a local consultancy firm gives you £1,000 in exchange for the inclusion of their logo on your clothing), or it could 'in kind' (e.g. an office supplies company provides you with 200 free branded pens, and in exchange you distribute them at your next event).
Sponsorship agreements can be really valuable to Clubs and Societies and can provide you with useful additional resources. However, you should be very cautious when embarking on a sponsorship agreement and you should remain vigilant that the agreement is reasonable, fair, and clearly recorded. You should always inform the Clubs and Societies staff team if you're setting up a sponsorship agreement.
To help support you in organising sponsorship agreements, we have provided some guidelines and template agreement documents below. The documents can be amended as needed, as long as all parties sign-off on the final draft at the bottom of the document.
And remember - stay vigilant!
If you are contacted out of the blue by a company offering sponsorship (particularly if you're contacted online), please have a chat with the Clubs and Societies team about it before committing to anything or accepting any payment. Be especially vigilant if an offer seems 'too good to be true', or if they're insisting on access to your mailing list or social media followers. Remember that you have a responsibility to protect your members' personal data and cannot give this out to external companies.