Sponsorship isn’t restricted to the corporate arena.
Sometimes the biggest success stories come from a
pairing between the business, entrepreneurial and
outside world — and this is where the collaborative
and the commercial mindsets really do come together.
An example of this is giving circles, which are growing
in popularity in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly
in the South-East Asia region and in Australia itself.
They are based on the US and Canadian model
whereby groups of individuals — mainly entrepreneurs
— donate their own money or time to a pooled
fund, deciding together to give to several charity or
community projects rather than a single entity and,
in doing so, seek to increase their awareness of and
engagement in the issues covered by these charity
or community projects. It leads to wider engagement
over a larger number of issues and also a greater
coverage of needs.
The First Seeds Fund is a singular achievement for its
founders in Australia. It is based on a US giving circle
and, in addition to donating their money, members
also contribute their time and skills to support local
causes. For First Seeds, their concentration is on
giving back at a grassroots level to women and
children in neglected communities in urban Australia,
such as Warwick Farm, just outside of Sydney. Three
generations of unemployment, child prostitution and
lack of formal education had previously made this
a ‘forgotten community’; now, with the guidance of
strong community leaders, First Seeds is making a
tangible difference.
Part of what First Seeds does incredibly well is
sponsor young women and girls in starting their own
businesses and selling the resulting products at local
markets. Every aspect of the business is covered —
marketing, business plans, budgeting, design — in
order to teach essential skills to girls who otherwise
would have absolutely no exposure to any kind of
mentoring or future-proofing.
A laser-sharp focus on
sponsorship
Sponsorship, whether within the corporate
environment, as an entrepreneur or in a philanthropic
capacity, is a serious undertaking. It:
• requires an active collaborative attitude where
talent fosters talent rather than like fosters like
• is a commitment to evolutionary learning,
sharing knowledge and insight and actively
opening doors and making those all-important
introductions to drive commercial success for
another
• involves commitment on a long-term basis and
it will reflect not only on the protégé but also on
the sponsor’s reputation
• is a two-way investment for both parties
• is future-proofing success for the protégé but
also ensuring higher visibility for the sponsor
• is about actively pursuing your goals and
enabling others to pursue theirs, which means it
is a truly engaged collaborative relationship and
provides a value exchange for both parties.
Essentially, sponsoring others is about securing the
present and ensuring that the pipeline of the future
generation of business leaders, entrepreneurs and
philanthropists is solid. It is about ensuring that
the future leaders and pioneers have effective role
models now, sharing all they have learnt along the
way and opening the book of their contact base.
Fundamentally, that they see the power of working as
We.
From Me To We, published
internationally by Wiley,
is available now from on all
good bookstores and online
distributors.