This report is the third in a series of reports that monitor the sponsorship environment in which cultural organisations operate. In November 2003 the Ministry conducted an online survey of 100 corporate sponsors and 39 cultural organisations. The research sought information on the types of activities that were supported, the levels of sponsorship support in the past and for the future, what drives sponsorship decisions and what the benefits are for corporate sponsors and the organisations they support.
Methodology
The 2003 survey was conducted online. Past surveys had been postal questionnaires, and over time the response rates had declined. In an attempt to improve the response rate the Ministry decided to experiment with an online survey. E-xpert Developments, a Wellington based web-development company, built and hosted the questionnaires on its website. The online survey form combined with personal approaches to all participants improved the response rates dramatically.
Participants in the survey received three reminders by email. These also contained the link to the questionnaire, the username and the password.
Survey of corporate sponsors
The corporate survey was repeated in 2001, and again in 2003. The questionnaire, designed by Statistics New Zealand, has remained virtually the same for all surveys. The questions explore corporate sponsors’ motivations for sponsoring cultural activities; the activities they sponsor; the proportion of their budget they allocate to sponsorship; and, their intentions for future sponsorship.
One hundred businesses were approached individually to obtain contact details of the person with responsibility for sponsorship and to seek their agreement to participate in the 2003 survey. Businesses that had participated in the previous two surveys were approached. If a business had ceased to operate, it was replaced by one in the same business category (eg banks, law firms, transport, airlines, media, utilities etc) or if no obvious alternative was available in that category another business was selected on the basis of popular choice through consultation with cultural organisations. The person responsible for allocating the sponsorship budget was contacted by phone, told about the survey, and emailed the link to the questionnaire, along with a username and password for accessing it.
Response rate
Sixty-four businesses responded to the email. Four of these were unable to complete the questionnaire because of time constraints. In total 60 businesses took part in the survey (60% response rate).