Sponsorship

Policy

This policy provides guidance to school staff and school councils on assessing and managing possible sponsorship opportunities, and the required procedures for entering into a sponsorship agreement.

This policy is consistent with the Victorian Government sponsorship policy and guidelines.

Summary

• Schools must only engage in sponsorship activities if the potential activity meets one or more of the sponsorship criteria set out below. Schools can receive sponsorship (incoming) or provide sponsorship (outgoing).
• Schools must follow the process set out in the Sponsorship Procedure (on the Guidance tab) when considering a sponsorship opportunity, including use of the Sponsorship checklist (DOCX).
• School staff and school council members assessing a sponsorship request must act in a way that is ethical, ensuring the opportunity is competitive for all potential sponsors that want to participate.
• School staff and school council members must not enter into a sponsorship arrangement with an organisation or individual that would harm the school or department’s reputation.
• Schools must maintain their own sponsorship registers for incoming and outgoing sponsorship, and keep their own records of any agreements or contracts.
• When a school receives sponsorship:
  • for $25,000 or less, they must seek approval from their school council and finalise the agreement with the appropriate engagement letter template provided on the Resources tab
  • above $25,000 they must seek approval from their regional director and Executive Director, Communications.
• Schools approached with requests to advertise state-wide or country-wide promotions (for example, from supermarkets) to their school community must refer the request to the Communications Division.

Details

This policy and guidance align with the Victorian Government Sponsorship Policy and apply to all sponsorship activities undertaken by Victorian government schools.

All Victorian government schools are required to follow this policy and must not have their own local sponsorship policy.

In this policy, the term ‘schools’ refers to all school-based staff and school councils. This includes the principal in their capacity as executive officer of a school council when they are implementing sponsorship decisions for a school council, and it also applies to school council members.

Sponsorship is considered a function undertaken by a school council under Part 2.3 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic).

Compliance with this policy is mandatory under the Finance Manual for Victorian Government Schools (refer to Section 9.8 Locally raised funds – Sponsorship).

Different reporting and approval procedures apply for Department of Education corporate staff (refer to Sponsorship Policy (Corporate) (staff login required)).

What is sponsorship?

Sponsorship is typically where an individual, group or organisation (the sponsor) supports another organisation’s activities (such as an event or upgraded facilities) through the provision of money, goods or services in exchange for promoting the sponsor and the sponsor’s contribution (such as through logo placement, naming rights or public acknowledgement of the support received from the sponsor).

Sponsorship can provide a mutually beneficial and purposeful relationship between organisations or businesses and Victorian government schools, the department and agencies, contributing to strong school and corporate communities.

Incoming sponsorship

Incoming sponsorship is where an external organisation provides financial or in-kind support for a school initiative, event or program.

Incoming sponsorship may:

• reduce the costs to the school of performing a particular activity or allow for enhanced program delivery or expansion
• provide funding for publications, conferences or other special activities that promote a particular program or initiative
• provide the school with an opportunity to develop better working relationships with the wider community.

Examples of incoming sponsorship include:

• a local bakery supporting a school’s fete by providing free or reduced-price baked goods for the school to sell at a food stall, in exchange for their logo being placed on the school’s advertising for the fete with a sentence thanking the bakery for their contribution
• a business paying for new soccer goals in exchange for signage on the school oval and their logo on the students’ soccer tournament jerseys
• a community group offering labour and supplies to paint a mural in exchange for placement of a plaque with the business name and logo, and acknowledgement of their contribution on the school’s newsletter and social media channels.

Sponsorship can include partnership arrangements, except where the arrangement is governed by the Partnerships Victoria requirements or otherwise involves the development or management of infrastructure.

Refer to ‘Identifying incoming sponsorship’ in the Guidance tab for further support in deciding whether an offer of money, goods or services must be treated as an incoming sponsorship.

Outgoing sponsorship

Outgoing sponsorship is where a school provides financial or in-kind support to an external organisation for their initiative, event or program.

Outgoing sponsorship may:

• increase the school’s exposure to its community
• enhance the school’s image
• increase awareness of the school.

Examples of outgoing sponsorship include:

• a school sponsoring a community fair in exchange for a stall to help them promote their school programs to the community, the school logo on event advertising, and social media posts acknowledging the school’s sponsorship on the event Facebook page
• students approaching their school to sponsor their non-school-based robotics team to participate in an interstate competition
• the department sponsoring a conference to provide professional development opportunities for school staff and specialists.

Activities that are not sponsorship

Sponsorship does not include:

• donations (refer to Finance Manual – Section 9.7 Locally raised funds – Donations)
• philanthropic efforts (refer to Philanthropic Partnerships)
• the sale of advertising space, editorial comment, or advertorials (refer to Advertising)
• grants or discretionary funding provided to or provided by external individuals or organisations for a specific purpose
• bequests that impose no obligations on the recipient and offer little or no rights or benefits to the provider.

Engaging businesses as vendors at school fetes is covered by the department’s Fundraising Activities (including fetes) policy. The sponsorship policy only applies where businesses seek to include attendance or promotion at a fete as one of the benefits required in exchange for sponsorship of the school.

For expanded definitions for this policy, refer to the Definitions section below.

Refer to the Guidance tab for a decision tree.

Sponsorship criteria

Schools must only engage in sponsorship activity that meets one or more of the following criteria:

• promotes and improves educational outcomes
• supports school goals and objectives and the department’s strategic plan
• increases effectiveness of departmental strategic programs
• engages or builds relationships with key stakeholders
• communicates key messages to specific audiences within the community
• supports Victoria’s climate action and net-zero emissions targets
• contributes to advancement of Victorian whole-of-government priorities.

Schools do not have to consider all requests to engage in sponsorship arrangements.

If you decide to consider a sponsorship request, the information in this policy and guidance will help you assess whether the request is appropriate.

Sponsorship principles

When considering a sponsorship request or offer, schools must assess it against the following sponsorship principles set by the Victorian Government sponsorship policy and guidelines.

1. Ensuring probity

Inappropriate activity

Schools must not engage in sponsorship that is inappropriate, either through association or activity.

The following activities or organisations must not be considered for sponsorship:

• activities aimed at delivering or replacing core services to schools delivered by third parties such as, for example, cleaning or IT
• activities or sponsorship partners whose values, products, purposes or objectives are inconsistent with the department’s policies, values, priorities or objectives
• political parties and members of parliament
• tobacco companies, gaming venues, companies involved in the sale or promotion of alcohol, or involved in the sale or promotion of firearms
• companies that encourage unhealthy food choices by young people
• religious organisations or religious activities
• unregistered charities and not-for-profit organisations, including those not registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)
• School Banking Programs provided by Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions. Refer to the Financial Literacy Policy for further information.
• organisations or companies that are financially unsound or unstable
• agencies with inspectorial or regulatory powers over the department
• any activity or organisation seeking for the department or schools to directly endorse or promote its products or services
• any activity in breach of the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees.

Commercial organisations can be considered for incoming sponsorships if the organisation is not associated with an inappropriate activity listed above.

For outgoing sponsorships, schools must not sponsor any commercial organisations (excluding media organisations).

Assessing appropriate sponsorship

Schools can take a common-sense approach to considering if companies and businesses activities are appropriate for sponsorship.

The primary consideration must be whether an association with a particular company, organisation and brand would affect the school’s reputation and conflict with the school’s and department’s values, objectives and priorities.

For example, even though the local supermarket may promote some unhealthy food choices, it is not the primary purpose of the supermarket, and an association may be appropriate. A sponsorship with a fast-food outlet would not be appropriate.

Sponsorship with a licensed restaurant may be appropriate, whereas sponsorship with a liquor store would not be appropriate.

Similarly, organisations that may have religious affiliations, but primarily focus on wellbeing and community services rather than religious activities, may be appropriate.

Most arrangements with organisations affiliated with religious organisations are covered by the Philanthropic Partnerships policy rather than the sponsorship policy and support programs with a primary focus on wellbeing, learning and development rather than religious activities.

Specific sponsorship exclusions

Sponsor branding on uniforms

Sponsor logos cannot be placed on the everyday school uniform, including the usual uniform worn for school physical activity or sport. Uniforms contribute to the identity of schools and their public image. Government schools are not commercial entities, and it is inappropriate to have commercial logos on uniforms. Taglines and written references to sponsors are also not appropriate to include on the everyday school uniform.

Competition uniforms such as sporting jerseys or team uniforms for a specific event can include sponsor logos if a sponsorship agreement is in place.

For information on school uniforms and dress codes, refer to the Student Dress Code policy.

Naming rights for school buildings and spaces

School and Campus Naming includes requirements and process for naming new and existing Victorian government schools, educational services, campuses, school buildings and school spaces.

The policy does not allow schools to offer naming rights for school buildings or school space to sponsors.

Personal information

Schools must not enter into a sponsorship agreement where the sponsor receives the names, addresses, personal data or contact details of department or school employees, school council members, or students and their families, as a benefit of the sponsorship.

Open and effective competition

If schools receive an offer for incoming sponsorship or a request for outgoing sponsorship, it is recommended they check whether there are any similar organisations, businesses or individuals in their community that may also want to propose or request sponsorship.

This is strongly recommended to ensure open and effective competition for sponsorships and for the school to get the greatest value for incoming sponsorships.

For example:

• Incoming sponsorship: A real estate agency offers sponsorship for the school in exchange for advertising on the school website. The school should consider whether other real estate agencies in the neighbourhood town or suburb should be offered the chance to submit a sponsorship proposal.
• Outgoing sponsorship: A community sporting team or individual student is seeking sponsors to help cover the cost of an interstate competition and approaches the school for sponsorship. The school should consider whether all community sporting teams and students will have the same opportunity to request sponsorship.

Ethical behaviour and fair dealing

School participation in sponsorship (including those with sponsor advertising as a benefit) should not place undue pressure on employees, parents, students or school communities to purchase particular goods or services, subscribe to particular beliefs or attitudes, or undertake certain activities or actions.

All school staff and school council members involved in making decisions about or managing sponsorships must behave ethically and fairly and:

• declare and avoid conflicts of interest (refer to Conflict of Interest)
• refuse gifts, invitations to events and functions, or other favours if offered as part of sponsorship negotiations and register all refused offers valued at $50 or more in the department’s Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Register (refer to Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality)
• maintain confidentiality with respect to commercial-in-confidence, intellectual property issues, matters under negotiation and any other confidential information
• maintain high standards of transparency and accountability
• must not provide names or addresses of departmental, school or agency employees or school council members or students and their families to an organisation or business as a benefit of sponsorship
• comply with the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees.

2. Achieving efficiency and effectiveness

Value for money

Value for money is not necessarily about the highest or lowest dollar amount, but rather the best possible outcome that can be achieved using the available resources. For example, a sponsorship proposal may demonstrate good value for money because it helps you reach a key audience or because it offers an extremely low-risk activity or association.

If a sponsor provides services or goods instead of money (‘in-kind’ or ‘contra’ sponsorship) schools should seek to determine a dollar value to the in-kind benefit to help them evaluate the sponsorship offer and ensure appropriate approvals.

For example, a local printing company agrees to print copies of a school prospectus or awards program in exchange for an agreed level of recognition. The cost of the printing would be the value of the in-kind sponsorship.

It may not be efficient if 2 or more schools are providing or seeking sponsorship to the same organisation. To avoid duplication, it is best practice to ask sponsors who their current sponsors are (or who else they are sponsoring).

Sponsorship benefits and inclusions

If an organisation is offering a package of benefits in exchange for sponsorship, there may be an opportunity for the school to negotiate what is on offer to increase the effectiveness of the sponsorship.

The level of acknowledgement or benefit provided to sponsors should be consistent with the level of sponsorship. Acknowledgment of sponsorship must be in a form that positively enhances education outcomes, and the public image of the department and school must be considered at all times.

Incoming sponsorships

The school’s acknowledgement of a sponsor should not be seen to endorse the sponsor, their services or products.

Endorsement of the sponsor, their services or products could risk perceptions of favouritism, future favours and conflicts of interest.

Appropriate acknowledgement can include:.

• placement of a plaque or notice in a format that has the prior approval of the sponsor for the duration of a sponsored activity or for an agreed period of time
• public display at functions of temporary signage acknowledging the sponsorship
• acknowledgement of the sponsorship in newsletters (for example, advertisement) or speeches
• a letter of appreciation to the sponsor
• inclusion of a by-line, forward or advertisement from the sponsor in a school’s prospectus, magazine or other publication (any advertisement, paid or unpaid, must comply with the department’s Advertising policy)
• attendance by the sponsor at school functions and an opportunity to make an address or present an award.

Outgoing sponsorships

A typical package of benefits for outgoing sponsorship can include:

• public acknowledgements
• logo placement and signage
• speaking engagements
• social media posts
• advertising.

Other benefits can include:

• naming rights (for events and initiatives only)
• placement and promotion of web links
• media and publicity
• opportunities to network
• placement of articles in targeted publications
• competitions.

Naming rights

Naming rights are when a sponsor has negotiated to have their name added as a prefix to the sponsored activity.

Careful consideration must be given to the potential financial, legal, marketing and branding implications of agreeing to grant naming rights.

The approval of the Minister for Education must be obtained for any sponsorship agreement that gives an external organisation the naming rights for a school event or initiative.

The School and Campus Naming policy includes requirements and process for naming new and existing Victorian government schools, educational services, campuses, school buildings and school spaces. The policy does not allow schools to offer naming rights for school buildings or school space to sponsors.

Sponsorship arrangements relating to naming rights must have explicit end dates.

Contact the Communications Division for advice if your sponsorship proposal includes naming rights.

State-wide sponsorship of schools

There are a number of state-wide or country-wide corporate sponsorships that affect local schools. For example, regular promotions run by major supermarket chains, banks and book clubs.

Businesses can benefit from schools encouraging their communities to shop there to earn points or credits towards donations, and this carries a risk as schools are incentivised to promote the schemes to their communities.

Schools being approached with requests to advertise these promotions to their school community must refer the request to the Communications Division by email at sponsorship@education.vic.gov.au

In some instances, the department may enter into an agreement with an entity to apply to all schools.

3. Implementing effective risk management

Schools must consider the benefits and risks of sponsorship when deciding whether to proceed with a sponsorship.

Risks

The risks of sponsorship can include:

• perceptions of improper conduct or that probity has not been maintained
• perceptions of a conflict of interest and any risks that may pose
• promotion through schools can lead to the perception that a school supports or endorses a particular business
• perceptions of bias, favouritism or that an impartial decision has not been made
• the potential for reputational damage to the school or department by associating with an inappropriate sponsor or one of poor repute, particularly if a company is seeking to rebuild its reputation
• undertaking an activity on the promise of incoming sponsorship which then does not materialise
• undervaluing the true commercial value of the sponsorship benefits the school is giving the sponsor
• financial risks of involvement with a sponsorship partner which may include risk of financial insolvency or lack of adequate insurance
• perceptions that a future favour is expected to be given to the sponsor
• privacy and information security risks if the sponsor has access to school databases or personal information.

Managing risk

The Assessing sponsorship checklist (DOCX) provides a useful set of criteria to help assess any risks associated with a potential sponsorship opportunity.

Reputational risk

Schools must contact the department’s Communications Division for advice when considering sponsorship agreements that may have potential for reputational damage.

Schools should be mindful that many businesses seek sponsorships to directly promote their products and services to a captive parent market. Promotion of a business that is sponsoring a school can enhance trust in the business, and lead to the perception that the school supports or endorses the business. Schools should carefully consider the nature of the product and services and the risks of promoting these directly to the parent community.

Incentive offers to parents should also be carefully considered due to the perception of placing undue pressure on families and the risk to the school if something goes wrong.

Schools should clearly advise that their sponsorship agreements 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.

Entering a sponsorship agreement with a business connected to one parent or carer may lead to sponsorship approaches from other parents and carers, or perceptions in the school community of favourable treatment. To address this, schools should consider advertising sponsorship opportunities to the whole school community, using a set of clear criteria to assess responses.

Financial risk

To address financial risks of sponsorship, schools must:

• follow the sponsorship policy and procedures to ensure they are not in breach of government accounting requirements
• ascertain the true commercial value of the sponsorship for accurate reporting purposes (this can be calculated by estimating the market rate value for the benefit being provided)
• ensure that potential sponsors pose no financial risk to the department, school or agency as a result of the sponsorship arrangement.

Schools must conduct basic financial viability checks of potential sponsors.

This can be done by:

1. checking ASIC Registers to confirm the business is:
   1. registered and active via the ASIC ABN Lookup
   2. not listed under ASIC’s Published Notices for liquidation or administration
2. for not-for-profit organisations, check the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Charities Register to
   ensure the entity is registered and in good standing with the Commission
3. requesting a brief statement or letter of financial solvency from the sponsor (signed by a senior executive) declaring the business or organisation is financially solvent and not under any form of insolvency or financial distress
4. looking for publicly available financial information on their website or via business directories (this step is optional)
5. search the internet for news on any recent issues with the sponsor, such as financial collapses or negative media coverage.

For lower-value sponsorships, school councils can choose to address financial risk by requesting this can simply be you should request a declaration from the potential sponsor that confirms they have sufficient financial resources to deliver the goods or services described in the sponsorship agreement and that they are not subject to any current or impending legal action that could impact on their capacity to deliver their agreed sponsorship.

Schools can contact schools.procurement@education.vic.gov.au for advice on checking the financial viability of sponsors.

Insurance

Schools must check the sponsor has appropriate insurance cover for the sponsorship they are offering.

It is recommended that the amount of insurance the sponsor has aligns with the amount set in the Contractors – Insurance and Contract Arrangements policy.

All sponsors require public liability insurance, particularly if the sponsor is present at a school event (a fete for example). If the sponsorship is provided in the form of service or advice, additional professional indemnity insurance is required.

This information can be requested from the sponsor when negotiating the terms of the sponsorship. On request, the sponsor must provide the school council with evidence of this coverage.

For advice on this, contact insurance.enquiries@education.vic.gov.au

Child safety risk

Schools must consider child safety requirements when entering into sponsorships and throughout the agreement.

For example:

• if photos, videos or recordings of students are proposed to be shared as part of acknowledging a sponsor, the appropriate parental consent must be received in line with the Photographing, Filming and Recording Students policy. In addition, it is recommended that schools ensure students featured in images are not identified by name in the school or sponsor’s communications about the sponsorship
• ensuring sponsors that visit schools or interact with students and families are effectively screened, managed and supervised in line with the Visitors in Schools policy
• any child safety risks associated with the sponsorship must be documented in the school’s Child Safety Risk Register.

Public safety risk

If the sponsorship includes advertising on school grounds, such as a billboard or other signage, schools must adhere to the safety requirements in the Advertising policy.

4. Maintaining transparency and accountability

The procedure and requirements sections on the Guidance tab list the steps that schools must take when entering into a sponsorship agreement, including approval and documentation requirements.

Approvals and reporting

Below is a summary of the approvals required at various sponsorship levels.

Incoming sponsorship

• If the value of incoming sponsorship is equal to or less than $25,000, it must be approved by the school council and recorded on the school’s sponsorship register.
• If the value of incoming sponsorship is more than $25,000, it must be approved by the school’s regional director and the Executive Director, Communications Division and be recorded on the school register and central department register by the Communications Division. In the case of multi-year sponsorship agreements, the $25,000 threshold applies to the total value of the sponsorship agreement, not the per-annum cost.
• If the sponsorship agreement includes naming rights for any school event or initiative, it must be approved by the school’s regional director, the Executive Director, Communications Division and the Minister for Education. It must also be recorded on the school register and central department register by the Communications Division.

Outgoing sponsorship

• If the value of outgoing sponsorship is equal to or less than $25,000, it needs to align with school financial delegation approval limits and be recorded on the school register.
• If the value of outgoing sponsorship exceeds $25,000, it needs to align with school financial delegation approval limits and be recorded on the school’s register and the central department register by the Communications Division. In the case of multi-year sponsorship agreements, the $25,000 threshold for registering the sponsorship with the department applies to the total value of the sponsorship agreement, not the per-annum cost.

The Communications Division will help organise approvals required for sponsorships over $25,000. Follow the procedure on the guidance tab to gather the information required for approval and contact sponsorship@education.vic.gov.au for assistance.

Finalising contracts and financials

Once the necessary approvals and agreements are all in place, a confirmation letter and contract are required from the school.

Templates for sponsorship engagement letters and contracts are available on the Resources tab and must be provided to the sponsoring or sponsored organisation with a copy held on file.

Financial sponsorships must be treated like any other outgoing financial arrangement and established school financial management policies and processes must be followed.

Schools must record incoming sponsorship funds in CASES21 as 74580 – Other Locally Raised Funds.

In addition to formal processes, it is worth keeping in regular contact with your sponsorship partner to assess and maintain the sponsorship relationship.

Tax implications

If a school receives sponsorship in a form of cash payment, the received funds are subject to GST. The following examples illustrate the types of sponsorships where a GST liability would arise.

• A company gives money for a scholarship and the name of the company is included on all written material about the scholarship – the benefit to the sponsor is a form of advertising.
• An organisation buys rights or benefits from the school, including naming rights for an event or program. The rights or benefits typically relate to the sponsor’s reputation, management or communication objectives and are delivered through associating its name, products, services or activities with the school.

A donation or grant in the form of a payment, in cash or in-kind, is not subject to GST as long as it is made unconditionally. This means:

• no benefits or rights flow as a result of the payment
• there is no requirement to provide any goods or services in return
• there is no requirement to use the donation for a particular purpose.

If the donor receives more than ‘mere recognition’, the donation is a sponsorship and a GST liability will arise.

Unspent funds

School council must plan to expend all sponsorship money obtained for the event or activity. The agreement for the relationship must have a start and end date. This period allows for benefits to be delivered.

A school can specify in the agreement with the sponsor what should be done with any excess funds. This could include returning the funds to the sponsor.

Evaluation

School sponsorships valued greater than $25,000 (incoming and outgoing) must be evaluated when concluded and their outcomes documented within 3 months of sponsorship activities concluding.

All evaluation and reporting forms are available on the Resources tab.

For more information, contact the Communications Division at sponsorship@education.vic.gov.au

Evaluations are used to update guidance and are used to inform future sponsorship decisions.

Please note, some details of your evaluation may be shared with others in the department who may be seeking a sponsorship with the same organisation.

Useful tools and references

The Guidance and Resources tabs have resources to assist schools to apply this policy and assess sponsorships.

Definitions and examples

Sponsorship
Sponsorship is typically where an organisation (the sponsor) supports another organisation’s activities (such as an event) through the provision of money, goods or services in exchange for the promotion of the sponsor’s goods, services or activities (such as through logo placement, naming rights or public acknowledgement of the support received from the sponsor).

There are 2 types of sponsorship:

• Incoming sponsorship is where an external organisation provides financial or in-kind support for a school initiative, event or program.
• Outgoing sponsorship is where a school provides financial or in-kind support to an external organisation for their initiative, event or program.

Sponsorship can include partnership arrangements, except where the arrangement is governed by the Partnerships Victoria requirements or otherwise involves the development or management of infrastructure.

Advertising
Advertising is typically an arrangement where an organisation or individual (the advertiser) purchases public space from another organisation (the publisher) for an agreed price to advertise their product or service and there are no additional benefits to the publisher. The only benefit to the publisher is usually the payment received from the advertiser for advertising the product or service (noting that payment can be waived or in kind).

Advertising may be in the form of print, radio, television, outdoor, online and other digital platforms.

For example, a company pays a school to buy space in a newsletter or magazine or a billboard to advertise their services to the school community, or the school pays a company to advertise the school to prospective students and families.

Benefits
What a school receives or provides for its sponsorship investment and any additional or potential value.

Bequests
The transfer of personal property – such as cash, securities or other assets – upon the owner's death, as specified in their will.

Donations
A one-off untied gift that has no requirement for benefits in return. If the donor receives more than 'mere recognition’ (that is, advertising), the donation must be treated as a sponsorship. Examples of donations include:

• The school is given $2,000 by a former student’s accounting firm with no requirement to provide any goods or services in return. The firm is mentioned on an honour board as having donated the money.
• The school is given timber by the local hardware store to rebuild a stage at the local school. No goods and services are requested in return and no payment is requested for the timber.
• The school raises money for a particular charity (for example, Red Nose Day or the Royal Children’s Hospital) and wishes to donate this money. The school should retain sufficient documentation (for example, a charity flyer or charity acknowledgement) to support the payment.

Grants
Discretionary funding provided to external individuals or organisations for a specified purpose directed at achieving goals and objectives consistent with government policy, where the grant recipient is selected on merit against a set of criteria.

In-kind support or bartering
Where a sponsor provides services or goods instead of cash. Sometimes this is called ‘value in kind’ or ‘contra’ sponsorship.

Naming rights
A benefit of sponsorship where a sponsor has negotiated to have their name added as a prefix to the sponsored event or activity.

Philanthropy
Charitable giving to human causes on a large scale. Acts of philanthropy include donating money to a charity, volunteering at a local shelter or raising money to donate to cancer research.

Related policies

• Advertising
• Conflict of Interest
• Contractors – Insurance and Contract Arrangements
• Finance Manual – Financial Management for Schools (see Section 9.8 Locally raised funds – Sponsorship)
• Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality
• Philanthropic Partnerships
• Victorian Government Sponsorship Policy: Relevant Legislation and Policies

Relevant legislation

• Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees
• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) – Part 2.3
• Ministerial Order 1280 (DOCX)
• Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)