Corporate Sponsorship

I was thinking about the whole issue of corporate sponsorship and more specifically the type of projects that companies sponsor.  It occurred to me that there seems to be large sums of money available to support sporting and musical events but much less to provide educational projects.  In the middle of my thoughts I heard on the news where the prime minister expressed the same sentiment.  It was at the opening of a homework centre in Denham Town and he expressed the frustration that is experienced trying to get corporations to come on board.

Now I would be the first to tell you that companies are free to do what they want with the money that they put aside for promotional events.  However, many of these same companies put themselves forward as good corporate citizens.  On that basis should not the citizens have some input in where we would like to see companies invest because supporting the community is an investment?  The projects, which a company chooses to invest reveals to us what it considers to be of utmost important to the society.  Based upon the trend that priority is clearly sports and one understands this because some sporting events carry a high profile and can bring brand familiarity to the public at large.  Is this the best approach and should such expenditure be based mainly on the potential audience?

Although sports can provide opportunities for some to go to school or to earn a living from it, the number of successful persons is very limited.  It is possible that only 5 to 10 percent of all persons who take part in support can earn a living from it.  The problem is that everyone focuses on the most successful and dreams of achieving those heights and obtaining all of the benefits.  Participating in sports for many persons is a big gamble, the promise of great riches and fame even if the chance of it happening is very small.  After all there can only be one Olympic champion or world champion per each event.

Education is not like this and provides a much greater opportunity for those who pursue it to be able to support themselves.  However, large sums of money and the corresponding fame are usually not present.  Education and skills training can make a difference to the average man in the street that does not possess sporting ability. There are far more persons who can benefit from educational programmes than those who benefit from sporting ones and they are more likely to remember who helped them.

Being a good corporate citizen is not just about being popular but includes investing in your future. The quality of the persons entering the work force continues to decline and if vital educational opportunities are not provided, it could be that these same companies will find themselves in the position of having no one to carry out their operations.

Tags: Carl Wilson