Sponsorship

This page will outline how your group can acquire sponsorship, and the rules and regulations that govern sponsorship for student groups.

Identifying Sponsorship

Your student group is your brand and you have to understand which companies may want to work with you. Identify companies/brands that have the same values/objectives as you or national bodies that are linked to your group.

You can search for sponsors at careers’ fairs, research online, create a sponsorship pack and send it out, and/or use your own contacts.

Some people you may want to consider contacting:

• Bars/pubs that you could possibly include in pub crawls for Freshers. Could you commit to having several committee socials there across the year on top of the overall sponsorship package?

• Restaurants, as above.

• Graduate recruiters

• Personal contacts.

You must get a signed sponsorship agreement and ask YUSU Finance to create an invoice for the company to pay you. Do not accept cash as sponsorship. If you would like more information on how to create a sponsorship agreement, see the template below and if you have further questions please email marketing@yusu.org.

Prohibited Sponsors

There are a few companies that you cannot enter into a Sponsorship Agreement with due to YUSU’s own sponsorship deals which are already in place. As a YUSU member you benefit from these deals, so we can’t allow you to compete with them. Here’s the list:

• Taxi Companies (YUSU is sponsored by Streamline)

• Insurance Companies (YUSU is sponsored by Endsleigh)

• Bus Companies (YUSU is sponsored by First)

• Club nights that conflict with YUSU official nights

• Gyms (YUSU is sponsored by York Sport)

• Deliveroo/JustEat (Our sponsorship agreement with Dominoes prevents this).

Creating a Sponsorship Pack

A Sponsorship Pack can be given to companies to include more information about your Student Group and what you want from the deal.

To make your group stand out, create a sponsorship pack where you can be represented in a professional, highly branded manner to the wider community.

There is a rough guideline below:

1. Who you are and what your group is about; what you do and what makes you unique (include detailed figures)

   • This can highlight sponsorship opportunities for events

   • Outlines why they should pick you over another group

2. What the company would gain from sponsorship of your Group (publicity, reaching to a student audience etc.)

3. How much you are expecting from the company (workshops, space, commitment)

   • This doesn’t have to just be a financial transaction

4. How much will this cost the company - don’t be unrealistic, expect to barter (explain where the money will go)

5. Your contact details (@yusu.org email address).

Here are some other tips:

• Keep it concise, short and snappy while also containing the key information.

• Make sure it looks presentable, use your student group branding and logo and use a cover page if you feel it is appropriate

• Use facts and stats. How many members are in your group? Is there a specific department that students are predominantly a part of? How many events do you put on a yea? Do you sell a lot of merchandise?

• Push your successes; what have you done previously that has gone really well or reached wide audiences? Have you had any press coverage?

• Be open to negotiation and discussions with potential partners

• Emphasise your social media channels; they are becoming increasingly important to companies- can you make use of these as part of your deal?

Marketing Team - marketing@yusu.org

YUSU Finance Team - finance@yusu.org

Jasmine Pledger, Student Citizenship and Employability Development Coordinator - j.pledger@yusu.org