Overview
Do you have a great idea for an event, or do you want to support a charity? How will you finance your idea? In this open course, participants will explore community financial leadership and gain the skills needed to put their ideas into action.
This course explains the difference between sponsorship and fundraising. Participants will learn how to identify potential sponsors and partner with them for mutual benefit. They will also engage with fundraising case studies, consider local campus policies and practices, and gain important guidance and practical tips for success.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Differentiate between sponsorship and fundraising and explain when each approach is most appropriate for supporting a community or campus initiative;
- Identify and assess potential sponsors by analysing organisational fit, shared values, and the mutual benefits relevant to an event or chosen charity;
- Apply effective communication and engagement strategies when approaching sponsors and donors, including preparing persuasive pitches or proposals;
- Design a compliant and ethical fundraising or sponsorship plan, taking into account local institutional policies, risk considerations, and best-practice guidance for successful implementation.
Professional Development Recognition
On earning the open badge for this course, you will have achieved further recognition across the following domains of the National Professional Development Framework for Staff Who Teach:
- Domain 1: The Self — focuses on the centrality of personal and professional values, self-awareness, and the individual identity that a teacher brings to their practice;
- Domain 2: Professional Identity, Values and Development in Teaching and Learning — emphasises the evolution of professional or disciplinary identity and encourages reflective, context-aware professional growth;
- Domain 3: Professional Communication and Dialogue — highlights the importance of clear, coherent, and effective communication within dynamic learning environments.
Course Developers
This open course was developed by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in partnership with:
Riona Hughes
University of Galway & Board of Irish College Societies
Dr Lorraine Tansey
Student Volunteer Ireland
