Acknowledging Sponsors Names in Programs

How do nonprofit organizations address long sponsor names in their programs?

As more nonprofits turn toward individual and corporate donors, they face the issue of how to acknowledge these contributors often in contexts that do not easily accommodate long naming formats.

Red Rooster Group recently worked with a nonprofit organization that had multiple tiers of sponsorship naming — the entire building as well as specific wings of the building, its departments and individual programs, as well as a book series — all named after people.

Their series of brochures, are typically named for their respective programs. Given that these sponsors names, some of which were quite long, had to appear in the nameplates of the various publications, a plan was needed in order to handle them appropriately.

We identified the following three considerations for addressing sponsorship names:

1.  Political – how the name is treated based on the donor’s request balanced with the needs of the organization. The size of the donation, the clout and influence of the donor, and the need and fortitude of the organization will come into play.

2.  Relative – the size, nature and payout of the donation relative to other contributions for that organization. It is easiest to set up this hierarchy before soliciting contributions in order to set the standards for the appropriate recognition and treatment of sponsors’ names.

3. Logistical – the practical considerations that will determine how a sponsor’s name is treated. Each media will tend to have its own limitations. Building names, for example, may require a significant capital investment and have a fairly long lifespan, while links from an online recognition can provide quick means additional information.