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About Mona Schwarzkopf:
Through her experience in sales, sports management, marketing and sponsoring (including at Holstein Kiel), she covers a broad spectrum of knowledge and experience. During her time with the international company hummel sport & leisure, she managed clubs in the handball and football sectors from the 1st Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga. In her professional career, she has worked with Handball-Bundesliga GmbH, among others, and has jointly equipped or organised the major tournaments REWE FINAL4, ALL STAR GAME and PIXUM SUPER CUP, including the opening ceremony. It looks after football clubs and handball clubs from the Bundesliga and top athletes from various sports.
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Club sponsoring - how associations receive financial and material support
From a financial point of view, sponsoring is indispensable for associations, usually even vital for their survival. After all, it is hardly possible to make major or regular minor investments solely through membership fees. Club sponsoring is therefore an integral part of club life. But what exactly does this form of sponsoring involve and what distinguishes it? We show you together with expert Mona Schwarzkopf.
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What is considered sponsorship?
Sponsorship is defined as all financial and in-kind contributions as well as services provided by a sponsor. In return for these services, the sponsor receives an agreed service from the association or the sponsored person.
Sponsorship via one or more sponsors is possible for:
- Groups of people
- Institutions
- Individuals
- Organisations
- Events
Usually, sponsorship is regulated by a sponsorship contract.
Why should clubs get sponsored?
There are many reasons for clubs to sponsor. Expert Mona gives the most important tips:
- Often teams have to pay for their jerseys or equipment themselves. A sponsor can relieve the burden on the members by providing equipment, jerseys or financial resources. This makes the club more attractive for new members.
- Through sponsorship, clubs can create a positive image and thus increase their reach and attract new members.
- Sponsorship enables clubs to better support all departments and teams and, for example, not to invest a large part of the budget "only" in the first team.
- Sponsors offer clubs the opportunity to better promote young talent.
- In principle, club sponsorship creates greater financial leeway. This makes it easier for clubs to make larger purchases. This includes, for example, the construction of new grass pitches in football clubs.
Is sponsorship in grassroots sport worthwhile at all?
Club sponsoring is always worthwhile, regardless of whether it is a large or small club. After all, there is always a need for sportswear, equipment or support for training camps, maintenance of the premises etc.
Rather, it is a question of whether there are enough people in the club who are dedicated to the topic of sports sponsorship and want to invest time in finding and maintaining sponsors. It is therefore important that clubs recognise the potential of club sponsorship and really commit to it.
At big clubs, it is clear to everyone that big sponsors are important to secure the club's finances and to buy new players, for example. However, there is often a lack of awareness in the amateur sector of what can be achieved with sponsorship.
Unfortunately, it is still the case that it is easier to find sponsors for certain sports. It is therefore more challenging for clubs to find sponsors if it is a niche sport.
The sponsoring concept should then be taken into account all the more. This is because clubs can present themselves with all their advantages and appeal directly to the emotions of potential sponsors. It is also advantageous if clubs can achieve a large reach in social media or regionally, even if they are small or serve a marginal sport. Because this reach can be an important argument for sponsors to make a commitment.
How club sponsorship works
Club sponsoring, like sponsoring in general, is actually not as complicated as some people might think.
The principle is always the same: a sponsor receives something in return from his partner in the form of money, goods or services. This can be, for example, advertising rights or the placement of their advertising material.
The only important thing is that a sponsorship contract creates binding clarity for both parties with regard to services, rights, obligations and terms.
How do I start sponsoring in the association?
Sponsorship is best approached in a structured way. To do this, you should first appoint a person or team responsible for sponsorship.
In the second step, you make a kind of "inventory" of the association. In this way, you can list which areas you can market through sponsorship. It is also important to consult with individual departments or teams. For example, you can ask which equipment or sportswear is most needed.
In the second step, you make a kind of "inventory" of the association. In this way, you can list which areas you can market through sponsorship. It is also important to consult with individual departments or teams. For example, you can ask which equipment or sportswear is most needed.
The next step is to think about the image your association wants to convey. Which aspects are important to you? Do you also want to be politically active or remain neutral? These points are relevant for the presentation in a sponsor folder.
Then, based on your inventory and needs, create different sponsorship packages that appeal to different financially strong sponsors. This will increase your chances of attracting multiple sponsors.
Who is responsible for sponsorship in an association?
There are no exact guidelines as to who should take over sponsorship in your club. It is only important that you clarify exactly who bears what responsibility and what the individual tasks are.
An individual can be responsible. In many associations, however, a team has proven its worth. This is comparable to a marketing team in a company. Here, everyone can contribute with their strengths. One person may be better at calling potential sponsors, while another team member is strong in structuring and prioritising tasks. In any case, always consult with each other. No one should just jump the gun. This can look unprofessional to sponsors and cause them to decline.
What sponsorship opportunities do clubs have?
Associations can be supported in many different ways by one or more sponsors. Here are a few examples:
- Support for the clubhouse: Are there any necessary purchases here or do new areas need to be built on? Is the building in need of renovation?
- Support for the training ground: Does the training ground need a new pitch? Does a new grass pitch need to be created?
- Sportswear: Are jerseys, tracksuits, jackets or shoes needed
- Perimeter boards: Are advertising boards available for sponsors?
- Equipment: Do we need to purchase training equipment? Have trainers expressed a need for hats, new balls, shirts, etc.?
- Events: Is there still money missing for the organisation of events such as club parties, tournaments, tournament trips, training camps?
16 practical sponsorship ideas for clubs
You need inspiration to make offers for sponsors? Then Mona has some very practical sponsorship ideas that will go down well:
As you can see, there are many different ways to acquire sponsorship or in-kind support for your association. Always remember: however small the support, it all helps you to move your association forward and to run it in an economically sound manner.
- Matchday presenter
- End of season
- Top scorer
- Association celebration
- Anniversaries
- Result presenter
- Starting grid
- Ball partner
- Jersey partner
- Tournaments
- Mobility partner
- Partner for medical care
- Greenkeeper
- Team trips
- Preparation camp
- Sponsor evenings
Sponsorship and costs - an overview
It is difficult at this point to talk about the costs of sponsorship in general. Above all, it is important that clubs and sponsors calculate the costs precisely. As a sponsor, I have to make sure that I can afford the financial support. In return, clubs have to calculate exactly what they need.
For maximum transparency, it is important that sponsors know how clubs calculate costs. For example, in the case of perimeter advertising, the average number of visitors to matches and the printing and production costs should be specified. It is also important for clubs to calculate the costs of in-kind sponsorship accurately so that they do not end up paying for it themselves. For example, it would be inadmissible to inform a sponsor afterwards that the perimeter advertising is more expensive than stated in the sponsorship contract.
Conclusion: Club sponsoring - it pays off even for small clubs
Sponsorship offers real added value to clubs of all sizes. It does not matter whether it is financial support, benefits in kind or services that a sponsor provides. Every euro that does not have to be used from membership fees thanks to sponsorship helps. We therefore keep our fingers crossed for a successful search for sponsors!
