Purpose
This policy is intended to guide the development and management of relationships between Independent Education and its Corporate Partners. “Corporate relationships” shall be defined as transactions in which Independent Education receives some benefit from an external entity, either as direct support, program sponsorships, or other collaborations. Participants in these relationships will be classified as Corporate Sponsors or Preferred Partners.
Types of Corporate Relationships
Corporate Sponsors
A Corporate Sponsor relationship involves a corporation or third party providing financial underwriting or in-kind goods or services to support an Independent Education program, activity, or special event. Corporations are given recognition for their support in the form of public acknowledgements by Independent Education. This does not include permitting the use of the Independent Education name, logo, or identifying marks in the corporation’s promotion of its products or services other than a statement that the corporation is sponsoring a specific Independent Education activity or event. (Terms and Conditions in Appendix A)
Preferred Partners
A Preferred Partner relationship involves the use of Independent Education’s name, logo and/or identifying marks in a controlled manner in the promotion of a commercial product or service by the corporation. The Independent Education name, logo and/or identifying marks may appear in promotional and advertising materials but not on the product or its packaging.
General Principles and Guidelines
Independent Education will enter into corporate relationships to strengthen the organization’s finances and to provide meaningful, mission-related benefits to Independent Education’s members.
Any proposed Preferred Partner relationship will be reviewed and approved by Independent Education's Executive Committee to ensure that such arrangements are consistent with Independent Education’s mission and goals, do not create conflicts of interest or undermine the organization’s policies, and do not affect the objectivity of the association, its members, activities, and programs. This review will include in-person meetings between Independent Education staff and Preferred Partner principals, who will present information about their organizations’ work. Independent Education will contact Preferred Partner clients to verify information and determine quality of service and products offered. Independent Education legal counsel will review Preferred Partner contracts.
1. Independent Education staff will review and approve, prior to publication or dissemination, all marketing materials bearing Independent Education's name, logo, and/or other identifying information for compliance with these principles and guidelines.
2. Independent Education’s Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the principles and guidelines governing Independent Education’s corporate relationships. Independent Education's Executive Director is responsible for day-to-day oversight of all corporate relationships.
3. Participation in a corporate relationship does not in imply Independent Education’s endorsement or approval of that corporation’s general policies, products or services. Independent Education will not exert influence to advance the interests of the corporation, nor shall the use of Independent Education’s logo imply endorsement. Participating corporations shall be required to disclose the fact that appearance of Independent Education’s name or logo in conjunction with their products or services does not constitute endorsement of those products or services by Independent Education. Further, Independent Education’s members shall be informed that the expertise of a participating corporation does not preclude their use of the products or services of a competing supplier.
4. The terms, conditions, and purposes of the financial support will be documented by a signed agreement between the Corporate Sponsor or Preferred Partner and Independent Education.
5. Unless prohibited by contract, Independent Education will disclose the character of a corporate relationship, including any and all financial benefit, to any member upon request for same. All requests must be in writing, must include the identity and affiliation of the person making the request, and must be made for a proper purpose, which purpose must be set forth in the request.
6. Corporate Sponsors and Preferred Partners will not be entitled to receive free advertising [as that term is defined by the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") or Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") rules and regulations] or other substantial return benefit from their contributions other than appropriate acknowledgments, items of nominal value, and/or the use of Independent Education's name and logo in materials promoting a sponsored activity or project. For the purposes of this policy, "nominal" shall be defined according to IRS regulations.
7. Consistent with the corporate sponsorship provisions of the federal tax laws, Independent Education may permit program materials and activities to include acknowledgments of financial and other support from organizations. Such acknowledgments may identify and describe the corporation's products or product lines in neutral terms and may include the corporation's name, logo, slogan, locations, telephone numbers, or website addresses as long as such acknowledgments do not include
(a) comparative or qualitative descriptions of the corporation's products, services, or facilities; (b) price information or other indications of savings or value associated with the corporation's products or services; (c) a call to action; (d) an endorsement; or (e) an inducement to buy, sell, or use the Corporate Sponsor's or Preferred Partner’s product or service. Any such acknowledgments will be created, or subject to prior review and approval, by Independent Education.
8. Independent Education will not enter into a corporate relationship where the amount of payment by the corporation is contingent upon attendance at an event or other measures of public exposure.
9. Independent Education will carefully scrutinize any corporate relationship that gives a corporation the right to provide something of value to Independent Education members to ensure that the giveaway item or service is of nominal value and is not tied to the volume or value of a member’s purchase or use of the corporation's products or services.
10. Independent Education maintains complete control of the planning, content, speaker selection, and execution of sponsored programs/events. Independent Education may solicit from Corporate Sponsors and Preferred Partners proposals for presentations but in no way guarantees the acceptance of those proposals.
11. Independent Education shall have written guidelines that will protect the privacy of individuals that participate in its corporate relationship activities and/or programs.
12. Independent Education seeks a wide range of Corporate Partners for its programs, publications, and services. Independent Education does, however, allow for sole sponsorships of events, publications, or services.
13. Where appropriate, Independent Education will ensure that corporations agree to appropriate indemnification and hold harmless provisions to protect Independent Education and its officers, directors, employees, and agents against any liability that might arise out of the corporation’s acts or omissions with respect to a particular arrangement, including but not limited to any acts or omissions relating to the marketing, sale, dissemination, and/or use of the corporation’s products.
Independent Education reserves the right to terminate any corporate relationship if the Corporate Sponsor or Preferred Partner, or its representatives or agents, engage in any conduct, including but not limited to product promotion activities that would lead Independent Education to reasonably determine that its continued participation in the arrangement with a particular company would adversely affect the goodwill and reputation of Independent Education or its members. In the event of any such termination, Independent Education will relinquish the corporation’s contribution and return all unused funds. Upon expiration or termination, no further use may be made by the corporation of Independent Education's name without the written approval of Independent Education.
Approved by the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington Board of Trustees May 11, 2010. Edited on Sept. 2, 2010, to reflect organizational name change to Independent Education.