Draft Support and Sponsorship of Tauranga Community Facilities and Activities Policy

These policy updates provide clear direction for future funding and support opportunities.

Tell us what you think

We propose to rename our ‘Sponsorship from Corporates and Others Policy’ and update its contents to align with the current and future environment for funding and support of community facilities and activities.

Before the updates are adopted, we'd like to get your thoughts on what we’re proposing.

Community consultation opens on 5 February 2025 and will run until 5pm, Friday 7 March 2025.

Take the survey now

In 2024, we reviewed the Sponsorship from Corporates and Others Policy, alongside the Community Share Agreements Policy, the City Partnerships Policy, and the Naming Policy.

This review updated the intention and concepts of our sponsorship policy to provide council staff with a more current and transparent approach to seeking funding and support for community facilities and activities in Tauranga.

As part of the review process, we consulted with both internal users and external stakeholders. We also looked at the approaches taken by other councils to inform our approach.

Through this process we gathered a range of perspectives and insights to inform our policy options and recommended changes. These recommendations were put to the Community, Transparency and Engagement Committee on 18 November 2024 and are outlined below.

While the Community Share Agreements Policy and the City Partnerships Policy were once valuable, they had become outdated and no longer aligned with current practices. Council resolved to rescind these policies.

Summary of recommended policy changes

We propose to rename the ‘Sponsorship from Corporates and Others Policy’ and update its contents to align with the current and future environment for funding community facilities and activities. This has resulted in the creation of the ‘Draft Support and Sponsorship of Tauranga Community Facilities and Activities Policy’.

Draft Support and Sponsorship of Tauranga Community Facilities and Activities Policy (306kb pdf)

Through this review process we have also noted that minor amendments are required to paragraph 5.7.3 of the Naming Policy for consistency between the policies and intend to make the changes marked up in the draft Naming Policy below.

Draft Naming Policy (326kb pdf)

Please select the drop down arrow for a summary of the key policy changes

Change the name from ‘Sponsorship from Corporates and Others Policy’ to 'Support and Sponsorship of Tauranga Community Facilities and Activities Policy’

Updating the title makes it clearer what the policy is for and that it applies to a wider range of arrangements than traditional corporate sponsorship. The intention is to signal that the council is ready to work with both corporate and non-corporate organisations.

Including the term ‘support’ in the name of this policy recognises that the council may seek other arrangements which provide value and assistance, that are not purely financial. For example, where an organisation provides a service that enables the delivery of a community event, or a business provides materials for the creation of a community facility.

Use the term ‘support agreements’ instead of 'sponsorship agreements’

This gives staff guidance for entering various types of arrangements. The previous policy focused only on sponsorships, a commercial arrangement.

While the council does not currently run a formal partnership programme, this policy can be used for more types of funding arrangements while ensuring they align with the council's goals and values, even if they are not traditional commercial arrangements. For example, a business with an interest in literacy may provide funding for a specialist area in a library, or a landscaping organisation that values inclusivity may provide labour to improve access to a park.

Confirm that support opportunities are limited to community facilities and activities.

This restricts support arrangements to only be for community facilities and activities, consistent with the previous policy, and removes the possibility of sponsorship for an ongoing function of the council or an operational council facility unless specifically agreed to by elected members. For example, it would require a resolution by elected members to have our animal control vans and pound sponsored by “Fido Foods” or “Meow Munchies” as the pound is an operational council facility.

Work with supporters whose values, practices, or products do not conflict with the council’s values and policies, or are not injurious to health.

No specific industries are excluded. Staff are directed to undertake due diligence to understand prospective supporters before entering arrangements with them.

Use an open, competitive process to enter into sponsorship arrangements where practical.

This has not been extended to all support agreements due to the sensitive nature of some funding processes which may be out of the council’s control. Staff are directed to apply the principles of transparency and seek to use an open process where it is practical to do so.

Acknowledge mutual benefits to sponsorship arrangements or other funding agreements.

Beyond reducing costs to the council, it provides a clear opportunity for community involvement in the provision of community facilities and activities, and addresses issues raised by staff in respect of clearly providing opportunities to take a more relationship-based approach to soliciting funding and in-kind support.

Support staff seeking funding and in-kind support.

This will increase the provision of facilities and activities to the community without increasing the burden on ratepayers.

Amend clause 5.7.3 of the Naming Policy.

This clarifies that granting of naming rights may be considered for parts of community facilities as well as whole community facilities. Includes correct reference to the updated Support and Sponsorship of Tauranga Community Facilities and Activities Policy.