C&BS Fund

C&BS Fund > Securing Sponsors

Securing Sponsors

We make investments for sponsorships where funds, goods or services are provided by the business organisation in exchange for certain rights or benefits provided by the culture organisation that may be used for competitive advantage.

Our investments are made to enable the culture organisation to provide the business organisation with additional rights or benefits relating to a separate project or aspect of their work, helping to enhance the impact and reach of the partnership.

While many culture and business sector partners show clear overlaps in interest or ambition, others display less obvious connections… but still deliver outstanding results. In culture and business, as in life, sometimes the most unlikely unions can turn into the greatest partnerships!

The following tips are drawn from our training courses on business sponsorship.

Be clear about your identity, your values and your audience

Businesses are interested in sponsoring culture organisations – and projects or activities – with values that match or enhance their own. Make these critical areas of mutual interest clear in your approach to a prospective business sponsor. In your application for a C&BS Fund investment, this will help to demonstrate the strength of your proposed partnership.

Deliver compelling benefits for your business sponsor

Ensure that your business sponsor will receive a range of clearly defined benefits that reflect the value of their sponsorship and provide a worthwhile return on their money. Reasons for business organisations to sponsor culture projects and activities include:

Brand Awareness
B2B Networking
Client Entertainment
Company Perception
Content Creation
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Customer Engagement
Data Collection
Employee Engagement
Employee Recruitment
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
Positive PR
Product / Service Showcasing
Sales Marketing

Draw up a sponsorship package

Agree the scope of benefits you can offer your business sponsor in return for their investment and draw up a sponsorship package, reflecting the benefits that they are most interested in. For example, your sponsorship package might include:

Collaborative opportunities
Credits on publicity material
Acknowledgement of their support in a programme or catalogue
Introductions and verbal acknowledgements at events or launches
Free advertising space in programmes or catalogues
Complimentary tickets, priority bookings and private views or performances
Use of hospitality facilities
‘Meet the artist’ opportunities
Display space
Merchandise or corporate gifts
Product sampling
Media coverage
Website links

Be cost-effective

Ensure that the benefits you offer to your business sponsor cost less to provide than the income you receive, and remember to build in the cost of servicing and evaluation your sponsorship.

Do you want to deepen your knowledge and take your corporate fundraising to the next level?

Delivered over two sessions, this training course will equip you with critical skills for sponsorship, including effective prospecting, aligning your pitch and delivering a partnership ready for renewal.

Session 1: Thursday 6 June 2024 | 9.30am-12.30pm
Session 2: Thursday 13 June 2024 | 9.30am-12.30pm

Find out more

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As the cultural landscape evolves and new opportunities continue to unfold, Culture & Business Scotland is in a unique position to help relationships between the culture and business sectors to thrive.

Jane Morrison-Ross | Chair, Culture & Business Scotland

The quarterly Members’ Bulletin from C&BS is a great round up of what’s happening in arts and heritage in Scotland.

Aberdeen Performing Arts

The quarterly Members’ Bulletin from C&BS is a great round up of what’s happening in arts and heritage in Scotland.

Aberdeen Performing Arts

We have been long standing members of Culture & Business Scotland and have benefited from the support and opportunities that the membership provides especially the training opportunities – great course content and value for money.

Claire Moran | Cryptic

Members of our team have learned a lot from the training on offer. As a national charity, the networking opportunities we can access through Culture and Business Scotland are important to us. Overall, the benefits of being a member make it a good investment.

Rebecca Smith | National Youth Choir of Scotland

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