Free Sponsorship Contract Template

What is a Sponsorship Contract or Sponsorship Agreement?

Events, whether they are fairs, music festivals, sporting events, award shows, or any type of party, can be highly expensive to plan and execute. That’s where sponsors can help the organizers. In return for financial assistance or otherwise, organizers may grant sponsors access to media opportunities, brand placement on advertising materials, VIP treatment, free tickets, etc. 

When large brands or different companies are involved in a sponsorship event, it is always good to have a written sponsorship agreement or contract in place.

A sponsorship contract or sponsorship agreement is nothing but a formal document that two parties—a sponsor and a sponsee—use to lay the terms and conditions regarding the sponsorship offered. Generally, it will cover the following sponsorship details:

• Products or services provided as part of the sponsorship

• Promotion rights of the sponsor 

• Any applicable laws

• Confidentiality 

• Merchandising rights

• Sponsorship fee

• Sponsor’s and sponsee’s obligations, etc.

Understanding the different types of sponsorships your company can offer

Depending on the type of sponsored event, the organizers offer different sponsorship opportunities to businesses. The type of sponsorship package can vary on factors such as the type of the event, size of the venue required, agenda for the event, people needed to organize, etc. Generally, the organizers offer the following types of sponsorship opportunities: 

1. Financial sponsor: This type of sponsor offers a specific amount of money for a cause or event in exchange for promotional or other benefits

2. In-kind sponsor: Rather than investing money, these sponsors provide their products or services. They can be a venue sponsor, food sponsor, or prize sponsor.

3. Media sponsor: They act as media partners for the program wherein they will run advertisements, news, and other social media marketing initiatives as part of the deal. Media coverage can include both offline and online promotional materials. 

4. Merchandise sponsor: You take part in a convention, and you receive branded goodies like pens, notepads, water bottles, etc. Or you take part in a concert, you get t-shirts with your favorite band’s picture on them. Making, selling, and distribution of such merchandise are taken care of by a merchandise sponsor.       

Why are Sponsorship Contracts important?

Sponsorship contracts between sponsors and sponsees are important due to multiple aspects. 

1. This contract lays forth the specific legal terms between the sponsor and the parties responsible for upholding the sponsorship contract. 

2. It also specifies the cost of the service, the duration of the contract, and the obligations of the parties. 

3. In the event of a disagreement, it can act as a dispute resolution form as it will contain all the details of the sponsorship provided. 

Having a thought-out and neatly crafted sponsorship agreement has its own advantages. 

• It gives the sponsorship program a structured and professional outlook.

• All rules and responsibilities of the involved parties are clearly laid out in advance.

• Sponsors can see what kind of benefits they receive as part of the sponsorship package beforehand and provide financial help accordingly.

• It gives a proper place to record additional information, termination policies, and other legal consequences with regard to the sponsored project.

• It helps the sponsoring organization to keep track of the financial, free products, resources, manpower, etc. that they’re providing and what rights and benefits they’re getting in exchange.   

Advantages of using a Sponsorship Agreement Template

A sponsorship deal can raise the exposure of your business, provide you the chance to communicate with potential customers directly, and boost your bottom line. It is a recommended practice to formalize all sponsorship agreements between your company (as the sponsor) and the sponsored party in writing. 

Drafting a thought-provoking sponsorship agreement can be tricky. Your sponsorship agreement form should not come across as too technical or incomprehensible yet it should be legally binding. It should be precise and give both parties a clear understanding of what they’re signing up for. 

Moreover, there can be subtle differences in the sponsorship contract based on the kind of occasion for which the sponsorship is made. It can be a media sponsorship, in-kind sponsorship, financial sponsorship, or promotional sponsorship. These changes should always reflect on your document. By using a sponsorship agreement template, you stand the advantage of having:

• The ability to create multiple documents with a single template.

• Clarity and uniformity in messaging.

• Reduced chances of miscommunication, ambiguity, and disagreements between a sponsor and a sponsee.

• All crucial information is readily available as templates remind you to include all the key details in your agreement.

• You are saved from writing contract documents from scratch. Subject to your need, all you have to do is edit the template and draft your contract documents.  

Must-have clauses in a sponsorship contract template

Although the specifics of each sponsorship deal may vary significantly, the basic idea is always the same: A corporation pays a person or organization in exchange for their public association and, consequently, increased brand awareness.

Begin your sponsorship agreement with a cover page. Here, you need to clearly mention the name of the sponsoring organization for whom it is prepared, your company’s name or the name of the individual who is in charge of the occasion that’s getting sponsored, and the name of the person who has prepared it. 

Overview of the sponsorship agreement

Start by providing the basic details of the agreement such as: 

• The date when the involved parties enter the sponsorship agreement

• Name and address of the sponsor and sponsee

• Start and end date from which the contract shall be considered valid and legal

• Purpose for which the sponsee has requested the sponsorship

• What kind of sponsorship has the sponsor agreed to?

• Sponsorship fee or service offered, etc. 

Terms and Conditions

In this section, include every detail of the sponsorship agreement, like the sponsorship fee, type of sponsorship or the sponsorship package, insurance, intellectual property rights, termination, etc.

1. Sponsorship Package

In this part explain:

• The various segmentations of the package

• The pricing for each type of package

• A thorough description of the kind of services, benefits, perks, etc. enjoyed by the sponsor in each package

2. Term

For the document to be legally binding between the listed parties, it’s important to detail the date on which the agreement commences. Specify the start date and end date of when the terms of the agreement are valid. You can also include the date the parties enter into the agreement.

You should think about whether you prefer the sponsorship arrangement to last for a longer time, like 12 months, or if it only applies once for a specific amount of time, like for a specific event. Additionally, if the sponsorship deal is for a set period of time, you should think about whether either party has the choice to extend the term during the end of the contract, if so, then how and when the notice for an extension must be given.

3. Grant of rights

Grant of Rights explains what rights and benefits will a sponsor receive when he/she agrees to support a sponsored event. For the same event, different sponsors will have different rights depending upon the sponsorship fee they have paid. 

For instance, a sponsor can obtain many rights including:

• Right to use the sponsee’s intellectual property such as logos or trademarks to sell or promote its products or services.

• Inclusion of the sponsor’s name in all press releases and other media spots in connection with the event.

• Right to use marketing-related materials to create any merchandising.    

4. Sponsorship Fee

Under this section mention the: 

• Package agreed upon by the sponsor

• Fees involved for it

• Mode of payment chosen by the sponsor

• Schedule to make those payments

• Committed date to make those payments 

5. Exclusivity

If your company is funding an event, such as a sporting event, convention or seminar, fair, etc. then it is better to include an exclusivity clause. An exclusivity clause prohibits the sponsored party from using goods, services, or marketing-related materials from the sponsor's rivals. In this segment state who all are a sponsor’s competitors, what materials constitute under this, etc. This avoids future disputes between the sponsee and the sponsor company.  

6. License

As part of the sponsored program, the sponsor agrees to share certain rights and benefits with the sponsee as well. In this part, the sponsee needs to mention what those rights and licenses are that the sponsor has agreed to share with them. It can be:

• Intellectual property of the sponsor

• Use of logos, trade names, and other brand-related materials while advertising or promoting the sponsor company’s assets as part of the event

• If there is a product or service license required for using the sponsor’s materials, then the sponsor agrees to share those with the sponsee as a non-exclusive limited license

The Sponsee agrees to obtain written approval before the use of such materials.

7. Intellectual Property Rights

Both the sponsee and sponsor hereby agree upon what property will be considered intellectual property and how each party needs to treat them. For example, the logo, trademarks, and marketing materials of the sponsor will remain the exclusive property of the sponsor and the sponsee won’t have any intellectual rights to them. 

8. Representations and Warranties

A contract's representation and warranties clause outlines the relevant facts as they are stated in the contract at the time of its execution. In simple terms, representations and warranties are promises made by one party to another. If either party finds any false representations or promises, then the other party can file for misrepresentation. For example, to conduct any sponsored event, the sponsee should obtain necessary licenses, permits, and other authorizations prior. And it is under this part, they need to mention if such things are met or not.  

9. Indemnification

While conducting a sponsored event, chances are that involved parties can sue either party in case of loss, damages, or any kind of extra expenses incurred as part of negligence during or as part of the event. Under this clause, mention those conditions where the involved party will be held harmless.  

10. Confidentiality

This section of the template states the sponsee and sponsor’s responsibility when dealing with each other’s business information, trade secrets, and other confidential information. The sponsor agrees to keep all information received as part of the sponsored program strictly private and not to divulge any details pertaining to the sponsee’s property to any third party. In return, the sponsee also agrees to keep the sponsor's confidential details private.       

11. Termination

The contract can end at any time. In this segment explain how involved parties may terminate the contract. For instance, if either party wants to end the agreement, they can do that by giving written notice and expressing their intent to end the contract. You can further elaborate on the conditions for making the written notice admissible by asking to submit the termination notice under a stipulated time. 

12. Arbitration

Arbitration is an out-of-court dispute resolution system wherein a third party is appointed in the event of any disagreements. In this section, you need to mention who will be the appointed arbitrator and how many people would act as arbitrators.

13. Relationship of parties

It mentions what kind of working relationship each party will have and all the services or support sponsored will not be considered for future partnership or other collaboration.

14. Insurance

Both Parties hereby agree to get appropriate insurance coverages as required by federal or state laws during the term of the agreement. Mention what kind of coverages both have to take and keep in handy.

15. Miscellaneous

It contains all other terms and conditions related to the agreement and checks out all the compliance in terms of:

• Governing law and jurisdiction

• Severability 

• Modification and amendments

• Notices

• Assignability, etc.

Acceptance and signatures

This is the final section of the agreement template. When the sponsee and sponsor agree to the laid out terms in the sponsorship contract, it is then formally accepted and signed by both parties. Once the contract is signed, it becomes legal and any future conflicts arising shall be governed accordingly. 

Use Revv’s ready-to-use Sponsorship Contract template for a hassle-free contract creation process 

Sponsorship agreements are complicated. Moreover, the agreement template that you find online may mostly contain legal jargon or other confusing elements. Also, creating a contract that matches your requirements from scratch is a cumbersome job. That’s why you need Revv. Revv provides a professional sponsorship agreement template using which you can create and customize your agreement documents in no time.  

Feature-rich document editor 

Revv’s drag-and-drop editor offers rich text editing and formatting options. With this feature, you can quickly add/remove text, images, tables, etc., in your contract and create an effective agreement document for your sponsor.

Seamless collaboration

Revv enables collaboration within the document through the Notes feature. You can tag your internal team with @mentions, add public or private comments, ask them to review or attach documents or images to your existing contract document and actively collaborate. This enables hassle-free communication and liberates users from back-and-forth email exchanges. 

Fast review and approval process

Organizers for sponsored programs involve different types of sponsors for their events. There may be a couple of financial sponsors, in-kind sponsors, media partners, etc. For each type of sponsor, a different agreement shall be created. Oftentimes, these documents need to be thoroughly vetted and approved by the main organizing committee before sending them to the respective sponsors. 

With Revv, you are in complete control of the review and approval system. You can send any sponsorship contract to the authorized personnel for their review and approval using the Check and send for internal approval feature.

Built-in eSignature

Revv’s eSignature feature allows you to secure your sponsorships in a safe and compliant way. Revv eSignatures hold great legal weightage since it follows all the mandates as mentioned in ESIGN Act, UETA, and eIDAS. 

Real-time monitoring

Get real-time visibility with Revv’s activity tracker. It provides intelligent insights into the progress of your contract - who has viewed, signed, accepted, rejected, etc. 

Simple payment option

Our templates can be easily integrated with payment systems like Stripe and you can directly ask the sponsors to pay the sponsorship fees in the same agreement document. It makes the whole payment process fast and stress-free.  

Easier accessibility and reach

You can access your agreement docs anytime, anywhere, and from any device since Revv has a cloud storage system.

Instant notification systems

Revv sends auto-generated email notifications to both the sender and recipients notifying them of the actions to be taken on the agreement.

Legally admissible audit trails

For all the eSigned contracts, Revv creates an Evidence Summary certificate. It is a legally admissible audit trail that records every action taken on it. Recipients or sponsors can easily download it and use it for any legal matters. 

Design legally sound Sponsorship Contracts with Revv. Sign up today or schedule a demo with our experts!