Best practices
Coming out of the original BarCamp, a number of guidelines have been established with regard to sponsors and the support they provide.
- Sponsor participation: Try to focus on local sponsors, especially those who can actually attend and participate in some way. (Source)
- Limits: Limit cash contributions
- Used to be $250, recently was $300 at BarCampBlock, but has occasionally been higher elsewhere
- This is great because it means that no one "owns" BarCamp, and we get to keep the great community vibe. (Source)
- Another reason this is a good idea: The little guys (startups, individuals) can contribute on a level playing field with the big guys (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft etc.)
- Diversity: Many small sponsors are better than a few big ones.
- Encourage in-kind donations: Request that sponsors order food and other food stuff directly, minimizing the organizer's duties and responsibilities as well as the amount of money they touch. (Source)
- Chunking: Chunk (or microchunk) your sponsorships. Break your budget items into manageable chunks that companies can "adopt". For example, let one company pay for the lunch, and another for shirts, etc. Chunking is nice because it means the companies can write checks directly to the vendors, and you never have to touch any cash. This limits your personal liability and makes companies feel safer. (Example: BarCampRDU, Source)
- Transparency: List all incoming donations (cash and in-kind) as well as all outgoing costs on the wiki.
Variations
Additional ways to deal with sponsors that people have developed locally:
Case studies and success stories
Share your experience here. What worked? What didn't? What modifications did you have to make in order to get your *camp off the ground?
