New donations and loans guidance for political parties: Sponsorship

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Common examples of sponsorship

Conference advertising

Examples of advertising that are sponsorship include:

  • advertising banners displayed in the conference hall and venues
  • advertising leaflets included in conference packs for delegates
  • advertising on the lanyards for conference passes
  • advertising included in conference pack folders

For example, a company pays a party £15,000 to have its name and logo on the lanyards for the conference pass given to every person who attends the conference. As one of the purposes of the payment may reasonably be assumed to be to help the party meet costs in connection with hosting the conference, this is sponsorship.

The party must check the company is a permissible donor before accepting the donation and report the donation to the Commission, as it is over the £11,180 reporting threshold.

Conference dinners and receptions

Payments provided towards meeting the costs of a dinner or reception organised by or on behalf of the party will be sponsorship.

Example A

A firm pays £30,000 to sponsor a conference dinner organised by the party. This includes the company’s name and logo being displayed on banners at the dinner and on the menu, and a table at the dinner for the company and its guests.

The party must check the company is a permissible donor before accepting the donation and report the entire amount to the Commission, as it is over the reporting threshold.

Example B

A company pays £15,000 to hire a conference hall for a party to host an event. The company will have its name logo displayed in the hall during the event. The party must check the company is a permissible donor before accepting the donation and report the entire amount to the Commission, as it is over the reporting threshold.

If you sell tickets to a dinner or reception you have organised, or one that is organised on your behalf, this will not be sponsorship because admission charges to party events do not count as sponsorship.

However, it is important you work out the market value of the service provided at the event, as the difference between the value and the amount you are paid will be a non-sponsorship donation if this is more than £500.1

For example, a party sells tickets to its conference dinner. The costs of the event are as follows:

  • market value of the service provided per person: £30
  • ticket price: £120

In this example, the difference between the market value of the service provided per person and the amount charged is £90. As the value of the donation in this case is not over £500, a donation has not been made to the party.

At the same event, the party also sells tables for 10 guests.

  • market value of each table: £300
  • table price: £1,000

In this example, the difference between the value of each table and the amount charged is £700. Anyone purchasing a table at the conference dinner will therefore be donating £700 to the party. As the party can only accept donations of more than £500 from a permissible source, only those that are permissible will be able to purchase a table.

Conference packages

If you offer conference packages, where someone can purchase a combined package of items for an event together, you will need to consider each part of the package to assess whether it is sponsorship, or another type of donation. Some elements may not count as sponsorship, such as an admission charge.

Where some elements of a package are sponsorship and others are not sponsorship but another type of donation, you should treat the entire donation amount as sponsorship and report this as one sponsorship donation, where required.

Example A

A company purchases a package for the conference which includes:

  • four conference passes
  • four tickets to the conference dinner
  • use of the company’s logo on delegates’ packs
  • an advert in the conference directory.

The conference passes and tickets to the conference dinner are exempt from being sponsorship as admission charges for events do not count as sponsorship. However, the cost of hosting the dinner is £50 per person and the party has sold tickets at £150 each. The difference between the value of the dinner and the amount paid for each ticket is £100. This part of the package is a donation of £400 to the party, as the sponsor has bought four tickets.

The party has sold the adverts in the conference directory at the commercial rate. Payments for the adverts also do not count as sponsorship as payments for adverts in party publications at the commercial rate are one of the sponsorship exemptions. 

The party have also sold an advert with the company’s logo on the packs for delegates at £5,000. The full amount is sponsorship.

In total, the value of the donation to the party is £5,400. The full amount should be treated as sponsorship.

Example B

A company purchases a package for a conference which includes:

  • two tickets to the conference reception
  • use of the company’s logo within the venue
  • an advert in the conference directory.

The tickets to the conference reception are not sponsorship as admission charges for events do not count as sponsorship under the law. However, the market value of the service provided at the reception is £80 per person and the party has sold tickets at £500 each. The difference between the value of the service provided and the amount paid for each ticket is £420. This part of the package is a donation of £840 to the party, as the sponsor has bought two tickets.

The party have sold the use of the company’s logo on the packs for delegates at £5,000. The full amount is sponsorship.

The sponsor has paid £8,000 for the advert in the conference directory which is above the commercial rate for an advert in a party publication. The full payment for the advert is also sponsorship.

In total, the value of the donation to the party is £13,840. The full amount should be treated as sponsorship and reported to the Commission, as this is over the £11,180 reporting threshold.

Publications

If you receive payments towards the costs of preparing, producing, or distributing a publication organised by or on behalf of your party, this will be sponsorship.

For example, a company pays £12,000 to sponsor a party publication. This includes the company’s name and logo being displayed in the publication and being promoted as a joint research partner.

The party must check the company is a permissible donor before accepting the donation and report it to the Commission, as it is over the £11,180 reporting threshold.

If you sell adverts in your publications at the commercial rate, this will not be sponsorship because payments made to place adverts in your publications at the commercial rate do not count as sponsorship.

To work out whether payments made to place adverts in a publication are a donation, you must work out the commercial rate to charge for these adverts. The commercial rate will be the average rates for similar adverts offered by commercial providers.

If someone pays more than the commercial rate for an advert in a publication, the full amount of the payment will be sponsorship. This is because the exemption would no longer apply.

Last updated: 27 August 2026