Guidelines for Sponsorships and
Advertisements
Introduction
These guidelines govern the acceptance and
acknowledgement of sponsorships and the acceptance of
advertising in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(University) publications, including print and digital media.
These guidelines govern University Units (Units) and
individuals (Individual Users) such as students, faculty, and
staff using University resources. University resources are to
be used in support of the educational, research, and public
service missions of the University and must not be used for
non-mission related purposes or for private gain.
These guidelines do not apply to the University of Illinois
Foundation, the University of Illinois Alumni Association, the
purchase of advertising by Units or gifts as defined below.
These guidelines notwithstanding, the University reserves
the right of final determination of appropriateness of all
sponsorships and advertisements.
Definitions
University Resources
Includes print and digital media supported by University
funds.
Gifts
Contributions made to the University for which the provider
receives no direct benefit and requires nothing in exchange
beyond a general assurance that the intent of the
contribution will be honored.
Sponsorships
Money, goods, or services from organizations or individuals
outside the University provided to underwrite specific
activities by the University and /or requiring the University
to meet specific requirements while performing activities in
support of the University's mission.
Acknowledging Sponsorships
Recognizing financial, material (e.g. equipment, supplies), or
service support to the University's mission by an
organization or individual.
Advertisements
Printed or spoken matter, Web pages, or digital signage and
any other digital media promoting goods and/or services in
exchange for money, goods, or services. Promotion of goods
and services may include, but is not limited to, one or more
of the following:
◦ A call to action;
◦ An inducement to buy a product or service; and,
◦ Qualitative or comparative language and/or price
information or other indications of savings or value
associated with the product or service. Note that such
language and information are strong indicators of the
promotion of goods or services but do not necessarily,
by themselves, indicate such promotion. For example,
qualitative or comparative language or price
information may not be a promotion of goods and
services where used in research, a critique, or a review
not funded by an entity being evaluated.
An e-Commerce Page
An Internet page that allows the direct purchase of goods or
services by completing an order and providing payment
method online or involves the promotion of goods and
services.
Online Publications
An online publication contains news, features, and
information and is published on a regular schedule.
Unrelated Business Activity
A business activity that is regularly carried on, conducted for
the production of income, and not substantially related to
the exempt purposes of the institution.
Prohibition for Individual Users
Individual users (student, staff, or faculty) are not permitted
to benefit personally or benefit others by accepting
sponsorships, acknowledging sponsorships, accepting
advertisements, or advertising in University-supported
media under any circumstances.
Individual users are prohibited from putting hypertext links
to commercial or charitable Web pages on Universitysupported Web pages.
Guidelines for Units
To accept or acknowledge sponsorships or accept
advertising, Units must meet both the General Requirements
and the Specific Requirements for sponsorships or
advertising identified below.
Although the University is a tax-exempt entity, sponsorship
and/or advertising income may be subject to taxation. Units
are individually responsible for reporting any potential
Unrelated Business Activity to the Accounting Division of the
Office of Business and Financial Services. Units are
ultimately responsible for all resulting tax payments and
liabilities, including penalties and attorneys' fees, in relation
to Unrelated Business Income Tax, or other tax assessments
arising from the acceptance of sponsorships and/or
advertising.
Advertising, and in some cases acknowledgment of
sponsorships, in printed materials may jeopardize the Unit's
right to use the University's nonprofit mailing permit for
those materials. For information on nonprofit mailings,
contact the Mailing Center at 333-6101.
I.General Requirements
Units, including departments,
colleges, or divisions, may accept sponsorships and/or
advertising or acknowledge sponsorships only when the
sponsorships or advertising:
A.
Are consistent with and do not detract from the
mission and/or best interests of the University;
B.
Are governed by an appropriately approved
contractual agreement between the University and
a third party;
C.
Are not in conflict with any existing contracts, in
particular exclusive sponsorships or providerships;
D.
Do not imply endorsement by the University;
E.
Do not promote alcoholic beverages, tobacco
products, or gambling;
F.
Do not espouse the position of a political candidate or
partisan political cause or intend to influence
legislation;
G.
Are lawful under federal and state law;
H.
Do not violate University policies and rules; and,
I.
Are at least two levels (links) removed from the
University's home page and one level (link)
removed from the Unit's home page.
II.
A.
i.
Specific Requirements
Sponsorships: Units may accept sponsorships and
acknowledge sponsorship funding sources,
proprietary technologies, and other commercial
ventures. Units must meet the following
requirements for sponsorship agreements and
sponsorship acknowledgements.
Sponsorship Agreements
a.
Sponsorships Related to a Scope of Work
Procedures and policies for accepting
sponsorships related to a scope of work
are available from the Office of Grants
and Contracts, Office of Business and
Financial Services [Grants & Sponsored
Projects].
b.
Other Types of Sponsorships - For other
sponsorships, sponsorship agreements
should be written and submitted for
approval to the Unit Executive Officer
and the next higher administrative level
or that administrator's designee. The
Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, or Deans
may require additional approvals within
their areas of responsibility. After
receiving approval from the Unit
Executive Office and the next higher
administrator, the agreement must be
formalized as an appropriately approved
contractual agreement between the
University and a third party. (See
General Requirements above.) The
Chancellor may exempt Units from the
requirements of this subsection.
Exemption from these requirements
does not exempt the Unit from
completing a contractual agreement for
sponsorships (as stated under General
Requirements). For non-exempt Units,
sponsorships agreements presented to
Unit Executive Officers for approval
should include:
1.
Description of the project/activity to
be sponsored;
2.
Identification of the sponsor;
3.
Sponsorship time period;
4.
Relation of the sponsorship to the
Unit's mission;
5.
Description of the
publication/media/domain in which
the sponsorship will be featured
and how the sponsorship will be
presented therein;
6.
Estimate of revenue or description and
estimated value of goods or
services to be received from the
sponsorship;
7.
Identification of the account into which
funds from the sponsorship will be
deposited;
8.
Description of how funds raised by the
sponsorship will be used;
9.
Identification of any exclusivity
provisions related to the
sponsorship;
10.
Description of any potential conflicts
with the sponsorship and how any
such conflicts have been reviewed
and resolved; and,
11.
The manner in which the sponsorship
is to be acknowledged.
c.
1.
2.
Units currently exempt from the
requirements in this subsection include
the following:
Allerton Park and Retreat
Center
Assembly Hall
3.
Campus Stores, Mail, and
Receiving
4.
Division of Intercollegiate
Athletics
5.
Illini Center
6.
Illini Union Bookstore
7.
Krannert Art Museum
8.
Krannert Center for the
Performing Arts
9.
Levis Faculty Center
10.
Spurlock Museum
11.
WILL
12.
Willard Airport
ii.
Sponsorship Acknowledgements - All sponsorship
acknowledgements must meet the following
guidelines:
a.
Sponsorship acknowledgements may
include the sponsor's name or logo,
location(s), telephone number(s), and
Web address, value-neutral descriptions
(including displays and visual depictions
of a product line or services), brand or
trade names, and product or service
listings.
b.
The University, not the sponsor, shall
receive top billing on any publication in
which a sponsorship acknowledgement
is featured.
c.
For projects related to a scope of work and
funded by governmental or nonprofit
organizations, language and format of
sponsorships acknowledgement should
follow the guidelines specified within the
award of the project.
d.
The sponsorship acknowledgment must
meet the following additional guidelines
if present on University-supported
domains.
1.
If the sponsorship acknowledgement
includes a direct/hot-link to a
sponsor's Web page, the direct link
is allowed only if the sponsor's
page being linked is not an Ecommerce page (See Definitions.)
The sponsorship acknowledgment
does not involve the Promotion of
Goods and Services. (See
Definitions.)
2.
The sponsor's graphic image is no
larger than 10,000 pixels.
e.
The sponsorship acknowledgement must
meet the following additional guidelines
if present in print publications:
1.
The sponsorship acknowledgment does
not involve the Promotion of Goods
and Services. (See Definitions.)
2.
The Sponsor's graphic image and/or
name are smaller than the
University's graphic image and/or
name.
B.
i.
Advertising - In most cases, Units may not accept
advertising dollars, goods, or services. The
University expects activities and programs
essential to the mission of the University to be
supported by University resources or
sponsorships, not advertising. Occasionally, under
specific conditions outlined herein, permission will
be granted to allow accepting advertising.
Submissions for Approval for Accepting
Advertising Units should submit proposals to
accept commercial advertising to the
Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs who
has been charged with applying and
interpreting these Guidelines. Proposals must
be in writing and should include the following
information for each proposed acceptance of
commercial advertising:
a.
Identification of the advertiser and the
goods or services to be advertised.
b.
Relation of the advertising to the Unit's
mission.
c.
Reason for accepting advertising funds
instead of using other funding sources.
d.
Identification of the account into which
funds raised from advertising will be
deposited.
e.
Estimate of revenue or description and
estimated value of goods or services to
be received from the advertising.
f.
Description of how funds raised by
advertising will be used.
g.
Identification of the length of time the
advertisement will run.
h.
Description of the
publication/media/domain in which the
advertising will be featured and how the
advertisement will be presented therein.
i.
Description of the structure of the Web site
(this is to ensure the proper distance
from home pages).
j.
Discussion of whether the content of the
advertising could change while the
advertising is being run, who will
monitor for changes in content, how
often such monitoring will occur and
mechanisms for controlling
objectionable changes in content.
k.
Identification of any exclusivity provisions
related to the advertisement.
ii.
Restrictions for Advertisements on Web Sites
The following restrictions apply to
advertisements by University Units on Web
sites:
a.
Web site advertising, except for University
Units advertising the Unit's products
(e.g., merchandise, services, tickets)
may only be published on a .com or
.info domain, not on the University's
.edu domain, or on other domains such
as .net and .org that are supported with
University resources. The .info domain
should be used only for online
publications containing news, features
and information that is published on a
regular schedule. Examples of
acceptable online publications include
Inside Illinois, alumni magazines, and
quarterly magazines.
b.
Units must request approval to establish a
.com or .info site and must contract with
an outside service provider to host Web
sites with advertisements. For
information, contact the Associate
Chancellor for Public Affairs who has
been charged with applying and
interpreting these Guidelines (3335010, 507 East Green Street,
Champaign, publicaffairs@illinois.edu).
Information to be submitted:
1.
Complete description of the purpose of
the .com or .info Web page.
2.
Relation of the .com or .info Web
page to the Unit's mission.
3.
Proposal for accepting each
advertisement expected to be
solicited for the .com or .info page.
(See Submissions for Approval for
Accepting Advertising above.)
4.
Estimate of the cost to maintain the
.com and .info Web site.
Questions regarding these guidelines should be directed to
the Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs, who has been
charged with applying and interpreting these Guidelines
(333-5010, 507 East Green Street, Champaign,
publicaffairs@illinois.edu).