Receive sponsorship

Council sponsors a wide variety of events, initiatives and projects, in exchange for agreed sponsorship benefits. Priority is given to applications that:

• Help Council achieve our community vision as outlined in Maitland +10
• Provide economic benefit to the city
• Promote Maitland as a vibrant, progressive city
• Demonstrate commitment to keeping Maitland clean, green and sustainable
• Support organisations or groups that help to address issues affecting the community
• Have widespread community appeal
• Support activities that are free or low cost to attend
• Please ensure your proposed initiative will comply with current NSW Government coronavirus restrictions and meet all requirements, such as a NSW Government COVID Safe Event Checklist or approved COVID Safe Event Plan

Still stuck or unsure whether you are eligible for this program or looking to apply for over $5,000? Please contact the  marketing team on 02 4931 2860 or via [email protected] to discuss your application further.

Once the application is received, Maitland City Council will review and assess the applications against the following criteria:

• Level of community interest and/or significance as demonstrated by the applicant.
• Alignment of the application to the themes in the Community Strategic Plan (Maitland +10).
• Relevance to the city and/or community
• Impact and return on investment for Maitland City Council's brand/ reputation

The sponsorship assessment panel will also consider the following:

• Maitland City Council's Sponsorship Policy and Guidelines
• ICAC Guidelines
• Risk Assessment

Please note Sponsorship proposals take time to consider. Thorough sponsorship assessment ensures sponsorships are provided for the benefit of the sponsored organisation, Council and the wider community.

Please be aware that sponsorships are limited. Council receives a large number of applications which meet our guidelines and is not able to sponsor them all. Your sponsorship request may be declined, or Council may offer a lesser amount than requested. The sponsorship decisions made by Council are final.

Application Assessment Tip

When assessing the application, in addition to looking at the benefits for the local community and contribution to ensuring a vibrant city, the panel will be looking specifically for the tangible benefits to council. Things to consider but not limited to including here could be:

• Opportunities for our staff to become meaningfully involved with your initiative.
• Being able to provide high resolution images with permission to use and share on Council’s socials and website to promote the initiative, sponsorship program and other Council initiatives.
• Giving access to organisers of your event or initiative for media/filming or photography opportunities.
• Provision of exclusive and meaningful content for social media and other communications – particularly exclusive access to stories we can share, and people we can profile.
• Logo inclusion in promotional material outlining potential reach for example printed on x amount of programs, flyers or posters, or on website that has x amount of unique visitors per month, or inclusion in EDM that’s goes to x amount of recipients x amount of times or via social media platforms with x amount of followers.
• Opportunity for council to host a complementary booth, be on printed collateral or have signage at an event.
• Inclusion in media and public relation opportunities.
• Logo included on paid advertising identifying the channels and duration of advertising campaign (traditional and digital).

Note that the above is a short list of ‘possible’ benefits. The benefits offered should be specific to the initiative attached to the application and be in line with the significance of the amount being applied for.

Once Council has decided to offer sponsorship, it will enter into a contract (or letter of agreement) with the applicant. This will outline the benefits agreed to, payment terms, performance required and evaluation methods.

Once the agreement has been confirmed, the applicant can commence executing the sponsorship agreement. If it is a financial contribution, the applicant should invoice Council as per the agreed date in the agreement and expect the payment will be made within three weeks of the invoice date.

It is the responsibility of the people outlined in the written agreement to execute the sponsorship arrangement.