Finance
Funding
Sponsorship
Why get Sponsorship?
Sponsorship is not only a great way to fund your group's activity, but also an opportunity for you to expand your own personal professional network and improve future career prospects.
- What do you want from your sponsorship deal? Sponsorship doesn't always have to be monetary, for example a food company may be able to provide refreshments for an event or an industry expert may be able to deliver skills workshops for your members.
- What can you offer you sponsor in return? Remember sponsorship is two-way relationship so you need to think about what you are going to offer your sponsor. Examples of this are displaying the sponsor's company logo on your group's banners, hoodies or social media pages. Alternatively, you may be able to promote their services via your society newsletter- make to never share your members' personal details with the sponsor (e.g. names, email address', phone numbers) and that any communication with your members is only via your own channels.
- Who is the right person to contact? Do your research! Don't just contact company employees on LinkedIn. Use the generic enquiry email address or phone number on the company's website and ask who the best person to talk to would be.
- Tailor your application to each company! Don't just copy and paste the exact same application, research each company and their strategy.
- Be honest about any other sponsorship deals your group currently has or have had in the past
- Include an overview of your group and make it personalised! This can include photographs from any successful events you've held, your society's social media engagement stats and member demographics.
- Follow up after a couple of weeks, if the answer is no, ask for some feedback on move onto another application
Successful Application? What to do next:
- Contract: Make sure you have a contract with your sponsor, detailing what you both agree to. Use the template below. Make sure to send you contract to activities@kclsu.org before signing for a member of the Activities team to check over. Once your contract has been checked over by the Activities team it will need to be signed by both a member of the committee and the sponsor. Make sure to keep a copy of your signed contract and send one to activities@kclsu.org also.
- Invoice: Once your contract is signed and sent to the Activities Team, you'll need to fill in the invoice request form below. Send the filled in invoice request form with the signed contract to finance@kclsu.org.
- Maintain the relationship: It is mportant that you do your best to maintain your agreement with a sponsor. The more proactive you are in working with your sponsor, the more likely they are to sponsor your activity group in the future. Honouring your commitment is vital to maintaining a lasting, positive relationship between your group and sponsor. Also, breaking a legal agreement with a company could potentially have serious consequences. As well as honouring your contract with your sponsor, here some additional things you could do to help maintain the relationship with a sponsor:
Send a thank you letter when the contract is signed, or when money or services are receive, send them pictures of events, ahare examples of their money, logos or donations in action and put together a report, including pictures and examples of how money was used, with a short description of why their sponsorship was so important to your group
How to increase your chances of getting sponsorships
We find that having your own custom email address can make your society appear more professional to potential sponsors, so we've put together a short guide to getting your own domain:
1. Purchase a Domain Name:
There are many domain name registrars to choose from, but the most popular ones are, Namecheap, Hover and iwantmyname. An example of what your custom email will look like: YourName@DomainName.com. You can choose other top-level domains such as .org, .net etc. Domains can cost as little as £5 per year.
2. Choose an Email Hosting Provider:
The next step is choosing your Email Hosting Provider. This is the service that will host your domain and there are many to choose from such as Google, Office 365 Business Essentials, Zoho Mail, FastMail, ProtonMail, Pobox and Rackspace Email. When selecting an email hosting service, consider the best email management solutions, storage capacity, technical support and, of course, an affordable price. The process of creating a custom email address is more or less the same for all providers and you can find a step-to-step guide on how to do so with a few providers here.
You are now set up with your own custom email address!
Here are some useful sponsorship templates:
Development Funding is available to all KCLSU Activity Groups and Societies. The funds can be used for groups to carry out normal core activities, new projects or KCLSU Events (i.e. Welcome, One World, etc.).
Please note: Student Activity Groups and Societies are able to apply for funding for all of the above. Sports Clubs and Liberation Networks are able to apply for funding for KCLSU Events (i.e Welcome, One World, etc.).
Development Fund 2022-2023 Application Dates:
- Window 1: open until 19th August at midday (Core & New Initiatives funding for STUDENT ACTIVITY GROUPS ONLY, Welcome funding for student activity groups, sports clubs & networks)
- Window 2: 12th October at midday - 4th November at midday (Core & New Initiatives funding for STUDENT ACTIVITY GROUPS ONLY)
- Window 3:15th December at midday - 13th January at midday (Core & New Initiatives funding for STUDENT ACTIVITY GROUPS ONLY, Student Volunteering Week funding for student activity groups, sports clubs & networks)
- Window 4:10th March at midday - 21st April at midday (Core & New Initiatives funding for STUDENT ACTIVITY GROUPS ONLY)
The Accessibility Fund - Open all year round!
This year an extra pot of funding has been made available to make student group events more accessible and inclusive. The money can be used on items including
- Funding interpreters for events
- Booking accessible venues with gender-neutral facilities
- Additional materials in different formats
Please ensure that your application details the exact items you require and explains the impact that this funding will have on your event.
You can apply for this fund through the Development Fund and the Liberation History Month Funds. For more information on how to apply, get in touch with us at studentgroups@kclsu.org.
The Kings Community Fund
What is the KCF fund?
Do you want to set-up your own charitable project helping vulnerable people, or perhaps you’re interested in tackling climate change on a local level? Do you aspire to put on a conference or run a series of wellbeing workshops? If so, the King’s Community Fund can support you to bring your ideas to life.
The King’s Community Fund is a pot of funding that supports student-led charitable projects and large-scale events which benefit the King’s and/or London community. This fund is made possible by donations from King’s Alumni. We welcome funding applications from all members of King’s student groups, including societies, sports clubs, academic reps, campaigns & networks.
Applicants can bid for between £750 and £10,000 for each project. The fund can cover things like equipment, promotional materials, conference/event costs and training. It’s there to help make an idea happen.
How to apply
To apply, you’ll need to read the King’s Community Fund Guidelines to find out how to best complete the application form. Please send the form to volunteering@kclsu.org by 10pm on Sunday 26th November. Shortlisted students/groups will present their application to the panel on Monday 4th or Tuesday 5th December. Please note email address is volunteering@kclsu.org.
Liberation History Month & Community Events Funding - Open
Liberation History Months are run throughout the year to celebrate strides made in the struggle for liberation, to reflect on past and present-day oppression and to challenge racism, misogyny, ableism, transphobia and homophobia, in all its forms; both locally and nationally. Liberation History Months are a time when people from all backgrounds can come together to explore liberation issues and discover what they can do as individuals to fight oppression.
Community Event Series are collaborative event series centred around a certain theme, topic or aim, to bring the student community together.
Fund dates this year are:
One World (January)
Funding opens: 13th Nov 2023
Funding closes: 4th Dec 2023
Apply here: https://kclsu.typeform.com/to/XWdmu6cM
LGBT+ History Month (Feb)
Funding opes: 27th Nov 2023
Funding closes: 7th Jan 2024
Apply here: Link coming soon
Student Volunteering Week (Feb)
Funding opens: TBC
Funding closes: 10th December 2024 (23:59)
Apply here: Link coming soon
Women's History Month (March)
Funding opens: 15th Jan 2024
Funding closes: 4th Feb 2024
Apply here: Link coming soon
Summer Series (June-August)
Funding opens: 6th May 2024
Funding closes: 2nd June 2024
Apply here: Link coming soon
For any questions for if you'd like to get involved with Liberation History Months or Community Events please email events@kclsu.org
The Widening Participation Fund
What is the WP Fund?
The WP Fund is a pot of money which Kings students can apply to for up to £500 to fund a widening participation initiative/project which they have designed and will deliver. Any funding provided covers the costs of delivering your project such as equipment, textbooks and software. We are currently only accepting proposals for online delivery projects due to health and safety. We generally only accept proposals from a student society/group/club/committee rather than solely an individual student.
Please submit this proposal by Monday 31st October 11:59pm 2022. Email the completed form to volunteering@kclsu.org with the subject line as ‘Widening Participation Fund Project Proposal’.
Please note that successful applications will be asked to pitch to the WP team on Monday 28th November or Monday 5th December.