What to Include in your Ethical Sponsorship Policy?

Having an ethical sponsorship policy helps your membership organisation to maintain integrity, transparency, and fairness in all its sponsorship activities.

Its key that everyone in your membership organisation is following the same set of guidelines and principles when developing third party relationships.

This way you will ensure that your sponsorships and partnerships are consistent, ethical and aligned to your organisations standards and values.

Here are some key elements to consider when drafting your ethical sponsorship policy:

1. Alignment with Values:

The policy should ensure that potential sponsors align with your membership organisation's mission, vision, and values. It should avoid partnerships with sponsors whose practices or products contradict your organisation's principles.

2. Avoiding Conflicts of Interest:

The policy should address potential conflicts of interest to ensure that sponsors do not exert undue influence on decision-making processes or undermine your organisation's objectivity.

3. Transparency and Disclosure:

The policy should emphasize transparency in sponsorship relationships, clearly disclosing any financial or material arrangements between the organisation and its sponsors.

4. Respectful Representation:

The policy should outline guidelines for representing sponsors in a manner that respects the organisation's brand integrity and reputation, ensuring that sponsorships do not compromise the organization's identity or values.

5. Ethical Marketing Practices:

The policy should encourage ethical marketing practices, preventing any false or misleading advertising associated with sponsors' products or services, including greenwashing.

6. Social and Environmental Responsibility:

The policy should include criteria to evaluate sponsors' social and environmental practices, encouraging partnerships with companies that can evidence sustainable credentials and demonstrate responsible behavior.

7. Non-Endorsement:

The policy should specify that sponsorships do not equate to an endorsement of the sponsor's products, services, or practices by your membership organisation.

8. Non-Influence on Programming:

The policy should ensure that sponsors do not have influence over your organisation or the activity, or results of the activity that they are sponsoring. This is especially relevant to research, content, awards or decision-making processes.

9. Regular Review:

An ethical sponsorship policy should be regularly reviewed and updated to adapt to changing ethical standards and the organization's values, ESG principles and standards,

By adhering to an ethical sponsorship policy, your membership organisation will foster positive partnerships with sponsors and commercial partners that reflect your mission, values and strategy while upholding the sponsors own commitment.

Does your membership organisation need help establishing your organisations sponsorship policy and criteria?

Would you like to discuss what to include and not to include in your ethical sponsorship policy?

Get In Touch