Overview | Sponsorship Fee | Resources

Overview

UC Davis encourages commercial activities that are mutually beneficial to the university and external partners. The UC Davis Preferred Partnership Program is a resource for the campus community  to help facilitate commercial activities and provide education on how these partnerships can be mutually beneficial to prospective partners and the campus departments units and student organizations.

Sponsorship Fee

There is a minimum sponsorship fee for any commercial activity on campus.  The minimum sponsorship fee is set by the UP3 Advisory Committee, to ensure that campus departments and student organizations receive fair compensation for the access they are providing to the campus community.

Minimum Sponsorship Fees

On-site marketing*

• $1,000 – commercial entities being present on-campus
• $600 – local businesses that meet all of the following criteria:
  • Local means all operations are within Yolo County
  • Locally owned and operated
  • Single business location
  • Less than $250,000 in annual revenue for the total company

Logo Exposure Only

(website, t-shirts, flyers)*

• $500

Student Organized Career Fairs*

• $700 for companies with 250+ employees
• $400 for companies with 250 employees or less

*The Campus Access Fees listed are the minimum amounts approved by the UP3 Advisory Committee.  UP3 encourages campus departments and organizations to reach out to our staff (up3@ucdavis.edu) to discuss an appropriate sponsorship fee for your specific event.

Resources

Why Invest in UC Davis?

The UC Davis campus community (students, staff, faculty and friends) provide companies with access to potential and future customers. The diverse constituencies that the campus serves provide a value to companies and in exchange for access to these groups, campus units, departments and student groups should charge an appropriate sponsorship fee.

When it comes to discussing a sponsorship fee, here are some resources that you can use to discuss the audience that companies will have access to at UC Davis.

• UC Davis Rankings
• UC Davis Statistics and Points of Pride
• UC Davis – Solving the World’s Problems
• Generation Z Marketing Trends

Sponsorship Toolkit – COMING SOON

Sponsorship Contracts

Campus Departments and Units – you will need to fill-out a sponsorship agreement and work with Supply Chain Management to execute.  For more information click here.

Registered Student Organizations – Click here for a sample contract (.docx) you can customize for your organization.

Examples of Activities That Require a Sponsorship Fee

Commercial Activities - Any marketing, advertising, selling, or providing of samples of products or services on the campus or in campus publications by any commercial enterprise. This includes having any business logo on any printed material (including apparel).

Sponsorship - collaborative agreement between a campus department or organization and a commercial enterprise in managing and financing an event or activity in which the sponsor(s) receives acknowledgement for providing financial support.

Commercial Activity Evaluation

The following guidelines shall be used by each vice chancellor and dean, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics as well as the Director—CES, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, and the UC Davis Preferred Partnership Program, in evaluating commercial activities on campus, and should be addressed in proposals for such activities.

• Proposals may be for one-time activities (e.g., commercial co-sponsorship of an educational program) or for recurring activities (e.g., use of advertising in a quarterly events program).
• Proposals to solicit commercial advertising or co-sponsorship of programs must be evaluated for potential conflict of interest and possible cumulative effects on the academic environment, campus fundraising programs, externally supported research, and community relations.
• Proposals for commercial activity must provide a clear benefit to the campus consistent with the University's purpose.  Examples include the following:
  • To provide significant support to campus capital improvement initiatives for which State funds are not available to build and/or maintain (e.g., the development of a sponsorship agreement involving major corporations).
  • To present recreational, cultural, or educational programs that are determined to be beneficial to the campus community and would be more difficult to host on campus without commercial co-sponsorship (e.g., intramural tournaments, music performances, speaker series).
  • To enhance campus life through programs and activities that give students and staff the opportunity to examine products and services of potential interest to them
  • To enhance student recruitment or other public relations programs (e.g., use of campus facilities by commercial organizations sponsoring youth programs).
  • To support the printing of campus publications (e.g., athletic events programs) that are not in conflict with Section 270-25, IV.B(3) of this policy.
• The overall benefits of the proposed activity in terms of resources or funds generated for the campus must outweigh any cumulative negative impacts related to the operation and/or environment of the campus.  For example:
  • The activity must not create the appearance that the University endorses, favors, or is affiliated with any commercial enterprise unless the University specifically agrees to do so in a business contract or purchase order.  Proposals for approval of commercial activities shall evaluate the degree to which the activity would create an association between the name of the University and that of the commercial entity, and the appropriateness of creating such an association.  In permitting commercial advertising or allowing a commercial firm to sponsor or participate in a University program, the circumstances shall be evaluated to determine whether equal access is available to other, similar commercial enterprises.  The University must reserve the right to approve the content of the advertisement or program and have some degree of control over how the program/project is presented to the public or to potential recipients of affiliated advertisements.  This is particularly important when dealing with agents who will have direct responsibility for promotion of a program or solicitation of advertisers.
  • The activity must not interfere with the orderly conduct of University business (e.g., by obstruction of traffic, attraction of large off-campus audiences, excessive noise, or interruption of academic or administrative functions).
  • The activity must not adversely affect the campus environment (e.g., by creation of litter or the subjection of individuals to advertising as a condition of receiving information that is essential to their performance as students or employees of the University).