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Receive sponsorship
The Vibrant City Sponsorship Program provides financial and in kind sponsorship opportunities to community, industry groups, events and organisations for initiatives that create a vibrant city for the community and deliver tangible and measurable benefits to Council.
The Vibrant City Sponsorship Program is an annual program that runs per financial year. Applications are currently open and will remain open for 12 months or until there are no more available funds for the year. If funds are exhausted this page will be updated to reflect this.
Please note that sponsorship is very different to grant programs, donations and financial assistance programs, as these programs do not involve a benefit beyond modest recognition. Before applying please revisit your initiative, review the Maitland City Council Sponsorship Policy and the Vibrant City Sponsorship Program Guidelines and decide whether your initiative fits this program or whether sourcing a grant opportunity might be a better fit.
Individuals and organisations considering applying are encouraged to contact the marketing team on 02 4931 2860 or [email protected] before lodging an application if you are unsure whether the initiative will meet the requirements of this program.
Before starting your application, please consider your application in relation to the below:
- You are applying for sponsorship which is different to grant funding. Please note that sponsorship does not generally fund an entire project and if you require full funding for your project, grant funding opportunities should be investigated.
- Does your application for sponsorship add value to something that is already happening or will it go ahead no matter the outcome of this application?
- Will Council receive value beyond modest recognition for the sponsorship?
- Are you applying for funding under $5,000?
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.
Applications are currently open and must be completed through our online portal. Please note once you start your application it must be completed in one session as you cannot save and exit to complete later. Download a copy of the current application questions to help pre plan your answers before starting your online application.
Apply for Vibrant City Sponsorship
Application Submission Handy Tips
We recommend that you download the current application questions before starting your online application to assist with planning your answers. We strongly recommend that you map out all your answers in Microsoft Word or similar program prior to starting the online application. Once you have all your supporting documentation and answers mapped out, then start the online application by copying and pasting the text where appropriate. We make this recommendation as currently the online application portal does not have a save and leave function so all your information must be uploaded and submitted at once.
Friendly reminder also to have the Vibrant City Sponsorship Guidelines, Maitland City Council Sponsorship Policy and Maitland +10 documents at hand to refer to as needed.
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 the assessment has been completed Council will confirm the outcome of the application with a phone call initially followed by official correspondence in writing. All correspondence and announcement for sponsorship should remain in confidence until an agreed approach is reached with Council staff.
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.
Once the sponsorship agreement has been executed, an acquittal must be completed within four weeks of the completion of the sponsorship including providing any agreed post event/initiative assets such as photography and videos for example.
The Program Administrator will supply the acquittal template to the business, industry or community group who has been granted sponsorship for them to complete and return to Council.
After the project or event is completed, Council will evaluate the effectiveness of the agreement to meet its objectives which will help with future sponsorship considerations.
1 July each financial year
30 June each financial year or until funding is no longer available. If funding has been exhausted the website will be updated here to reflect this.
From 1 July each financial year and as applications are received.
Within six to eight weeks of receiving the application.
As per the Sponsorship Agreement.
As per the Sponsorship Agreement.
Complete an acquittal within four weeks of the completion of the sponsorship arrangement including providing any agreed post event/initiative assets such as photography and videos for example.
Stay up to date about Vibrant City Sponsorship by liking Maitland City Council on Facebook, checking back here regularly or sign up to receive updates using the form below.
If you have a sponsorship enquiry, please contact us.
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