What would the associative, cultural, and sports landscape be without the aid that allows it to fund the number of their activities?
We talk a lot about marketing or sponsorship, modernity obliges, but there are also many other sources… Patronage embodies the opening and bridging of the economic and associative worlds in the interest of the common good.
Read on to better understand and appreciate.
Beyond this general interest and the potential economic benefit through a possible tax reduction, patronage is part of an internal and external communication strategy that enhances a business’s integration within its environment, as well as the internal cohesion and motivation of its employees.
Patronage is “material or financial support provided without direct consideration from the beneficiary, to a work or a person for the pursuit of activities of general interest.”
It is distinct from sponsorship, which is “material support provided by a physical or legal person to an event, a person, a product, or an organization with the aim of deriving a direct benefit.” Unlike patronage, sponsorship is equivalent to an economic service carried out in the direct interest of the business.
The system instituted by the law of August 1, 2003, represents an evolution compared to the previous system: an increase in the reduction rate, extension of the duration during which the company can benefit from it, and the transition from a tax base deduction to a tax reduction. These changes represent an increased fiscal advantage for the company. This is evidenced by the strong growth in the creation of foundations: since 2003, 310 corporate foundations have been created.
In 2012, 31% of companies with more than 20 employees are patrons, which is about 40,000 businesses in France. They were 27% in 2010. Admical estimates their contribution to the projects or associations they supported that year to be 1.9 billion euros, representing a relatively stable budget. SMEs account for 93% of patrons (85% in 2010) and 47% of the overall budget (37% in 2010).
These are mainly service companies. Their patronage actions primarily go to the social (43% of the budget dedicated to patronage) and cultural fields (26%). Actions in the field of sports are the most numerous but represent only 6% of the global budget. Companies often seek to have a local impact (83% of them).
11% of patrons practice skills-based patronage, 33% in-kind patronage, and 74% financial patronage, with several modes of intervention that can be combined. Skills-based patronage is on the rise among sponsoring companies with more than 200 employees (31% practice it) but is declining among those with 20 to 99 employees (8% in 2012).
75% of the companies surveyed are aware of the tax system related to the law of August 1, 2003, and 61% of patrons made use of it in 2012, compared to 53% in 2010.
The benefits for businesses.
