skills sponsorship: a practical guide

What is skills sponsorship?

Sponsorship in kind, or skills sponsorship, involves putting employees' skills (professional or otherwise) to work for non-profit organizations during their working hours. It is a practice recognized for its positive social impact on society and for encouraging corporate commitment.

Supported by the Aillagon law of 2003, this practice benefits from a favorable legal framework in France, which encourages more and more employers to make the most of their employees' know-how in projects of general interest.

Internationally, the skills sponsorship landscape varies from region to region, with each country having its own specific context and characteristics. In the United States, for example, skills sponsorship is widespread, and American companies widely encourage their employees to devote time to community projects.

In Germany, Pro Bono is a form of skills sponsorship in which professionals offer their services free of charge to non-profit organizations, often as part of consulting or strategic development assignments. Approaches to skills sponsorship are therefore very diverse around the world.

What are the different forms of skills sponsorship?

Skills sponsorship can take two forms:

• Short-term skills sponsorship (one-off volunteering, support for an event).
• Long-term skills sponsorship (mentoring or specialized skills).

💡 Patronage VS volunteering difference: skill-based patronage and volunteering differ only in the time at which the mission is carried out. The specificity of skills sponsorship is to offer help to associations during employees' working time, unlike volunteering, which is carried out on individuals' personal time.

Did you know? It is also possible to end-of-career skills sponsorship to prepare for retirement. This form of philanthropy enables senior employees to devote a few hours or even work full-time for a period of 1 to 3 years within a public-interest organization, while retaining their status as salaried employees within their company until they reach full retirement age.

➡️ Would you like to find out more about the specifics of sponsorship, mentoring, volunteering, etc.? Read our article Patronage, volunteering, mentoring: what are the differences?

Who can become a skills patron?

Three types of players have a role to play in promoting skills sponsorship:

• Companies, by encouraging their employees to participate in skills sponsorship through solidarity programs* and partnerships with NGOs;
• Associations and foundations, by integrating volunteers and/or salaried staff into their structures to gain access to different types of expertise;
• The civil service and local authorities are also eligible for skills-based sponsorship activities since the law of February 21, 2022, also known as the "3DS" law.

💡 Please note: social enterprises, including those with ESUS status as well as cooperatives, are generally not considered eligible for skills sponsorship in the strict sense of the term.

*Corporate citizenship programs are initiatives that encourage employees to get involved in charitable actions (skills sponsorship, financial or material donations, etc.), often as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Why set up skills sponsorship?

Benefits for companies

In view of the many social and environmental issues at stake, skills sponsorship is of particular importance to all those involved. The main advantages for a company with a social commitment program are to :

• Loyalize their teams: 81% of employees of committed companies adhere to their company's culture (according to Civitime).

• Involve your employees in your CSR strategy: with a community involvement program, your employees become players in your CSR strategy!
• Attracting new talent: 70% of 18-30 year-olds say they would be prepared to give up applying to companies that do not take ecological issues into account (Harris Interactive,2022).
• Meeting current expectations: 83% of French consumers expect CSR commitments from brands.
• Take advantage of tax breaks : skills sponsorship can generate a tax credit of up to 60%. It's an opportunity to give even more resources to associations, which need this support on a daily basis!

Benefits for associations

For associations, skills sponsorship enables them to :

• Get free qualified help: skills sponsorship enables employees to contribute their professional skills (or otherwise) to associative projects free of charge.
• Increase their operational capacity: skills-based employees improve the efficiency of associations in carrying out their missions.
• Achieve their objectives: associations can have a more significant impact on their beneficiaries and communities with the help of companies.
• Closer links between the worlds of work and associations: partnerships between companies and associations enable the creation of new solidarity projects that would not have been possible without collaboration.

💡 Want to find out more about the skills patronage landscape in France in 2024? Consult our skills sponsorship barometer to discover the challenges and current best practices in this field.

How to set up skills sponsorship?

Are you now convinced that skills sponsorship could be a real asset for your organization?

Follow our 4 steps to set up a successful skills sponsorship project:‍

• 1. Define the contours of the engagement program to frame the project
• 2. Define the operational strategy to guide your project's progress
• 3. Communicate about the program to raise awareness and get as many employees on board as possible
• 4. Measure employees' commitment to solidarity and adjust the program

Our guide "4 steps to a successful skills sponsorship program" explains the essential steps for creating a successful skills sponsorship program. You'll discover Wenabi's advice, as well as tips for rolling out a skills sponsorship program on a large scale.

Are you a nonprofit ?
- Read our article on how to launch your nonprofit in skills sponsorship
- Register your nonprofit for free on Wenabi to receive support in creating skills sponsorship partnerships with companies!

Which associations to contact for skills sponsorship?

Are you looking for associative partnerships to get involved in skills sponsorship, but don't know where to start? To create privileged partnerships aligned with your company's values, focus on one or a few causes that are particularly close to your heart. Here are some examples of missions proposed by our partner associations, each corresponding to a specific cause:

• Make a video for a French Red Cross event French Red Cross
• Organize a second-hand clothing drive to benefitEmmaüs Défi
• Become a mentor for women in career transition with Social Builder
• Prepare meals for Refugee Food Aid Refugee Food

➡️ See here for moreexamples of skills sponsorship projects you can carry out with your company.

How can skills sponsorship be tax-exempt?

In France, a company sponsoring an association can benefit from a reduction in corporate or income tax. The tax deduction varies from 40% to 60%, depending on the amount of the donation and the company's sales. To benefit from this tax reduction, the company must complete the Cerfa, an official form specifically designed to declare expenditure linked to skills sponsorship. This measure is designed to encourage companies to get involved in philanthropic actions and make a positive contribution to society, while benefiting from a tax advantage.

💡 To find out more about the tax exemption approach, read our article dedicated to this subject: Sponsoring skills: tax exemption and legal framework

Examples of corporate skills sponsorship programs

More and more companies are developing skills sponsorship programs to involve their teams in social actions. Wenabi supports more than 150 companies in the construction, management and animation of these projects:

• La Poste Group has created the Déclic program, offering its employees an easy way to get involved in short-term solidarity missions throughout France, including the French overseas departments. Over 1,500 employees have already taken part in community projects in four years.
• Internationally, Wenabi supports Covivio, which offers its teams in France, Italy and Germany the opportunity to devote 8 hours of their working time to supporting local associations committed to equal opportunity. To simplify the process, the communications teams in each country independently manage employee registrations. Each year, Covivio also organizes SoCovivio Week, a week of solidarity actions offered to teams in different countries.

Do you know all there is to know about skills sponsorship, and would you like to develop it in your company through a dedicated program? Launch your sponsorship program with Wenabi!