VIC.GOV.AU | Policy and Advisory Library

School operations

Sponsorship

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Guidance

Identifying incoming sponsorship offers

Schools can use this decision tree to determine whether an offer of money, goods or services from an external business or organisation should be treated as an incoming sponsorship.

  1. Did your school apply to an organisation for a grant for a specific project or activity?
  2. Does the offer of money, goods or services involve the development or management of infrastructure such as school grounds or buildings?
  3. Is the offer of money, goods or services for the use of an individual or staff use?
  4. Do you need to pay any amount or sign up to a service to receive the offer?
  5. Is the organisation or business offering money solely in exchange for publishing their name and/or logo on a school site or in a school publication with no other benefits to either party?
  6. Will the organisation or business receive any benefit from the school in exchange for the money goods or services? (Examples of benefits include placement of a plaque or signage at a school, acknowledgement of the organisation in speeches or school communications, organisation representative attendance at school functions or a speaking or award presentation opportunity.)
  7. Will this benefit be more than basic recognition and thanks for the money, goods or services? (Basic recognition could be acknowledgement in a school communication.)

If the offer doesn’t fit with any of these categories, contact schools.finance.support@education.vic.gov.au and sponsorship@education.vic.gov.au for support.

Seeking incoming sponsorship for your school

Identify your sponsorship approach

Use a business case template to determine your approach to sponsorship, including:

  • your rationale for seeking sponsorship, sponsorship goals and how these will further education outcomes
  • which potential sponsors you will approach to submit a sponsorship proposal and what selection criteria you will use to decide which proposals to accept
  • the sponsorship benefits your school can offer in line with the sponsorship policy
  • any potential risks and mitigation strategies.

Advertise the sponsorship opportunity

To ensure open and effective competition in sponsorship opportunities it is strongly recommended that the school advertises the opportunity for businesses organisations and individuals to submit a sponsorship proposal or seek sponsorship from the school.

Advertising the sponsorship opportunity can involve promoting the opportunity in the school’s communication channels such as newsletters, social media, approaching potential sponsors directly, or in community information channels like noticeboards and social media.

Where an unsolicited proposal is made by a sponsor, consider whether this opportunity could be advertised to ensure fair competition. Where the decision is made not to publicly advertise, the school council must document the rationale for this decision.

If a competitive sponsorship process is undertaken and advertised, the school must use selection criteria to evaluate the sponsorship offers or requests to ensure a fair and transparent process.

For example, selection criteria could include:

  • the total value of the sponsorship to the school including the value of any in-kind benefits received
  • the benefit of building a relationship with a sponsoring organisation, such as building community connections
  • the potential sponsor’s alignment with the school’s values.

Assessing sponsorship offers

Step 1. Review the proposed or requested sponsorship

Assess the proposed sponsorship against this policy. The sponsorship checklist must be used to assess the offer and identify any possible risks associated with the sponsorship activity.

If the sponsor’s business activity is on the list of inappropriate activities, do not continue with the sponsorship agreement or any negotiations.

If the sponsorship does not meet one or more of the sponsorship criteria, rework the sponsorship offer with the sponsor to ensure it meets one of the criteria, or decline the offer.

Calculate the benefit of the sponsorship versus the cost, to ensure the sponsorship offers value for money or resources and helps achieve the department’s strategic objectives.

For questions or support contact schools.procurement@education.vic.gov.au

To decline a sponsorship offer or request at any stage, use these templates to send either an Incoming sponsorship rejection letter or Outgoing sponsorship rejection letter.

Templates for this step:

Step 2. Prepare documentation

If the offer meets the criteria and is appropriate, request a detailed sponsorship proposal from the proposed sponsor (incoming sponsorships) or the business, individual or organisation seeking sponsorship (outgoing sponsorship). The proposal should have clear objectives, key performance criteria and an evaluation plan.

If the sponsorship is over $25,000 (incoming and outgoing), the school must complete a sponsorship business case template.

The business case needs to clearly define and scope the problem, explain the rationale for undertaking the project and identify and quantify related benefits and costs. It should be supported by data wherever possible.

If the business case reveals the sponsorship offers good value, seek school council approval to proceed with a sponsorship agreement.

The sponsorship proposal and business case (if the sponsorship is over $25,000) must be provided to the school council to inform their decision on the sponsorship.

Templates for this step:

Step 3: Seek approval

School council approval

Provide the school council with the completed sponsorship assessment checklist, sponsorship proposal and business case to inform their decision on whether to accept the sponsorship offer or request.

Department approvals – incoming sponsorship

If an incoming sponsorship is equal to or less than $25,000 and does not include naming rights, it does not require approval from the department, only the school council.

If an incoming sponsorship includes naming rights for a school event or initiative, it must be approved by:

  • the school council
  • the regional director
  • the Executive Director of the Communications Division
  • the Minister for Education.

Incoming sponsorships of more than $25,000 must be approved by:

  • the school council
  • the school’s regional director
  • the Executive Director of the Communications Division.

If these additional approvals are required, the school principal must contact the Communications Division by email at sponsorship@education.vic.gov.au and provide the completed sponsorship assessment checklist, sponsorship proposal, business case (if applicable) and the school council’s approval.

The Communications Division will check the proposed sponsorship adheres to the policy and coordinate department and minister approval.
Templates for this step:

Step 4. Formalise the sponsorship

Once all approvals are granted, sponsorships less than or equal to $25,000 can be offered or accepted using an engagement letter to formalise the sponsorship.

Sponsorships greater than $25,000 must also use a sponsorship agreement to formalise the sponsorship.

Having a formal sponsorship agreement ensures clear expectations and deliverables for both parties in the agreement, and reduces the risk of additional benefits being requested, challenges in managing expectations and inconsistency with other sponsors.

The sponsorship agreement needs to:

  • set out terms of the sponsorship
  • specify that the department does not endorse the organisation or its products and that the arrangement must not be promoted or publicised as such
  • provide termination or conflict resolution procedures
  • include reporting requirements.

When the letter and template are complete, arrange for signatures from the external organisation followed by the president of the school council. Approval needs to align with school financial delegation approval limits.

You can seek advice from the Communications Division and the Legal Division if needed when completing the engagement letter or sponsorship agreement template.

Templates for this step:

Step 5. Register the sponsorship

All school sponsorship activities must be approved by the school council and registered by the school on their own internal register.

Sponsorships greater than $25,000 must also be reported to the Communications Division, who will register the sponsorship on the central department sponsorship register.

To register your sponsorship, complete a Sponsorship declaration form (DOCX) (staff login required)External Link and have it signed by the school principal on behalf of the school council.

Once completed and approved by the school council, email sponsorship@education.vic.gov.au within 14 days of a sponsorship being offered and include the:

  • declaration form
  • sponsorship engagement letter or sponsorship agreement
  • any relevant material used for decision making on the sponsorship (such as a business case or sponsorship prospectus).

The Communications Division will review the agreement to ensure it aligns with the policy and record the details on the department’s sponsorship register.

Templates for this step:

Step 6. Finalise payments and monitor the agreement

Monitor the sponsorship to ensure all the agreed elements are delivered.

Incoming funds must be recorded in CASES21 as 74580.

Outgoing sponsorships (where a school sponsors an external organisation) should follow normal procurement threshold guidelines and approval of the agreement should align with school financial delegation approval limits.

For any other questions or support contact schools.procurement@education.vic.gov.au

Step 7. Evaluate the sponsorship

Sponsorships valued greater than $25,000 must be evaluated at the completion.

Provide the sponsorship partner with an evaluation form and complete a post sponsorship evaluation report for the school. Templates to complete the evaluation can be found in the Resources tab.

Sponsorship case studies

Case study 1. Donation versus sponsorship

A local bakery has offered to donate cakes for the school’s annual morning tea to welcome new families. The value of the cakes is estimated to be around $500. The bakery has not asked for any mention or benefit for providing these cakes; however, the school has decided to mention the bakery in the school’s newsletter.

Although the school has acknowledged the bakery in the school’s newsletter, this is a donation because the bakery did not request any right or benefit by providing the cakes to the school. Unlike a sponsorship, there is no requirement for the school to take any further action than accepting the cakes. The school has decided to mention the bakery as a token of goodwill. As this is a donation, the sponsorship policy does not apply.

Some businesses can have commercial motivations in offering donations and the school’s acknowledgement can present the business in a positive light and influence how school community members make decisions and spend money. The school should ensure their acknowledgement does not imply endorsement of the bakery or encourage the school community to shop there.

Case study 2. Unsolicited sponsorship approach

A local real estate agent offers to pay for and install a billboard at the school’s front gate to display signage about upcoming school events. The real estate agent has offered to pay for the billboard and the printing for 3 signs on the billboard each school year for 3 years in exchange for their logo appearing at the bottom of the billboard.

When the sponsorship offer is taken to school council, a council member notes there are 5 other real estate agents in the community that may be interested in the opportunity to sponsor a school billboard, and raises integrity concerns about accepting the offer without an open and competitive process.

The school advertises the opportunity to all the real estate businesses by email, to ensure transparency, accountability and fair competition. They also assess the value of the sponsorship by researching what the cost of signage and printing would be, seeking advice from other schools with similar signage and seeking input from school council members or parents who work in the real estate industry and do not have any conflicts of interest.

Once a sponsorship agreement has been approved, the school ensures the billboard and printed signage meets the safety and appropriate activity requirements in the Advertising policy.

Case study 3. Balancing school and business benefits

The Parents’ Association is organising a trivia night fundraiser and is seeking sponsorships and donations from local businesses. Georgia’s Toy Shop contacts the school and offers to be a main sponsor with store products as prizes and funding a photo booth that has ‘Georgia’s Toy Shop’ branding and signage. Georgia’s Toy Shop has estimated the value of these prizes and the photo booth at $1,000. In return, Georgia, the proprietor, is asking for:

  • the business logo to appear on all the promotional flyers advertising the trivia night
  • a half-page advertisement for the shop in schools’ newsletters for 4 terms
  • permission to give out flyers at the fundraiser, containing an in-store offer.

While the benefits being sought are in line with the sponsorship policy, the school considers whether the value of the sponsorship is proportionate to the benefits the sponsor will receive. These could be directly negotiated with the sponsor if there is not an appropriate match.

In this case, the school council does not view the sponsorship as suitable for the school and declines the offer because:

  • the benefits to the sponsor outweigh the benefits to the school
  • the flyers and advertisement may place undue pressure on parents to spend money at the store
  • an unbalanced sponsorship arrangement with the business may set a precedent for other future sponsorship arrangements.

Case study 4. Ineffective risk management and parent incentives

A parent who works as a mortgage broker seeks to sponsor their child’s school in exchange for benefits including 3 advertisements in the school newsletter. The last advertisement of the year includes an offer of $200 off the cost of the mortgage broker’s service fee and $200 for the school for any parents who takes out a mortgage with the broker. A parent who takes up the offer later complains about the service provided by the broker and criticises the school for being associated with the business, and for showing favouritism to the parent by promoting their business.

The school council reviews the process used to approve the sponsorship and the advertisement and finds:

  • the sponsorship and final advertisement lead to the perception that the school supported or endorsed the mortgage broker
  • the school council did not consider the risk of promoting the mortgage broker’s service to their school community
  • the offer of a dual incentive for parents and the school placed undue pressure on parents to use the service and exposed the school to risk when something went wrong.

The school council ensures that future sponsorship agreements do not include incentives for families or the school, and include the option to vet and review sponsorship-related materials, including advertising content, to ensure they are appropriate and in line with the school’s values and priorities.

To ensure open and effective competition and address perception of favourable treatment, the school council decides to advertise for sponsorships to the whole school community in future.

Case study 5. Sponsor requests benefits in conflict with the policy

A school is planning to renovate an existing school building to create a technology hub. The school has been raising money for this project for the past few years.

A technology business is willing to offer the final $50,000 to complete the project in exchange for several rights including:

  • the learning hub needs to be named after the business
  • the business will appear on the school’s website as a platinum sponsor with a link to their web page
  • a plaque on the learning hub acknowledging the business
  • signs promoting the business on the school fence
  • the opportunity for the company to pitch their education technology to the school leadership
  • acknowledgement as a sponsor on the school’s Facebook page.

The school council checks the sponsorship policy and finds some of the requested benefits need to be negotiated with the business. The school council determine that:

  • they cannot agree to the naming rights request as it is not allowed under the School and Campus Naming policy
  • signs promoting the business on the school fence don’t meet the requirements of the Advertising policy because they are not for the purposes of educational, recreational, sporting or cultural activities for students, the local community or young people
  • the school council determine that allowing the business to pitch their products to the school leadership would conflict with the school’s procurement processes.

The school would like to accept the offer because it will further educational programs for students and supplement their existing fundraising. They negotiate with the technology business and offer an alternative package of benefits which include:

  • the plaque on the learning hub
  • acknowledgement of the sponsorship on the school’s website, social media and newsletter
  • an opportunity for a representative from the business to speak at the opening of the learning hub
  • a space at the school’s annual careers day for engineers to speak to students about future technology careers.
Guidance page outlining sponsorship principles and procedures for schools

Reviewed 12 November 2025

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