Sponsorships & Memberships

The City of Baytown receives requests to sponsor, partner, or become a member of organizations and associations.  It is in the City’s best interest to ensure its needs are being met, its constituents are better served, and public resources are best spent by granting such requests.  

The City receives requests in several different forms: buy advertisements (often in the form of fundraisers), sponsor activities and events, and become a member.  Some of these requests come in the form of “partnerships,” but these are often treated the same way as sponsorships.  

This policy and process is separate and apart from the Baytown Catalyst Fund grants.

POLICY

When and where appropriate, the City of Baytown may elect to sponsor or partner with or become a member of an association, organization, or event if certain obligations are met.  

All requests for sponsorship, fundraising, partnership, and membership will be forwarded to the Director of Public Affairs and must meet the following objectives:

  1. Target Audience: Does the contribution help evolve Baytown’s image among target audiences in a meaningful and sustainable way?
  2. Target Industries: Does the contribution tie directly to one of Baytown’s target industries (i.e. youth sports tournament attracting regional or national attendees)?
  3. Messaging: Does the sponsorship or contribution reinforce Baytown’s key messages – from the DCI Image Study – to internal and external audiences and help leverage existing assets?
  4. KPIs: How does the event “move the needle”?  Does the event increase visitor spend or visitation to Baytown?  Has event attendance increased over time and expanded to new audiences?
  5. Longevity: Is this an event that is likely to be replicated in future years and can be a reliable method of reinforcing Baytown’s messaging to target audiences for multiple years?
  6. Product Development: Is this an event focused on an area that is targeted for development or redevelopment (i.e. downtown center) and can help drive traffic to that area?

Advertisements: The City will generally not purchase advertisements unless the City has a need to target a specific audience with a specific message, and the City can directly measure the success of the advertisement.  

Tickets and Tables: The City ordinarily does not purchase tables at events because there is no way to track the expenditure over and above the actual cost for the seats included in the table.  If budgeted, however, employees and elected officials may purchase individual tickets.

In addition to this policy, the City will consider the following when deciding whether to purchase a sponsorship or membership:

  • As the City receives tax revenue, could the purchase be observed as a gift of public funds?  In other words, is the City using public money to benefit a private individual or organization?   It is strictly prohibited for the City to gift public funds.
  • As the City is evaluating its financial health and publicly telling the story of a City tightening its belt, could the purchase be observed as a contradiction?  In other words, might the City’s contribution be seen as misuse of public funds?
  • As the City must remain as neutral as possible in political and social issues, could the purchase be considered a statement of acceptance, agreement, or support for something that the general public has not expressed support, or that the council has not voted to support?  In other words, could the expenditure be seen as advocacy?   
  • Are there other, non-monetary ways the City can support the organization?  (i.e. staff time, fee waivers, etc.)

For questions or requests, contact the Director of Public Affairs.