Advancement · Grants and Funding

Read the sponsorship
before you sign it.

A sponsorship letter of two paragraphs can leave out who approves the logo, what happens if the event is canceled and whether the banner is a thank-you or an advertisement. Sort every benefit the sponsor receives, check twelve terms against the agreement, and track the payments. The checklist flags what reads like advertising, terms that are missing and money that is late.

Add a sponsorshipWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Grant writer’s desk, $49 for 32 items.

Sponsorships

The worked example is made up: a credit union sponsoring a high school robotics season for $6,000 and $800 in kind, with a banner that reads like advertising and the second payment ten days late. Saved on this device only.

Loading the sponsorship form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · Grants & Funding$5 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per sponsorship with sponsor, what it sponsors, kind, cash, in-kind value and term; each benefit sorted as acknowledgment, advertising or goods and services, with value; twelve agreement terms; the payment schedule. Flags advertising-type benefits, missing terms and late payments; totals cash received against scheduled and in-kind value.
Who it is for
Development directors, school and district partnership staff, booster club and foundation leaders who negotiate sponsorships.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per sponsorship. Prints one sponsorship for approval, every sponsorship as a table or a blank checklist; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Grant writer’s desk ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Grants & Funding space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Enter the deal: sponsor, what it covers, cash, in-kind and term.
  2. List every benefit and sort each one.
  3. Check the twelve terms against the draft agreement.
  4. Fix what is missing before anyone signs; get the approvals your policy requires.
  5. Track each payment and send the written acknowledgment.

Add a sponsorship

Acknowledgment or advertising

Thank-you or advertisement?Acknowledgment· Name and logo· Address, phone, website· Neutral description of products· Its slogan, if not a sales pitchAdvertising· Prices, discounts, “no fees”· Comparisons: “best rates in town”· Endorsements· Calls to buy or joinUnder federal tax rules, a sponsor’s payment that buys only acknowledgment is usuallynot taxable to the nonprofit. Advertising can be.Thank-you or advertisement?Acknowledgment· Name and logo· Address, phone, website· Neutral description of products· Its slogan, if not a sales pitchAdvertising· Prices, discounts, “no fees”· Comparisons: “best rates in town”· Endorsements· Calls to buy or joinUnder federal tax rules, a sponsor’spayment that buys only acknowledgment isusually not taxable to the nonprofit.Advertising can be.
From the IRS rules on qualified sponsorship payments, in general terms. Your finance office or tax adviser makes the call.

Why the sorting matters

Federal tax law treats a qualified sponsorship payment, one where the sponsor gets no substantial return beyond acknowledgment, as outside unrelated business income. Advertising, which includes qualitative or comparative language, prices, endorsements and inducements to buy, can make part of a payment taxable. Goods and services the sponsor receives, like banquet tickets, also matter for the acknowledgment you send.

Student privacy

Schools subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act generally need parental consent before sharing student records, and directory information policies have their own limits. A sponsorship should never include lists of students or families for marketing. Write that into the agreement.

Sources

  1. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 598: Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organizations, qualified sponsorship payments (irs.gov).
  2. Treasury Regulation 26 CFR 1.513-4, Certain sponsorship not unrelated trade or business (ecfr.gov).
  3. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1771: Charitable Contributions, Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements (irs.gov).
  4. U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office. FERPA (studentprivacy.ed.gov).

The worked example is made up. This checklist is not legal or tax advice; your finance office, counsel or tax adviser decides. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.