I’m Jack Culpan, a final year student at Lancaster University studying the ITMB degree alongside juggling various societies and jobs. The flexibility and variety of modules throughout the degree have proven very useful to get me to where I am now. Combining this with my past experiences working in societies and sports clubs, I realised the need for Sponsor My Society.

What is Sponsor My Society?
Sponsor My Society is an online platform that connects university societies and sports clubs with businesses. Student committee members can sign up their student group and access sponsorship opportunities on the site, as well as uploading their key events to a collaborative calendar which is accessible by companies.

What is unique about Sponsor My Society is that it allows societies and sports clubs to access affiliate opportunities - something rarely done in this sector. We all know the successes of Deliveroo and Uber's referral schemes, and as more companies start to follow in their tracks, it is opening more opportunities in the student market. One area I’m focusing on is articulating these referral programs and presenting them in an affiliate form that can be used by societies to generate funds, providing further value for their members.

Aside from the affiliate opportunities, the other sponsorship model I’m pursuing is the more traditional style of sponsorship, a lump sum investment for the society which then unlocks access to mailing lists, communication channels, social profiles, events etc. This method is used more regularly by the likes of the top four consulting firms, with more companies starting to realise the benefits. I’m working to show the real value of both sponsorship models to companies who might never have considered societies as a communication channel, and how the use of this platform can help them easily make that connection.

What I’m hoping to get support for:

I’m looking for businesses that want to help support societies and assist in the amazing things that they accomplish. Working with student societies and sports clubs is a great way to heighten a company’s CSR, whilst really making a difference to a student’s experience at university. I think with greater collaboration students will be able to participate in bigger events, further their knowledge on possible graduate schemes and company’s values before they start graduate life.

How I can help other students:
I have implemented a student jobs page into the site, as I believe the types of students visiting the website (entrepreneurial, motivated, self-starters) are prime applicants for roles such as Student Brand Ambassadors and Influencers. Hopefully, this will allow companies to harness this student niche. Running a society/club (especially a large one) is similar to running a start-up, and gives students an excellent experience of finance, customer service, event management, marketing and much more. I personally believe that they make outstanding applicants and will go on to do great things.

Progress so far:
Currently I have over 150 university societies and sports clubs signed up, with a membership reach of over 70k. On the B2B side, I have partnered with 10 companies providing clubs & societies with some exciting opportunities, and expect to continuing growing rapidly!


www.sponsormysociety.co.uk