• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Corporate sponsors offer everything ranging from cash donations to discounts to pairs of socks in exchange for extra advertising with UCLA student groups.

Last month, the Center for Student Programming conducted an audit of corporate sponsorships.

One of the goals of the audit was to officially recognize what campus student groups receive, in order to determine the nature of these sponsorships as well as the fairness of the contracts.

Of the 583 officially recognized student groups, which are groups that have department sponsors, only 48 groups responded, 33 of which actually had corporate sponsorship, said Kenn Heller, the associate director of the center.

Originally the audit was conducted to ensure that student groups were not offering too many incentives in return for sponsorships, and more importantly, not offering exchanges that they were not necessarily authorized to give.

But Heller said that the primary cause for concern that arose from the audit was that contracts or agreements were often between the corporation and the student group itself.

“A registered organization that’s officially recognized has no legal status unto itself,” Heller said. “It is three people, and they in essence are representative of the department ... that agreement should be entered into by the department on behalf of the group.”

In order to remedy this, Heller said it would likely become a policy that in order to enter into any contracts, the department that is affiliated with the group must not only be informed of the agreement but also be party to it.

This would ensure that if there were any circumstances in which agreements must be challenged, both parties would have legal status.

The Cultural Affairs Commission, which puts on the Jazz Reggae Festival each year, requires extensive corporate sponsorship to fund all of the different aspects of the event.

This year’s event, which took place May 29 and 30, was more extensive in terms of its sponsorship than in previous years.

“We are still waiting for some money,” said Todd Hawkins, a second-year theater student who was the director of the festival this year. “But no sponsor is allowed on the field without a contract or proof that they were going to pay us.”

Sponsorships were varied but fell within a few different categories – discounts, cash donations, product donations and sample products.

In return, groups allow corporations to advertise at events, conduct information sessions at their meetings and place their logos in group brochures and Web sites.

At the Jazz Reggae Festival, for example, the car company Scion donated $20,000 and in return the company was allowed to bring up to three cars to the festival as well as to place their logo on the event Web site, brochures and other publicity.

The UCLA Women’s Rugby Team received sponsorship from www.ballsout.com in the form of 25 pairs of shorts and socks for the entire team. In return for the merchandise, the team had to agree to do most of their equipment shopping with the company as well as wear the company’s logo on the shorts.

“The sponsorships reduce our club fees because we only have to charge $150 members since we gave them shorts and socks,” said Michelle Kwandham, a second-year psychology student who is a member of the team. “It definitely does help a lot.”