How AIM WA Fast-Tracked Their Sponsorship
Footy fever has been in full pelt these past few weeks. I haven’t been able to look anywhere without seeing sponsor logos plastered across stadiums, jerseys, and TV screens. Sponsorship in sport is everywhere. But corporate sponsorship is so much more than visibility on a jersey or a billboard - especially when a purpose-driven organisation, social enterprise or non-profit is part of the equation.
Think about it. Vital programs that save lives, build diversity and inclusion, and provide shelter for the homeless are funded - and continue to thrive - because of corporate sponsorship. Major events that raise millions of dollars and enable community participation - funded and flourishing, thanks to sponsors. Media campaigns that spread important, behaviour-changing messages - funded and making a genuine social impact.
Now, I’d be crazy (living in Australia) to say footy isn’t important. It is. It unites communities and shapes Australian culture. It drives billions in economic activity across sport, media, and tourism. Clubs drive healthy active habits in young kids and more. But - and here’s where I’ll risk the lightning bolt - I think funding social purpose and non-profit programs, events and campaigns that save lives and create lasting social impact is even more important.
AIM WA’s learning campus - Floreat, Western Australia
So, when the Australian Institute of Management WA (AIM WA) approached us last year to help them upskill in sponsorship, I was tickled pink. A not-for-profit leader in management, leadership and workplace training, and a beacon of quality in Western Australia, saw our offering as best practice - that was a career high for sure.
AIM WA wanted to redevelop its approach to sponsorship in order to support significant programs and increase their social impact. The team knew that modern day sponsorship, in a tough economic environment, couldn’t just rely on their good name, goodwill or warm fuzzies. They wanted something robust, something tangible, something that would stand tall in the boardrooms of WA’s biggest corporates. After researching the options, they and landed on BePartnerReady.com® as the most innovative, practical and proven approach.
When Andrea Walters, Head of Sponsorship at AIM WA, revealed that one of the programs they’d be packaging up was Beediyar - a leadership program to give First Nations professionals a seat and a voice at the boardroom table - I was thrilled. To play even a small part in advancing such an important initiative was an honour.
At BePartnerReady.com® we don’t just teach the theory of partnership and sponsorship. We equip organisations with a proven process that helps them identify their true value, approach the right companies, and build partnerships that deliver real, lasting benefit. Sometimes our recipe needs to be massaged a little to fit a unique organisation like AIM WA - but from the outset, Andrea and her team were ready to adapt and flex. They committed time and energy to the framework and are now applying it across a range of their impact programs.
The result? Wins on several fronts - and one standout success for Beediyar.
Beediyar Program 2024/2025 Graduation Event
Beediyar is the Noongar word for ‘leader’. The program equips Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the skills, knowledge and confidence to take a seat at the decision-making table. It’s a program with the power to shift the dial on Indigenous representation in leadership. AIM WA knew it deserved the right kind of corporate backing to see it continue and flourish.
Using our methodology and tools, Andrea and her team valued the assets of Beediyar and crafted a sponsorship package that resonated with strategically selected corporates. They didn’t go to market with a ‘please support us’ pitch - they demonstrated the unique brand and mutual business benefits of aligning with Beediyar.
The results speak for themselves. In an incredibly short timeframe, AIM WA secured a number of quality sponsors, who are not only providing financial investment for Beediyar program scholarships, but more importantly are committed to being part of the learning experience and amplifying the program’s reach and impact.
For us, Beediyar is a shining example of what happens when best practice sponsorship meets a meaningful initiative. It proves that when you take the time to do sponsorship properly, you create outcomes that literally do change lives. I couldn’t be prouder of Andrea and the AIM WA team - and to know that sponsorship has enabled Beediyar to run for another year and remove barriers for Indigenous employees to move into senior executive and C-suite roles. Because Indigenous voices matter in all parts of the community, including around the boardroom table.
Hailey Cavill-Jaspers
