Although it’s still in what we may consider in its ?infancy stage’, numerous companies have adapted the use of sponsorship as one of their major promotional tools. But what exactly is this tool?

Below are the basics of this marketing strategy ? a run down of what sponsorship is and what it encompasses.

The low-down of sponsorship

Basically, sponsorship is a business connection or relationship between two parties, wherein one provides support for the other. These parties may be an individual person, a group of people, or a whole organization. Applicable terms to designate the nature of each party may be termed as sponsor and sponsee or rights holder.

The word ?sponsor’ simply indicates a person or organization willing to represent and vouch for a certain thing, individual, or group. Relatively, ?to sponsor’ would mean to give support. The sponsor’s support may be through providing funds, products, or services to the ?sponsee’.

The ?sponsee’s’ role, on the other hand, creates itself as the representative of the sponsor. Their main duty is to promote the name of the sponsor, be it a large company or individual. Their exposure would usually be through advertising and media avenues, and in turn promote the sponsor’s name and the product or service they provide.

This business relationship that is created is a partnership between the two parties and is naturally aimed to be in the long-term. The longer the business relationship lasts, the greater the benefits and value that can be acquired by both sponsor and ?sponsee’.

Kinds of sponsorship

Think about what you’ve read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about Sponsorship? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?

Marketing extensively spans throughout every business venture; and because of this there are many kinds of sponsorships available to individuals and organizations. The following sponsorships below are business areas that popularly make use of sponsorships in their promotional strategies.

Educational Sponsorship

Sponsorship in education can take on several types of support by a third-party individual or organization that wishes to partner with an educational institution. The forms of sponsorship in education can be through supporting a student’s stay within the school; providing books and educational materials for students; sponsoring for uniforms, equipment and the like; and so on.

Sports Sponsorship

Sports sponsorship may be considered as one of the most popular and media-covered kind of sponsorship, in which it allows large companies or corporations to support athletes or a sport organization through a variety of services. These services include sponsoring major events and/or games, providing athletes with necessary equipment, gears, nutritional needs, etc. All these bear the sponsor’s name, which in turn benefits them by letting their ?sponsees’ advertise for them by wearing or using their name.

Arts Sponsorship

Sponsorship in the arts may not be as well known or media-covered to that of sports sponsorship, but rather attract a specific type of attention. Sponsoring for art events are for organizations that hold a certain image or brand. These are often upheld for brand exclusivity and/or luxury, independent of popularity ratings.

Television and Radio Sponsorship

An organization or individuals funding for television and radio programs is making use of media as their avenue for being known or recognized. Sponsorship of this kind reaches a lot of potential consumers, clients, and even ?sponsees’ to cater to the sponsor’s services or products.

That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

The Caltex brand, under the Chevron Corporation, is a leader in commercial and global market of automotive diesel fuels, kerosene, industrial and marine diesel fuels, and fuel oils. Their operations cover regions of Asia-Pacific, Africa-Pakistan, Latin America, North America, and Europe ? which is basically world-wide.

In ?connecting’ with the public, Caltex has vision in promoting assistance to those who are less fortunate. Partnerships made with the company are dedicated to help those who are in need; and to assist the disadvantaged improve their lives by through helping them reach their full potential and achieve their goals.

As with all community involvement of corporations, Caltex also takes part in offering and dealing with sponsorships. Aside from its society reach-out reason, the company takes sponsorship as one of its key marketing ways in communicating with its various customers and patrons. It is through sponsoring that the company is able to associate itself with partners that have the same, if not similar, values and characteristics.

A deeper look

Caltex views sponsorship as a way of business since it involves the trading of products, services and/or money for commercial value, brand recognition, and company exposure. The company deems this marketing tool as one of its most effective ways to reach out and build valuable partnerships with various target consumers and clients.

Usually, the type of sponsorship Caltex gives out is for those who reflect the brand’s value, which is all about renewing one’s drive momentum. This is in relation with their tagline ?What drives you’; and seeks for sponsorship proposals that exude such kind of excellence and motivation.

In typical fashion, sponsorships in the past have been associated with sports that involve speed, focus, and concentration ? all of which are key elements in winning. Some sponsorship that Caltex has done in the past include: Caltex Masters Golf Tournament in Singapore, Caltex Voet Van Africa Marathon, Caltex V8 Car Championships in New Zealand, and Caltex Delo Customer Car Show in the Philippines.

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Sponsorship guidelines

In choosing viable events to sponsor, Caltex uses various criteria to evaluate proposals that are submitted to them. In a minimum sense, the proposal that the company seeks out are which have the following:

? A reflection of Caltex’s brand image ? these include the best in Performance, People, Partnership

? The event should be able to maximize the presence and exposure of Caltex. This can be achieved through on-site branding, use of internet, and media coverage

? Media presence should be involved which means that the event is able to generate free publicity because it presents itself as a unique, popular, innovative event.

? The type of sponsorship requested is sole sponsorship, or any type which signifies the highest level of sponsorship

? The organization giving out the proposal has a good track record in terms of viewer-ship and attendance; and has a large base of loyal followers

? There is a ?standing out’ effect in the event which topples over competitors and has Caltex as the dominant brand of the bunch.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

What sponsorship accomplishes better than advertising is in the establishment of qualitative attributes. These attributes include brand image towards consumers, generating awareness, and consumer’s choice of such brand. On these attributes, sponsorship has more lead on enhancing them, which advertising falls short of.

Sponsorship’s winning features

With sponsorship, as compared to advertising, the following feature it builds includes the following:

? credibility ? refers to the integrity that sponsorship builds

? exclusivity ? the form of differentiation that sets clients into high status

? image enhancement

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? relevance to lifestyle

? prestige that it offers

There are other points that make sponsorship a winner; and these are also quantitative benefits that are not available through advertising. The first of which is having a live audience for product and brand circulation. Sponsorship provides opportunities for on-site sales and sampling, customer feedback, surveying, sales-force interaction and product testing ? all of which involve the participation of an audience. Through live product presentations, the exposure is greater and the promotion of brand and product names is at a rapid pace.

When we compare sponsorship and advertising, one mode to look into is how interaction is done. With advertising, interaction is one-way and generally a monologue. On the other hand, sponsorship is more like a dialogue where the opportunity of a company to have live exchange with its target customers is highly practiced.

As with interaction, product sampling is another plus to sponsorship. Events that are sponsored allow people to have on site trials on products. This way, awareness of a certain brand name or service is heightened. Examples on-site trials include food sampling, test driving, official clothes worn in the event, etc.

With sponsorship, an organization’s name becomes associated into a sponsored event’s actions unlike that of advertising. This means that sponsorship is able to surpass the medium of media and place itself in the environment where everyone can see it, For example, when sponsorship is incorporated in movies; the audience has no escape in seeing the brand or logo being promoted because it is part of the film. They can’t just eliminate a scene like changing a channel on TV; they have to sit through the film and take in everything that comes with it.

Lastly, sponsorship provides entertainment to its client. How? This is done through the events that are sponsored. When the word ?event’ comes to mind, it is always a happening that does not come everyday. It is a break from the everyday routine that clients have. With advertising, nothing is disrupted from normal life. Everyone is accustomed to see bill boards, ad placements and commercials.

With sponsored events, the setting is different and the aim is to provide an avenue for people to interact with the business through a social activity. Events also make great places to have informal sales and networking; and with the chosen venue, which is most often a hospitable one, the event becomes desirable and unique to lounge in.

When word gets around about your command of Sponsorship facts, others who need to know about Sponsorship will start to actively seek you out.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

Protection is the key word when drawings up contracts are presented between sponsor and sponsee. This is to prevent any anomalies or set backs that may occur in the event that one party doesn’t reach the agreed upon aims.

To help in creating a legal agreement, below are guidelines and key points to consider when formulating a letter of agreement or contract between a sponsor and sponsee.

A guideline in agreement

It is important to always take a sufficient amount of time and very careful consideration when drafting a contract. This applies to all business ventures other than sponsorship a huge number of companies thrive in having partnerships. In any relationship, it is most important to think through such considerations in order to have something to ?fall back’ on.

In sponsorship, a letter of agreement will usually be enough to seal the deal between sponsor and sponsee, but this will highly depend upon the value of sponsorship and the size of the company that is involved. If the value is very high, like that of major athletes and big time corporations, a contract is the choice most would go for.

In creating an agreement or contract, it is important to take into account the following points:

? It is best to always get a commitment in writing. A handshake or word-of-mouth agreement will never suffice.

? Write down everything that is discussed and agreed upon during sponsor-sponsee meetings

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? It is good to take advice on that commitment that a sponsor or sponsee is getting into. There are consultants that specialize in these kinds of partnerships.

? An organization or individual should never commit to anything it/she/he cannot be sure to deliver. In short, promises that can’t be kept should not be made

? An agreement should be simple and direct in writing. It is best to avoid too much legal terms, although at times this cannot be done without.

The crucial point to understand when it comes to legal agreements is to have a very clear statement of what the sponsor and the sponsee has agreed to. Usually a lawyer will always point out any necessary areas in which have to clarified and put into more detail.

In order to get a view on what should be clearly stated and defined in any legal agreement or contract, the following list bellows breaks down what usually is considered between sponsor and sponsee partnerships:

? The nature of both sponsor and sponsee ? whether the former is capable and relevant enough to support a person or organization; and whether the latter can live up to the needs of the sponsor in return

? Cash and benefits ? this should be clearly defined as to what each party will be getting out of the partnership

? The actions involved for both sponsor and sponsee ? this area should list down the roles of each party within the partnership.

? The length or contract term ? The agreement or contract should also state how long such partnership between a sponsor and sponsee should last, and the terms of which a contract can be stopped or turn invalid

? Early exit ? this part of the agreement is more of a ?back up’ plan for each party, wherein if either fails to comply with its responsibilities and obligations, then there is a chance for the other party to exit gracefully.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

As it is a large corporation, Boeing gives out corporate sponsorships to those in need of support in funding. Organizations are welcomed by the company to give unsolicited sponsorship proposals since they seek to proactively create partnerships with strategic and appropriate partners.

Evaluation Process

Building long-term partnerships is the goal that Boeing aims to attain in sponsorship. They support a select number of events and activities which have similar interests and values. In order for this to possible, an evaluation process is conducted by Boeing to see whether an outside organization is an ideal sponsorship partner.

All sponsorship proposals given to Boeing go through the following processes:

? Unsolicited and solicited proposals are received by Boeing Corporate Communications.

? Boeing Corporate Communications then performs a preliminary overview that is based on their evaluation criteria.

? If the sponsorship proposal has potential, it is shared with a team of managers responsible for sponsorship program development projects.

? The sharing is evaluations of the sponsorship proposal ? taking into account the proposal’s location, subject and scope ? seeing if it fits with Boeing’s brand and strategy on sponsorship.

Evaluation Criteria

There are six general criteria developed by Boeing in evaluating sponsorship proposals. These measures ensure that the benefit garnered is for both parties ? sponsor and sponsee.

Sponsorship proposals are subject to evaluation based on the following:

? The tangible benefits involved if a partnership is pursued.

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? The longevity the proposal offers if a partnership between the organization and Boeing is established.

? The capability of the proposal to target necessary audiences and build the right kind of relationships.

? How Boeing will be exposed through such a sponsorship ? will it be a positive venture, will it bring in more customers and good feedback, etc.

? What kind of additional resource is the proposal going to generate.

? Will a long term relationship prove to be sustainable and overall beneficial to both parties?

There are specific ineligible activities that Boeing has no interest of pursuit. Some of these activities are mentioned below:

? Little leagues and other local sports organizations
? Charities that hold fundraising events
? Individual or family sponsorship requests
? Daredevil stunts and sports
? Events that do not have any Boeing facility, product or technology
? Religious activities
? Sponsoring travel expenses

Current Sponsorships

There are currently a number of organizations that are sponsored by Boeing. These companies are also large business that have passed the evaluation process and fit the evaluation criteria that Boeing stands by,

Some of the current sponsorships include the following below:

? Chicago Bears – This team is contracted by Boeing under a five-year sponsorship agreement.

? Museum of Flight – This organization, relevant to the nature of Boeing, provides a detailed and extensive look into Boeing’s history and bright future.

? The John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts – The events held by this institution are sponsored by Boeing. These events are Kennedy Center’s Annual Gala Weekend in April, 2004 ? 2008; and Kennedy Center’s Annual Honors Week in December, 2004 ? 2008.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

Whether the business is that of a pet shop, a small grocer, or a bookstore, there is still advertising involved. Believe it or not, the tool that can be included in such advertising is corporate sponsorship. It doesn’t necessarily mean that this kind of sponsorship is only made for big businesses ? if that were the case, then sponsoring wouldn’t be overall effective.

It is essential to understand that capital is not the base consideration for exposure. There are many attainable opportunities in the market for small business ventures, and corporate sponsorship can prove to be a profitable investment for such.

Small business can benefit from corporate sponsorship; and below are just some of the gains that can be acquired.

What small businesses can benefit

Business visibility

As with all businesses, being known is the forefront of advertising’s use. If a business is highly visible is a steep climb, but finding means for positive visibility is even more difficult. Small businesses, due to its size, tend to become wallflowers as opposed to those big businesses and their flashy lights. With corporate sponsorship, positive visibility is easier achieved, giving a small business the opportunity to put them in the right kind of sight.

This is only possible when the right match of between a sponsor and a business is made. A small business should align itself with a sponsor that has similar culture and ethics. If the partnership is mismatched, however, the small business can suffer greatly. So it is very important as well to consider the market trends when looking out for the right kind of corporate sponsor.

Cost-efficient advertising

Advertising is usually a big bite out of spending that is made in business big and small. It is a downside but more so for small enterprises since their funds are not that vast. Corporate sponsorship is then the tool to help in alleviating such costly means of exposure.

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Businesses that are small have a chance to be exposed little by little through corporate sponsorship. It is through this sponsoring that a business is given more options on advertising cost. An example of a good and inexpensive way of exposure is through conventions.

Corporations often sponsor conventions that give small business the opportunity to showcase their products and/or services. Bake fairs, often sponsored by big-named food brands, allows people to sell their baked goods and give them the publicity they need to be known.

High status attainment

Partnering with a big time company, however small a business is will eventually attain itself a VIP status. Aligning with an organization that attracts or has many patrons will catapult a small business into the big-time scene as well.

This analogy is akin to the thought that sticking with big names will allow others to remember you. This is most often true, and a business that affiliates itself with a productive sponsorship will experience such an effect.

Increase in profit

With popularity comes the gain that every business aims for. The more people know about a certain product or service, the more sales that business will generate. This is the reason why brand exposure is necessary ? so that sales will be high.

Being sponsored by a corporation allows a small business has access and visibility to a vast number of potential consumers and clients, which will in turn increase profits. One thing to keep in mind also is that sponsorship will not only be the bases for sales increase, but also the quality of the product and/or service that is acquired by buyers.

Image improvement

In addition to having more exposure to the public and becoming more visible in the market, small business that are corporately sponsored also enhances their image. When a business is backed up by the right kind of sponsor, it only signifies that the product or service being sold is something to take a look at and is worthy of notice.

There’s a lot to understand about Sponsorship. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

Sports sponsorship can be observed and dated back to Rome and Ancient Greece where prominent society members supported the arts festival as well as the sports played. By support, it didn’t mean the proper sponsorship or patronage that was considered as a marketing tool. It rather meant continuation of such festivals and athletic events for entertainment.

Today, however, sponsorship through sports has become one of the most popular kinds of sponsorship due to the amount of exposure it can get for both sponsor and sponsee. Sponsoring an athlete or sport means that the sponsor is exchanging products or money for the right to link and associate the company name with the sporting event or athlete.

Why do organizations sponsor sports?

Aside from the popularity tag sports sponsorship gives, a number of other benefits also appeal to the company’s interest. Some of the most common benefits are given below:

Added value to brand

Companies that sponsor sports want their product or range of products to have added value when attached to a sports event or group. By value, this points to product quality, price and/or content. Companies use sports as a leverage to stand out among other competitors, and in turn create for themselves a top position where consumers can remember the name, and possibly have permanent brand recognition.

So what exactly do sports have that other types of sponsorships don’t necessarily offer? To view in terms of goals ? sporting events have always had one definite output, and that is there is always a winner in the end. There is always competition; a test of which team or athlete will overcome the other, proving who is superior.

Gold medals, trophies, world records, global awareness are involved in sports and are the symbol of status of teams or athletes in a particular sport. Winners become popular enough to become household names, and this is what appeals to corporations who want to give out sponsorships. They want their name attached to that household name ? which will in turn become a household name.

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Major corporations such as Gatorade have applied this kind of sponsorship and come out as one of the most popular brands for beverage products. They attach themselves with major sporting events and give relevance by pointing out the benefit of the product to the athlete. This then sticks to the minds of consumers and sports enthusiast about which sports drink is the one to stick to.

Sports sponsorship does not only apply to major companies, but also to small businesses as well. The general idea of brand awareness is still applied and the only difference is the level or scale it covers.

All in all, organizations support sporting events with specific objectives, each of which is addressed below:

? Brand Awareness ? this objective seeks to let consumers become aware of the product name.

? Brand Image ? this objective attempts to create a specific style and/or personality that distinguishes a brand from its other competitors, and in turn may give premium pricing

? Consumer relations ? corporations support sporting events to directly involve themselves with consumers and potential clients, proving that their company is capable of providing proper services and/or products

? Community relations ? A more altruistic approach is for this objective wherein the company is concerned about the welfare of a community; and so supporting a sports event can make themselves know to the community

? Employee relations ? this objective for a corporation is to promote employee loyalty that will in the long term be very beneficial to the business

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his top ranked GVO affiliate site: GVO

With its rapid growth over the years, Nokia is now seen as a power corporation capable of developing ubiquitous, intuitive and beautiful technology. Its growth is duly based on the company’s strategy on growing, building, and transforming its products and services based on the needs of the changing times ? all of which have been a pinnacle point in the company’s success.

As a well-established corporation, Nokia in turn has taken up the responsibility of ?giving back’ to the community. It aims to be an environmental leader by developing environmentally sound commerce practices; and producing products that offer sustenance. In addition, Nokia has also taken up the goal of taking up a role in society by providing a number of programs that aid in community development.

Sponsorship guidelines

As part in community involvement and at the same time in marketing communications, Nokia involves sponsorship as an integral part of their business strategy. A number of requests for sponsorship, prizes, support, and assistance of all sorts are received by Nokia often.

Because of the huge amount of sponsorship requests, the need for setting guidelines for such were developed by the company as a means for screening viable proposals. These guidelines involve a number of requirements that a sponsorship proposal should encompass in order for it to garner the attention it needs.

The key requirements that Nokia looks for in sponsorship proposals are the following:

? The proposal should be relevant and fitting with Nokia’s brand

? The proposal must provide a clear message towards Nokia’s consumers, clients, and/or buyers

? The proposal should be innovative, creative, and unique and to be able to stand out

? There should be a clear and solid outline that shows a return of investment

? The proposal should exude an excellence in execution and logistics

In addition to the key requirements mentioned above, there is additional information that should be in a potential sponsorship that assists Nokia in its proposal evaluation. These are:

? Details on the organization that requests for sponsorship ? this includes name, full address, organization description, and relevant credentials

? An outline and description of key persons in the organization that are involved in the proposal

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? Details on the benefits and their corresponding numerical value that Nokia will acquire from sponsoring

? A full detailed description on the event that is to be sponsored ? this includes the location, venue, and time.

? A valid timeline of the proposal/project

? An exact requirement on the type of support Nokia is to provide

? Details on the exposure extent that Nokia will have in sponsoring the event

? Information on other sponsors involved in the event

All these are required for Nokia to give its consideration on taking up a sponsorship proposal. There are also tips that the company includes for an even more attention-grabbing sponsorship. The reason for giving out such tips and hints is the company’s desire to be able to give out as much sponsorships that will both profit them and their sponsee.

Some tips and hints that Nokia shares are the following:

? Be sure to include the following information, as it sometimes has a tendency to not be included ? name, return contact numbers, and valid address

? Proposals can be emailed but should be under five megabytes

? Pictures, images and such are very helpful

? The proposal should be short but have quality information

? Don’t waste time ?sucking up’ to Nokia, but instead focus on what is requested

? Do definitive research

? Clearly outline the benefits for both sponsor and sponsee

? Persistence is key, but it does not mean ?hassling’ the company with numerous update calls and emails

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Let’s say you’re a budding athlete, with top ranking and stats as a tennis player. You have what it takes to become a world-class sports player in your field but have limited amount in terms of funds. The answer, as most would suggest, is to get a corporate sponsorship.

As sports are one of the major kinds of areas that corporations use as a market for brand exposure, you’d think that sponsorship would be a cinch. The case is that its not. Obtaining a corporate sponsorship is not as easy as 1, 2, and 3. Reaching your dreams as a world-class tennis player, aside from the skill and talent, also needs a little tinkering in ?selling yourself’.

Get noticed

How exactly can you put your skills and talents ?out there’ in the market for potential sponsors? Below are the ways:

The right kind of resume

As with every type of job, building a resume is an important part in getting employers to notice you. This is the same with corporate sponsors and the type of athlete they are looking for. The amount of hard work, training, way of playing will be the pinnacle points that sponsors will look for. The ?package’ in which you come in is very important and the only way to be considered is that if your ?accomplishments’ are worthy of review and consideration.

Depend on yourself to do your ?advertising’

Nothing comes easy, and this includes wanting a sponsorship. You have to earn what you want, and having to be your own agent is a crucial step. Depending on someone else to do your ?contacting’ will not result in the way you want to be exposed and seen.

Most of this information comes straight from the Sponsorship pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.

Get in touch with companies; write sponsorship letters; invite them to see you play ? those are what you should do to get their attention. When a company sees the dedication and amount of perseverance one takes in wanting a sponsorship, it won’t be long before they offer it you themselves.

It is in this area that you will learn how to face rejection and deal with issues that address your ability as an athlete. Don’t forget to always be positive in all dealings. Starting out is always the hard part, and once this obstacle is overcome, everything else will be a breeze at doing.

Act as your ambassador

Let’s say you’ve landed a small sponsorship and received a small amount of support. This is good as that sponsorship often starts small. It is important to remember that ?keeping an A is harder than earning an A’ ? which also applies to sponsorship.

Always keep in touch with your sponsor, letting them in on updates regarding your training and athletic status is very good. Through this practice, doors of bigger sponsorship opportunities will open because the closer you bring yourself to your sponsors, the bigger the chance for more lucrative support.

Always challenge yourself

It is not only through contact and appeal that makes sponsor continue and offer support and backup. It is also through your performance as an athlete that ultimately will bring in the ?big bucks’. Always upping your game to become better and eventually number one is an important aspect in all sponsorships.

The need to be on top, and the need to be ambitious gears one into availing all the support since sponsoring someone with that kind of attitude, talent and skills is a perfect equation of give-and-take between sponsors and sponsees.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Sponsorship, however, should be understood as a widespread concept; where the root meaning of ?support’ and ?help’ is the core of it. This type of sponsorship is found in discrete and protective programs – one of which includes the support of recovering alcoholics.

Yes, even victims of destructive addictions need sponsors. This form of support is not the same as with marketing where ?exposure’ is the goal. The aim for sponsoring alcoholics is to provide the necessary means for recovery and a return to normal life.

AA ? Alcoholics Anonymous

A widespread organization, where the term sponsor and sponsorship is practiced, is Alcoholics Anonymous or simply AA. AA is a meeting society that is informal in nature, with the goal of helping alcoholics achieve sobriety. A twelve-step program devised early on is used as the guidelines for which recovering alcoholics follow.

Historically, AA began with practicing sponsorship. This sponsorship entailed an alcoholic sharing his experience, hope and strength with a fellow alcoholic. This was overtime formalized and developed as a great tool in achieving permanent sobriety among alcoholics.

Each member of AA is eligible in becoming a sponsor. As a sponsor, they are given an opportunity to help other new members who wish to ?sober up’. This type of sponsorship is in no way financially-based; rather it is regarded as a type of personal support-system in recovery.

Sponsors are regarded as a teacher, friend, tutor, older brother or sister, and experienced guide to the sponsees. Basically, a sponsor in the AA program is someone who has also gone through the twelve-step recovery guide. This way, a sponsee is able to relate with his/her sponsor by leading them through a mutual sharing of experiences and stories.

What to look for in a sponsor

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For a recovering alcoholic, matching up with a sponsor is like choosing a best friend. Sponsees are given free reign on deciding who their sponsor should be, and this is often a good process for them. Looking for the best sponsor, however, is not as easy as it seems. The qualifications may differ from each available sponsor, leaving sponsees sometimes confused.

A solution to choosing sponsors is through temporary sponsors. This member type provides an easier transition for a sponsee before he/she finds the right sponsor ? this is done by providing the necessary information every recovering alcoholic should know. Temporary sponsors also serve as a temporary guide in answering any clarifications or questions a sponsee may have regarding his or her situation and progress as an AA member.

As a suggestive guide, the factors to look for when deciding on a sponsor are the following:

? The potential sponsor should be able to relate with the sponsee

? He/she has had more time in recovery than the sponsee

? He/she is available for personal meetings, phone conversations and group discussions

? Lives by the guidelines of the twelve-step program

? Can be a friend and also a firm guide to the sponsee

? Can emphasize the spiritual aspects of the program

? He/she can ?walk the talk’ in all affairs

About the Author
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