Figures from a handful of businesses from across the north on sponsorship/partnership budget planning showed the market place is still very open and warm to partnerships with arts & culture:

• 66% said budgets for this year have stayed the same as last year. 25% said budgets increased this year. Less than 10% said budgets decreased.
• 75% said their investment was a Sponsorship. 50% said their investment covered CSR, Community Engagement and Staff Engagement.
• Obviously most commented that the more boxes that were ticked, the more value for money attained.

The panel Andrew Harvey, Dickinson Dees and Gerald Jennings, Land Securities shared their top tips on successfully getting and managing corporate support: 

• First meeting should be about fact finding and building relationships.  “We want to co-create a partnership.”
• It is critical to do in-depth research. Help us to help you think about what we would want from a partnership.
• Understand where the budget is held and when it is set. Today marketing budgets are not separated into Press/TV/adverts etc. They are media neutral which means the potential budget is much bigger. The big sums of money are now available for compelling cases. Don’t assume you are competing for a slice of the arts sponsorship cake.
• Panellists say they would rather talk money sooner than later and are looking to see if the proposed price reflects good value.
• We can engage with the community and be a good citizen through arts and culture.
• Match funding schemes are attractive because they can leverage other funding to organisations. WARNING: The private sector can lose patience if projects get tied up in bureaucracy. 
• Your most powerful sell is creativity. How can we use that creativity for our staff, business etc

If you need support and training on approaching business partnerships get in touch with us about our consultancy services.

Ideas, solutions and learning for the current climate

For arts fundraisers, marketing and campaign directors and board members

Wednesday 2 November, 10am-4.30pm

Howard Assembly Room, Opera North, 46 New Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NU

Cost: £50, to book email kathryn@communityfoundation.org.uk

10.00am – Arrival – Coffee, tea and networking

10.30am – Welcome

Jim Tough, Regional Director of Arts Council England

Adam Lopardo, Director of Sponsors Club, Richard Brown, Director of Yorkshire & Humberside Business in the Arts, and Viv Tyler, Manager of Business in the Arts:North West.

10.45am – What’s the motivation? – Finding, informing and retaining donors

How can you find high net worth individuals? How and why did donors start to give? Inspiring the next generation to give. Why choose the arts? Are philanthropy and tax breaks closely tied?

The panel will include:

Sally Anne Greenfield – Chief Executive Leeds Community Foundation

Keith Madeley – Chair of the Yorkshire Society, Community Partnership Solutions Ltd and Prince’s Trust (Yorkshire & Humber)

Sue Wilson -

11.45pm – Crowdfunding

Adam Lopardo will give a picture of the state of crowdfunding including amounts raised, average donation and hints and tips from a range of crowdfunding sites.

12.00pm – New business models – Is there anything left to sell?

Where to focus your limited resources, new investment ideas, collaborative working, what to do if you have no venue or don’t sell tickets, turning other staff into fundraisers.

The panel will include:

Paul Smith – Executive Director Liverpool Biennial and LARC – Liverpool Arts Regeneration Committee

Keith Evans – Managing Director Cida The Creativity and Innovation Company

1.00pm – Lunch

2.00pm – What is ‘Sponsorship’ today – Corporate giving in 2011/12 and beyond

The session will begin with the results of a brief survey of North businesses. This will be followed by a discussion with the decision makers at businesses sharing how their companies approach involvement with the arts today.

The panel will include:

Caroline Darnbrook – Head of Customer Insight & Brand National Australia Group

Andrew Harvey – Business Development & Communications Director Dickinson Dees

Gerald Jennings – Portfolio Director, Land Securities

3.00pm – Governance – the good, the bad and the absent

Responding to the best and worst that the arts experience with their Boards; does the changing environment mean there are changes needed in governance too? Presented by Viv Tyler

3.45pm – Round up of the day and the chance to network

4.15pm – Close

Firstly, the Mad Chatters Tea party where arts members had the opportunity to meet individuals from across the professional services sector at Seven Stories. Then we hosted an ‘art valuing’ quiz at NewcastleGateshead Art Fair for our business members. The third event is open to all and takes place on 30^th November, details below.

We received supportive feedback to continue these events. Senior representatives and employers who attended the Mad Chatters valued the opportunity for their staff to meet arts professionals. A number of attendees to the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair event returned to the fair over the weekend and purchased art.

The events are designed to help make those initial connections. It can take between 1 and 2 years to successfully manage a contact into a donor or to develop a creative partnership with a business. We know putting you in a room with people is only the first step so watch this blog for our top tips in managing a new contact.  

The next event in this series brings all the professional networks together to a ‘Sing for your Supper’ Networking Event on the 30th November 6pm at RMT offices in Gosforth. The event will include networking, a singing workshop and Fish & Chips. Tickets cost £25 to confirm your place email alison@exceptional-networking.co.uk

Chances are you will interact with people and companies on Facebook and/or Twitter. (For those that don’t, this is a good place to start.) But what if they don’t work for you? Maybe you don’t agree with Facebooks privacy policy, and you’ve just got too much to say than will fit on a tweet.

Us peeps at Sponsors Club are really interested in the world of social media, at the moment we are checking out loads of new platforms. Hopefully that is great for you too as you’ll be able to connect with us in the way that you would prefer!

We are currently checking out Diaspora, Google+ and Pinterest and would love to know what you think of them, and the more established platforms.  (If you would like an invitation to any of these email kathryn@communityfoundation.org.uk)

But you can also get us on:

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

You can comment on this blog post below -

Or send us a good old-fashioned email, sponsors@communityfoundation.org.uk

Also, we  still answer the telephone too believe it or not! 0191 222 0945

Friday 30^th September 8.30-10.00am

The Sage Gateshead (as part of the Newcastle Gateshead Art Fair)

Join us for breakfast for a structured networking session with our partners Exceptional Networking who will be bringing along their own members from across the professional and manufacturing services. There will be interactive activities, a chance to browse the art fair and tickets to return to the fair at your leisure. Please email Kathryn for more information and to book.

Social Media Presence:

The Sponsors Club has had a presence on social media sites for some time. Please do follow us or like us or simply browse us! We welcome comments on our Facebook and flickr pages and are happy to chat on twitter. If you have activities you want us to promote too, we’re happy to, just let us know.

You can find us here:

Twitter - @sponsorsclub

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/sponsorsclub

Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sponsorsclub/

Call for content:

Linked to the request above please let us know anything you want us to promote or we can write a case study about. We are increasing our blogging and OPR activity and we want to promote our members in that as much as we can. Got a great story, lets us know! Got great images you can share with us?

*The following is only open to Business members of The Sponsors Club, to become a member, please email Adam for more information*

VIP Opening of the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair

Thursday 29 September

The Sage Gateshead

If you can’t join us for the networking event but want to attend the Fair then don’t worry we have a number of opportunities for both you and your staff to attend. We have a limited amount of VIP tickets for the preview opening of the fair. The ticket is for you and a guest and includes drinks. The tickets is valid should you wish to return on subsequent days. We also have general tickets to the fair should you wish to offer them out to your staff.

Please let Kathryn know by Friday 16 September how many tickets (VIP or general) you would like for staff.

This year we will be hosted by Opera North in Leeds on the 2^nd November 10am – 4pm. Following the success of last year’s event you have been informing the content of this meeting through our survey – thank you. A full programme will be announced shortly. Delegate Cost: £50. If you would like to discuss grants to attend please give us call or drop us an email we do not want the cost to be a barrier to attend. Email Kathryn to book – kathryn@communityfoundation.org.uk

Social Media Presence: Call for Content

Post up-coming events, business opportunities and information on our facebook wall or send us pictures and we will post them on our flickr pages. Help us to build up content and we will drive the business community and individuals to read your news. We are also increasing our blogging and online PR activity and we want to promote our members. Please keep this in mind and send us your campaign news, stories and pictures.

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/sponsorsclub Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/sponsorsclub

Recent Tweets by @sponsorsclub

-       ‘So, did you grab the free e-book version of #twitterforgood? Be interesting to hear what you think of it’

-       ‘Article in The Journal on Arts philanthropy with quotes from Adam, reference to @arts_business and @WeDidThisUK http://bit.ly/pag4p1‘

-       ‘Your chance to own a famous piece of Newcastle urban art: http://ow.ly/6lxUR’

Funding News:

• The first Santander Social Enterprise Development Award programme is now open at Community Foundation for Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. The deadline is 30^th September. The award aims to support social enterprises and Community Interest Companies looking to grow their business and improve their local community. For full application guidelines visit Community Foundation website

• Northern Rock Foundation has launched a new grant fund called the Fresh Ideas Fund. The £0.5m fund will help voluntary organisations and social enterprises in the North East and Cumbria, to develop their best and most enterprising ideas to the point where they are ready for investment. Grants of up to £50,000 will be awarded to establish whether ideas are feasible. Successful applicants also receive expert help and guidance to ensure their proposals are developed thoroughly.

Our News:

• We are pleased to welcome Potts Print UK www.potts.co.uk  as new business members.

• The following board bank matches were made; Teresa Davidson of Ward Hadaway placed on Beamish Museum Development Board, Bill Goodwin of Ward Hadaway placed on Designed and Made Board, Steven Gibson of NGI placed on Wunderbar Festival board, Paula Park of Business & Decision placed on Bridge+Tunnel board.  Keep us updated with your board development needs.

• Last month we invited you to attend a Mad Chatters Tea Party at Seven Stories with business individuals from the Institute for Chartered Accountants England and Wales and Exceptional Networking. The event was designed to give you the opportunity to test your networking skills and make new contacts. Thank you to all who attended. Your feedback will inform how we develop these events.

But did you know that The Sponsors Club help run a art prize in the North East for a local bank? The Newcastle Building Society Student Art Prize is now in it’s third year and entries for this year have just been shortlisted.

Students on a degree course studying Fine Art at Newcastle and Northumbria Universities and those in their foundation years at Tyne Met and Newcastle Colleges are invited to submit art works for consideration in March for a £500 first prize.

Maybe you don’t have €150,000 to spend but if you would like to engage with the arts in a new way, helping local artists but also getting some great art for your office (not to mention the warm fuzzy feeling) why not give us a ring to see if we can help?

Adam – al@communityfoundation.org.uk 0191 2220945

Networking Breakfast

Friday 25 March 2010, 8.15am – 10am

The Sponsors Club for Arts & Business and Yorkshire Bank invite you to a networking business breakfast at mima.

Join us for a relaxed start to the day where you can pick up a bacon sandwich and maybe a contact or two over a good cup of coffee and to hear why culture is good for your business in Middlesbrough

Speakers include Martin Johnson of Python Properties, Steve Skipsey of Yorkshire Bank, Adam Lopardo of The Sponsors Club for Arts & Business and Kate Brindley of mima.

Afterwards be the first to see mima’s major new jewellery exhibition from jewellers Lin Cheung, Laura Potter and Ted Noten.

The event is free, please RSVP by 16 March, to Kathryn kathryn@communityfoundation.org.uk or 0191 222 0945 if you would like to attend stating any dietary requirements.

For directions to the venue go to www.visitmima.com

Thursday 3 March 2011, 8am – 10am

Tyneside Cinema

The Sponsors Club for Arts & Business invite you to a networking business breakfast at the Tyneside Cinema.

Not many people know that after his fifth and final outing as Bond, Sean Connery turned his hand to directing for the first time. The Bowler And The Bunnet (1967) is a fantastic curio directed and presented by Sean Connery, in which he gives his own view on the Fairfield Shipyard in Govan. Personal, funny and very wry, the film captures the sense of community in the yards around Govan in its own unique style. Sean Connery examines the gap and suspicion in the relationship between management and workers in industry, and shows how one Scottish shipyard is trying to change that and what could well be a blueprint for other companies to follow.

The 30 minute film was shown on television at the time, but has been sitting in an archive ever since. It’s your chance to catch a piece of industrial and film history.

Arrive at 8am for networking breakfast, introductions and the film to follow. If you haven’t got to rush back, stick around for a tour of the Tyneside.

The event is free, please RSVP by 21 February, to kathryn@communityfoundation.org.uk or 0191 222 0945 if you would like to attend stating any dietary requirements.