Having a healthy, vibrant city is everybody’s business. The more we support its infrastructure and the “Ottawa experience”, the more people will want to live here, work here and do business here; in short, everyone wins.
The Community Champions Program is an exciting new partnership initiative that invites businesses, community organizations, foundations and individuals to sponsor facilities, programs, services and community initiatives in return for a variety of marketing and promotional opportunities, as well as year-round recognition for their contribution to improving the lives of Ottawa residents where they live, work and play.
These partnerships will help the City to deliver programs and services and better value to City taxpayers.
The minimum annual investment to become a Community Champion is $5,000 towards sponsorship of a City facility, program, service or activity. In addition to receiving direct marketing benefits related to the sponsored program, Community Champions are recognized year-round through print and electronic advertising, direct mail, media, Council recognition ceremonies, on-site signage, website promotions and other benefits, all aimed at communicating to the public the impact that your investment has had on City of Ottawa residents.
The table below provides a breakdown of the various levels of recognition according to your level of investment.
| Annual investment | Level of recognition |
|---|---|
| $75,000 and over | Community Champion "Leader" |
| $35,000 to $74,999 | Community Champion "Builder" |
| $10,000 to $34,999 | Community Champion "Supporter" |
| $5,000 to $9,999 | Community Champion "Patron" |
Research has shown that Canadians look more favourably upon organizations that support the activities they see as worthwhile. The Community Champions Program allows you to connect with your customers or other city residents in an authentic and meaningful way through your recognized support of City of Ottawa facilities, programs, services, community initiatives and events.
By getting involved in the Community Champions Program, you are demonstrating social responsibility and making Ottawa a better place in which to live, work and play. At the same time, you will benefit as a business by leveraging City of Ottawa channels to market your products and services.
Community has stood at the forefront of Cardel Homes’ vision. Cardel expanded its operations from Calgary to Ottawa in 1996 and has since become one of the city’s most sought-after builders. Their strong relationships and roots within the Ottawa community goes beyond bricks and mortar by supporting initiatives that bring people together.
Meridian Credit Union is the largest credit union in Ontario with 4 locations in the Ottawa region. Each year, over 90 branches participate in nearly 400 community events, programs and initiatives with non-profit partners. Nearly 50% of Meridian employees support over 450 community organizations through volunteering, donating and fundraising activities.
Richcraft is a family-owned real estate development and commercial property leasing company located in Canada’s National Capital. The company was incorporated in 1983 by owner and president, Kris Singhal.
With more than 6,000 homes built in the region, Richcraft is one of Ottawa’s leading builders.
"Richcraft is an active sponsor of community initiatives. This made the decision to work with the City of Ottawa to build a new and exciting community facility in Kanata - the Richcraft Recreation Complex – an easy one.
By paying for the right to have Richcraft’s name associated with this facility, we heightened our brand awareness and support of the community of Kanata - where we have been building homes for more than 25 years - while helping the City offset the cost of creating a needed recreation complex. From our standpoint, the affiliation has been nothing less than a win-win endeavour."
Coca-Cola in Canada operates in all ten provinces, and employs 6,300 people in more than fifty facilities, including seven production facilities across Canada. We offer a wide variety of beverage brands, many of which come in no-calorie and low-calorie options.
"In exchange for an annual sponsorship payment and a percentage of sales, Coca-Cola will provide all cold beverages sold at the City of Ottawa. In addition, they will provide in-kind product on an annual basis, such as beverages for the City’s Summer Camp program, as well as to neighbourhoods in need. The company supports fitness programs and offers low-calorie beverage choices."
Nearly six decades after building its first home, Minto has become well known as into an integrated real estate development, construction and management company with operations in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Calgary and Florida.
Ontario's 2012 Home Builder of the Year has built more than 70,000 new homes, manages more than 15,000 residential rental homes and apartments, operates a four diamond suite hotel and furnished suites and carries a commercial portfolio of more than three million square feet of office, retail and industrial space.
A leader in community building, Minto has always been passionate about creating healthy, vibrant communities for inspired living.
The decision to partner with the City of Ottawa and pay for the rights to name the Minto Recreation Complex – Barrhaven was easy. A 160,000 square foot multi-purpose facility with a LEED Silver design rating, that will serve more than one million projected visitors in an area surrounded by Minto homes is a winning combination as the future of the customers we serve depends on an active, engaging lifestyle and a healthy planet.
Swim Ottawa is a non-profit organization that promotes pre-competitive and competitive swimming for all Ottawa residents and eligible non-resident participants.
As a City of Ottawa partner aiding in the purchase of starting blocks at Brewer Pool, Swim Ottawa can continue to develop swimmers of all ages from pre-competitive to competitive through to the Masters level.
The City of Ottawa welcomes and encourages sponsorships and advertising undertaken to assist in the provision of City services and projects. The Corporate Sponsorship and Advertising Policy provides guidelines and flexibility to maximize revenue opportunities while safeguarding the City’s corporate values, image, assets, and interests.
The policy applies to all City employees and all relationships between the City and businesses, organizations and individuals that contribute either financially or in-kind to City programs, services or facilities in return for recognition, public acknowledgement or other promotional considerations.
The City of Ottawa welcomes and encourages sponsorships and advertising undertaken to assist in the provision of City services and projects. All sponsorships and advertising shall be consistent with the City of Ottawa’s vision, mission and values and will not compromise or contradict any by-law or policy of the City, or reflect negatively on the City’s public image. All sponsorship and advertising agreements shall be established in a manner that ensures access and fairness, and results in the optimal balance of benefits to the City and the community.
The primary objective of the policy’s parameters and guidelines is to safeguard the City’s corporate values, image, assets, and interests while increasing the opportunities for revenue generation.
This policy applies to all relationships between the City of Ottawa and businesses, organizations and individuals that contribute either financially or in-kind to City programs, services or facilities in return for recognition, public acknowledgement or other promotional considerations. The policy applies to the following:
This policy applies to all City employees. Exceptions to parts of this policy are extended to the Office of Protocol and the Public Health Branch. These are described in Appendices A and B.
This policy does not apply to the City’s Elected Officials.
All sponsorship and advertising agreements must comply with federal and provincial statutes, municipal by-laws, and the standards set out by the Canadian Advertising Standards Council.
The following conditions apply when establishing sponsorship and advertising relationships:
The City will not solicit or accept sponsorship or advertising from companies whose reputation could prove detrimental to the City’s public image and/or whose main business is derived from:
The City will not allow advertising, either directly or through third party arrangements that:
The City may, at its discretion, bring any proposals to Council for their approval even if they do not meet the guidelines of this policy. Council may also consider any proposal or direct staff to pursue any opportunities for sponsorship and advertising that do not strictly adhere to this policy.
Sponsorships activities should continue, as always, to be the result of direct solicitation by the City or elected officials to sponsors.
As a general rule, the following sponsorship and advertising opportunities should be competed:
Non-competitive arrangements may be considered for the following opportunities when:
Unsolicited sponsorship and advertising proposals received by the City will be reviewed and evaluated by the relevant program director as per the provisions of the policy. Advertising proposals that include billboard advertising shall require approval by City Council and prior consultation with the Ward Councillor of the Ward in which the advertising is proposed to be located.
The City reserves the right to reject any unsolicited sponsorships that have been offered to the City and to refuse to enter into agreements for any sponsorships that originally may have been openly solicited by the City.
The selection of a preferred supplier will be consistent with the City’s procurement policy. There will be no requirement to obtain quotes or undertake a proposal and staff can initiate opportunities without the requirement to test the market further.
All sponsorship and advertising agreements shall be evaluated on an annual basis to determine continued benefit. The term of all agreements shall not exceed three years unless authorized by the appropriate Deputy City Manager or the Chief Corporate Services Officer.
The City reserves the right to terminate an existing sponsorship or advertising agreement should conditions arise that make it no longer in the best interests of the City.
City staff is authorized to enter into sponsorship and advertising agreements that do not exceed the following pre-authorized limits. Agreements that exceed these pre-authorized limits will require City Council approval.
Supervisors and Program Managers are responsible for approving all agreements for amounts up to $10,000 provided they satisfy all provisions of this policy.
Managers are responsible for approving all agreements for amounts up to $50,000 provided they satisfy all provisions of this policy.
Directors are responsible for approving all agreements for amounts up to $100,000 provided they satisfy all provisions of this policy.
The Deputy City Managers, and the Chief Corporate Services Officer are responsible for approving all agreements for amounts over $100,000 within their respective Departments. The Deputy City Managers, and/or the Chief Corporate Services Officer will determine when it is appropriate to seek the authority of Council prior to a sponsorship being signed.
City Council approval is required for any contract that does not satisfy the provisions of this policy and for opportunities involving the naming/renaming of City property, buildings and structures. City Council approval is required for all proposals that include billboard advertising.
Departments are responsible for soliciting, negotiating and administering their own agreements. Staff approving sponsorship and advertising proposals must ensure that all relevant by-laws and policies are adhered to, appropriate consultation and approval authorities are respected, and where applicable that insurance, indemnification, ethical scans, and permits have been obtained. Departments are responsible for ensuring that third party advertising relationships abide by the restrictions noted in this policy.
Departments are responsible for maintaining a log of all sponsorship and advertising contributions and for issuing a written acknowledgement of the agreement to each sponsor or advertiser. All sponsorship contributions in excess of $25,000 in total value shall be confirmed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or other legal agreement.
Failure to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary action.
A mutually agreed to arrangement between the City of Ottawa and an external company, organization, enterprise, association or individual evidenced in writing whereby the external party (sponsor) contributes money, goods or services to a City of Ottawa facility, program, project, or special event in return for recognition, acknowledgement, or other promotional considerations or benefits. This does not include donations and gifts, or advice to the City where no business relationship or association is contemplated or is required and where no reciprocal consideration is being sought.
Advertising is the sale to an external company, organization, enterprise, association or individual of advertising space on City printed materials or property, at City events, or in conjunction with a City program. Unlike sponsorship, advertising involves the simple purchase by an advertiser of advertising space sold at rates determined by the City. The purchaser of this space is not entitled to any additional benefits other than those accruing from access to the space purchased.
A naming right is a type of sponsorship in which an external company, organization, enterprise, association or individual purchases the exclusive right to name an asset or venue (e.g., a library building, sports facility or part of a facility - an ice pad within a multi-pad facility, etc.) for a fixed or indefinite period of time. Usually naming rights are considered in a commercial context, which is that the naming right is sold or exchanged for significant cash and/ or other considerations under a long-term arrangement. This arrangement is usually documented in a written agreement signed by the interested parties and has a specified end date to the contractual obligations.
A pouring right is a type of sponsorship in which a corporation, an organization or an individual purchases the exclusive right to supply beverages at a City facility in exchange for significant cash and/ or other considerations over a long-term agreement.
Preferred Supplier Agreements are multi-year contracts between the City and outside firms in which the firms agree to provide value-added support to the City in exchange for preferred status. Value-added support is typically provided by discounted pricing as well as cash, and/or goods and services. This process allows for a consistent approach to all current and potential supply line arrangements, which in the long run, will see the City lower its operating costs while at the same time generating additional revenue.
A search of a potential sponsor’s main company and subsidiaries, if any, that is performed to determine if the sponsor/advertiser meets the requirements defined by the Corporate Sponsorship and Advertising Policy or is otherwise affected by the “Restrictions on Sponsorships” section of the Policy.
Delegation of Authority By-law No. 2001-12, January 8, 2001
Code of Conduct, April 26, 2002
Purchasing By-Law No. 2001-72, April 11, 2001
Equity and Diversity Policy, July 19, 2004
Ontario Human Rights Code
Visual Identity Usage Policy, June 25, 2003
Permanent Signs on Private Property By-Law 2005-439, September 28, 2005
Corporate Sponsorship and Advertising Procedures
Sponsorship
Advertising
Gift-in-Kind
Naming Rights
Pouring Rights
Preferred Supplier Status
Corporate Partnerships
Partnership Manager, Corporate Sponsorships Advertising, and Donations
Recreation, Culture and Facility Services
The information contained in this Appendix reflects the necessary exceptions to the general Policy and applies only to the Office of Protocol.
Solicitation and Allocation of Sponsorship and Advertising Opportunities
In addition to the criteria noted in the general policy, The Office of Protocol may enter into non-competitive agreements for all in-kind media sponsorships.
Notwithstanding the reporting requirements identified in the general policy, acknowledgement of sponsorships for events organized by the Office of Protocol will be documented in a Letter of Confirmation in lieu of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The differences in policy restrictions and guidelines contained in this Appendix are based on additional international, national and provincial standards, and apply to the Public Health branch only.
In addition to the restrictions noted in the general policy, the Public Health branch will not enter into agreements with organizations whose main business is derived from:
Certain sponsorships may be undertaken with local organizations, like bars and tobacco retailers when the health benefits to the citizens of Ottawa clearly outweigh the risks of abuse (i.e. a local bar sponsors an event for sexual health as it is the most appropriate venue to reach the target demographic).
Ethical scans will be conducted on all sponsorships arrangements of more than $10, 000.
