As we are involved in many community activities and provide funding to a variety of different organisations, at this time, we are not actively seeking new sponsorship opportunities.

However, if after reading our Sponsorship and Donation Criteria (below) you believe you have a truly extraordinary opportunity for us, which will contribute to our community relationships and corporate values, we will happily review your proposal. Please be advised however, that all applications for funding will be evaluated against our current sponsorship portfolio and, while we endeavour to support a wide range of community organisations, it is not possible for us to provide funding to all.

All applications for sponsorship should follow our Funding Application Process.

Donations

We are happy to support a range of not-for-profit organisations and causes. In order to ensure our funding reaches a wide range of charitable organisations and causes, please be advised that, under normal circumstances, we will not offer a donation in excess of $250 to any single cause or organisation at any one time. 

All applications for donations should follow our Funding Application Process.

Funding Application Process

We have four sponsorship and donation intakes per financial year (April - March). Applicants will be contacted within three weeks of the submission deadline.

Our deadlines for the 2021-22 financial year are:

• 1 June 2021
• 1 September 2021
• 1 December 2021
• 1 March 2022

To be eligible, all proposals must fall within the criteria below and include the Funding Application Form (found below).

Sponsorship and Donation Criteria

Through sponsorships and donations, we aim to achieve the following sponsorship objectives:

• Increased brand image and awareness
• Business development and growth
• Corporate social responsibility
• Increased community involvement and awareness
• Strong customer and stakeholder relations

We look for sponsorship and donation opportunities which:

• contribute to the company in at least one area specified above,
• provide opportunity for leverage and/or publicity (applies to sponsorships only),
• are within our electricity distribution network regions: Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua and Taupo,
• connect with a community group/organisation, iwi, council, or key customer or stakeholder in the community development, sporting, or cultural areas, and,
• are fair, friendly, safe, ethical, and beneficial to our local communities and environments.

We do not sponsor:

• events or expenses relating to events occurring outside of Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua or Taupo,
• families,
• individual persons or sporting teams,
• events which promote alcohol, smoking, violence, use of firearms, harm to the environment or community, gambling/betting, illegal or high-risk activities (for example, extreme sports, motor-racing, hunting etc.).

If your sponsorship or donation opportunity fits within our criteria, please complete and submit our Funding Application Form below.

Additional Information

Please attach a proposal which clearly outlines the following along with any additional relevant information.

• Reasons seeking sponsorship or donation from Unison.
• Outline of event or opportunity (what is involved, its history, who will be involved etc.).
• Area/s in which the event or opportunity could contribute to Unison’s sponsorship objectives (specified in sponsorship criteria).
• Relevant information about the company/organisation responsible for the event/opportunity (if applicable).
• Opportunities for leverage/publicity and how that could be achieved (e.g. brand awareness: opportunity to display signage/branding).
• Marketing or advertising plan (e.g. pre-event publicity, media involvement at the event, planned advertising).
• Target audience (e.g. community group/organisation/demographic).
• Other sponsors involved.