Here you'll find all of the information you need for securing and processing sponsorships as a Student Group.

SPONSORSHIP CONTRACT TEMPLATE

SPONSORSHIP SUBMISSION PORTAL

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

 

1 - Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS)

  • Under UK law, Student Groups must register certain activities funded by a foreign government or foreign entity. If your group receives funding or support from a foreign entity, you must declare this when submitting your sponsorship form. Most general student activities are exempt, but it's important to check and let us know. See more guidance on FIRS for LSESU Student Groups here, or contact su.societies@lse.ac.uk.

 

2 - Student Group x Employer Events

  • It's referenced in our Sponsorship Contract Template, but it's a key point to bear in mind, so to further highlight it here, Student Group x Employer events that are agreed as part of a sponsorship contract must not solely be promotional (of the Employer), or hosted for the purpose of recruitment only. Events of this kind must more widely incorporate skills-development, education about a particular sector/issue alongside, and/or general networking into the agenda. These events must be a true collaboration between Student Group and Employer – not just something organised on behalf of the external organisation. Furthermore, on-campus Careers Fairs can only be arranged through LSE Careers (careers.employers@lse.ac.uk).
     
  • The reason for this being the case is that LSE's Room Bookings Policy requires Employer Events which are solely promotional to be organised via LSE Careers only. In order for Society events of this kind to be approved, therefore, the criteria above will need to be met and made clear on your Event Form(s).
     
  • For more details on how LSESU Societies can work with LSE Careers, please see here.

 

3 - Events Involving External Organisations

  • In a similar vein to the above, Society events involving external organisations must clearly be led and fully organised by the Society itself (to the benefit of LSE students), and not be something that's organised on behalf of the external organisation. The reason being that LSE's Room Bookings Policy only permits Societies to host events in LSE spaces for free if this is the case. If your proposed event is not deemed to meet this criteria, it won't be possible for us to approve it, unless the external organisation books the space themselves via LSE's Events Team.

GENERAL GUIDANCE

 

STEP 1 - Planning Your Sponsorship Package

A Sponsorship Pack can be given to companies to include more information about your club/societies and what you want from the deal. Having a professional-looking offer and visual takeaway for the sponsor can sometimes be the difference between closing a pitch or losing the company so get prepared. Before you begin producing your sponsorship package, make sure to do the following:

 

1.  Check if your society already has a sponsorship pack from previous years before making your own from scratch.

  • It can be a lengthy process to make one from scratch so do make sure to check any google drive folders or links passed on to you from the former committee, particularly in the Handover document. If it’s not included in any handover documents, it might still be worth contacting members of the former committee to ask.
  • If you are a new society, you can reach out to the SU Societies team for guidance and advice on a draft or even ask friends from other society committees if they would be happy to share a template of their society’s sponsorship pack.

 

2.  Consider expanding your list of potential sponsors.

  • Many societies within the LSESU have a rich legacy of sponsorship, with the list of sponsors remaining similar year on year. However, if you are hoping to put together a more expansive events programme with a large event such as a ball, dinner or large networking event, it may be worth expanding your list of potential sponsors.
  • Securing new sponsors beyond companies who have already sponsored the society in the past is a major achievement for any committee as it often involves more extensive preparation and pitching.

 

3.  Set an internal deadline within your committee to get your sponsorship package created/updated and sent out – the earlier the better!

  • Some organizations might include a deadline for university sponsors to submit sponsorship applications on their website, but if you are still in the process of preparing your sponsorship package it may be worth emailing them in advance to ask for a deadline by which they would need to hear from university societies requesting sponsorship.
  • This is because many corporate firms especially will have internal deadlines around August and early July to finalise who they will sponsor in the upcoming year, which society leaders sometimes miss as it is only the first few weeks of the role.

 

STEP 2 - Producing Your Sponsorship Package

When putting together your sponsorship package, make sure to include the following: 

 

1.  What your Club/Society is about and what you do.

  • In this introductory section to your sponsorship pack, it is good to include mention of past achievements using detailed figures. Figures might include membership numbers over the years (which you can request by emailing the SU Societies team at su.societies@lse.ac.uk) as well as some key events from the years prior and rough figures of attendees the society has historically achieved for larger events.

 

2.  What the company would gain from sponsorship of your Club/Society.

  • This is important to include particularly when approaching new employer sponsors who have previously not had a connection with your student society. Often times, the incentive for employer sponsors might include publicity and reaching a specific audience to market their opportunities etc.

 

3.  What would you like from the company.

  • Specify what exactly you’d like from the company – would you like them to deliver a skills workshop, provide space for an event, or do you need money/catering for an event? You can also ask for funds for new hoodies for the year, etc.
  • If you are asking for money, how much will it cost the company? - don’t be unrealistic, expect to have to negotiate. Allowing companies more flexibility with how much they can contribute is often more likely to ensure you will be sponsored by them. Make sure you know what other clubs/societies similar to you have secured to give you an idea of what you are worth as a Club/Society.
  • Sponsorship packages typically include multiple tiers which companies can pick from. For instance, there will typically be a page within the booklet with a table of Bronze, Silver and Gold options at progressively higher costs. The higher the tier, the more benefits for the company – this is typically in relation to a specific number of social media posts about a company’s opportunities but can also be related to other benefits such as displaying sponsor logos during flagship events. Always ensure that any benefits you are promising the company are in line with the policies outlined in the standard SU sponsorship template.

 

4.  Your contact details.

  • Make sure to remain logged in to your society email so that you don’t miss any important communication from potential sponsors. Often times, companies have internal deadlines as to when they plan out all their sponsorship expenditure for the upcoming academic year so it’s important to respond in a timely manner if they need any details from you.

 

STEP 3 - Negotiating Your Sponsorship Contract
  • If a company has agreed to sponsor you, the next step is to draw up the actual agreement between yourselves (the Club/Society) and the sponsor. This agreement will consist of everything you'll receive from them (e.g. Money, Resources), and everything you'll be providing them in return (e.g. Marketing).
  • To help you with this, we have a sponsorship contract template that you can use as the basis of your agreement - just add in the relevant details, and revise things based on the specifics of your situation.
  • Once you've drawn the contract up, and agreed its terms with the sponsor, please ask them to sign and date it at the bottom, but do not sign it yourself!
  • In order for us to approve and issue an invoice for the sponsorship, we (the Students' Union) will need to sign the contract on your behalf. Contracts not signed by us won't be valid, and will cause delays in us being able to process them, so please bear this in mind.

 

STEP 4 - Submitting Your Contract for Review
  • Once you've completed all of the steps above, and have the contract signed by the sponsor, please submit it for review/signature via our sponsorship submission portal.
  • Once received, we'll aim to get back to you with a countersigned copy (or actions/feedback to be addressed) within 5 working days (Monday-Friday).
  • When you get the final completed copy, it is then your responsibility to share this with the sponsor.

 

STEP 5 - Invoicing the Sponsor and Receiving the Money
  • Once we've approved and signed your sponsorship contract, the SU's Finance Team will then raise an invoice and send it to your sponsor within 5 working days, using the details you put on your submission form.
  • When the money comes through to us from the sponsor, it will be transferred into your Club/Society account internally, and therefore reflected on your account balance.
  • The generic payment period is 30 days, so please wait until that's up before flagging non-payments! Our Finance team will chase up unpaid invoices once a term, but outside of that you're welcome to check the payment status with the sponsor yourselves if the money hasn't come through.
NOTE - All sponsorship agreements relating to Student Groups must be carried out in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as per the rules and regulations for this linked below:

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)

 

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