forum policies & documents

4. Eligibility and how to apply

Sponsor Membership is open to any business or organisation eligible for Member or Associate Member status under the Membership and Participation Policy. A business does not need to be an existing Member to apply.

Applications are made to TBF and reviewed by the Directors in the same way as any other membership application, against the eligibility criteria for the relevant tier and TBF’s objectives. Where a Director has a personal or financial connection to an applicant, that Director takes no part in the decision, in line with TBF’s Conflicts of Interest Policy.

5. Availability, allocation, and the waiting list

Five Sponsor Memberships are available at any one time. Where demand exceeds the places available, the Board allocates places on a fair and transparent basis — normally in the order in which complete applications are received — and keeps a waiting list.

• An applicant who cannot be offered a place is told their position on the waiting list.

• When a place becomes available, it is offered to the business at the top of the waiting list.

• Where a Sponsor Member wishes to renew at the end of their term, and there is a waiting list, the Board will decide between renewal and the next business on the list on a fair basis, and record its reasons. TBF will make clear at the outset that renewal is not automatic.

The Board records how each place was allocated, so that TBF can demonstrate the process was applied consistently.

6. What a Sponsor Member receives

For the duration of the term, a Sponsor Member receives:

• Everything included in standard Member benefits, as set out in the Membership and Participation Policy.

• Their name and logo displayed on Forum communications, which normally means TBF’s newsletter, its website, and Forum event materials.

• Acknowledgement as a Sponsor of the Forum in TBF’s public communications about its supporters.

Sponsor branding is presented consistently for all Sponsors, without ranking or preferential prominence between them. TBF will confirm the practical details — file formats, sizes, and placement — with each Sponsor when their term begins.

7. What sponsorship does not include

Sponsorship buys visibility, not influence. Becoming a Sponsor Member does not:

• Give any influence over what TBF publishes or shares, how submissions are assessed, or any other editorial decision — TBF’s Information Sharing & Editorial Policy continues to apply in full, and sponsorship is the one transparent, clearly-labelled exception to its rule against preferential prominence;

• Imply that TBF endorses, recommends, or vouches for the Sponsor, its products, or its services;

• Give any preferential access to, or priority within, TBF’s collective projects, which are run under TBF’s Procurement and Tender Policy where relevant;

• Make the Sponsor a statutory member of TBF, or give any right to vote on TBF’s constitution or governance, or any other right under the Companies Act 2006;

• Entitle the Sponsor to any share of TBF’s profits, assets, or distributions — TBF is a community interest company and its assets are locked for community benefit;

• Create any employment, partnership, agency, or joint venture relationship between the Sponsor and TBF.

TBF may describe a Sponsor Member as a supporter of the Forum. Neither party may describe the relationship in a way that suggests TBF endorses the Sponsor’s business, or that the Sponsor speaks for or directs the Forum.

8. Use of the Sponsor’s logo and materials

For the duration of the term, the Sponsor grants TBF a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use their name, logo, and any branding materials they supply, for the purpose of displaying them on Forum communications under this schedule. This licence ends when the term ends, save that TBF need not recall or amend material already printed or distributed.

The Sponsor confirms that they own, or have permission to use, everything they supply, and that TBF’s use of it under this schedule will not infringe anyone else’s rights. The Sponsor agrees to indemnify TBF against any claim, loss, or cost arising from TBF’s use of those materials as permitted here.

TBF will not alter a Sponsor’s logo beyond resizing or reformatting as needed for display, and will not use it in a way the Sponsor has told TBF in writing they object to.

9. Dues and payment

Sponsor Membership dues are £25 per month, collected by Direct Debit in 12 monthly instalments across the term — £300 in total. Dues are reviewed at least once a year by the Board, on the proposal of the Steering Group, in line with the Membership and Participation Policy. Where the rate changes, existing Sponsors are given notice before any change takes effect, and a change will not take effect part-way through an agreed term without the Sponsor’s agreement.

If an instalment cannot be collected and the position is not resolved within a reasonable grace period, TBF will contact the Sponsor to resolve it. Section 10 sets out what happens if the position is not put right.

10. Ending the term early

Sponsor Membership is a 12-month commitment. Where a Sponsor Membership ends early — whether by the Sponsor giving notice, or by lapsing for non-payment — the remaining instalments of the 12-month term remain payable, unless the Board agrees otherwise.

The Board may waive some or all of the remaining instalments where there is good reason to — for example, where a business ceases trading or faces genuine hardship. TBF will apply this consistently and record its reasons.

When a Sponsor Membership ends, for whatever reason, TBF will remove the Sponsor’s branding from future communications within a reasonable period, and the place becomes available to the next business on the waiting list.

11. Ending sponsorship by TBF

TBF may end a Sponsor Membership before the end of its term where:

• The Sponsor has breached TBF’s Forum Members’ Code of Conduct, following the process in that Code and TBF’s Complaints Policy; or

• Continuing the association would, in the Board’s reasonable view, cause significant damage to TBF’s standing or its ability to represent the whole local business community impartially.

Where TBF ends a Sponsor Membership under this section, TBF will explain its reasons in writing and refund any instalments already collected for the remainder of the term, unless the Board decides otherwise for good reason. Where a Director has a personal or financial connection to the Sponsor concerned, that Director takes no part in the decision.

12. Data protection

TBF handles Sponsor Members’ information in line with its Privacy Policy. Sponsor branding materials and contact details are held for the duration of the term and afterwards in line with TBF’s published retention periods.

13. Complaints

A Sponsor Member, or anyone else, may raise a concern about sponsorship — including how places have been allocated — under TBF’s Complaints Policy.