Sports partnerships with not-for-profits show lacklustre results, study finds

Partnerships between professional sports teams and not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) are often weakened by power imbalances, informality and a lack of strategic intent, according to new research led by RMIT University.

The study also provided some cause for optimism, finding NPOs viewed these partnerships as essential to engaging with sports fans to raise awareness and increase donations, and highly effective when approached strategically rather than in an ad-hoc manner.

The study, which RMIT conducted with Swinburne University of Technology and published in the Journal of Marketing Management, involved a survey of more than 4,000 sports fans and in-depth interviews with 11 NPO managers.

Lead researcher Dr Daniel Rayne said the research focused on how partnerships between professional sports teams and NPOs had formed and evolved, and how this had influenced fan behaviour.

“Our survey results showed the vast majority of fans viewed these partnerships favourably, and had an intent to donate, volunteer and support charitable groups affiliated with their clubs,” said Rayne, from the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing.

“However, most of these partnerships were not able to effectively capitalise on this positive fan sentiment."

Dr Daniel Rayne. Credit: Supplied

Rayne said the sports clubs were the “dominant force”, while charitable organisations often suffered a “gratefulness syndrome”.

“The not-for-profit is just so happy to be partnering with the sports team that it’s kind of the situation where the sports team says ‘jump’ and the not-for-profit will say, ‘how high?’,” he said.

“This means it’s generally the not-for-profit that is doing most of the work for outreach activities under the banner of a partnership.”

Formality waned even in those first stages of the partnership, Rayne said.

“Only one partnership had progressed well following the MoU stage to a more strategic arrangement, consisting of much stronger processes compared to the other NPOs interviewed,” he said.

“Nine of the 11 partnerships analysed quickly deteriorated into ad hoc, poorly executed activities.

“We want to use our findings to help both professional sports organisations and not-for-profits to maximise outcomes from these partnerships, including donations, the recruitment of volunteers and awareness raising through favourable word-of-mouth.”

Evidence suggested that most sports organisations are in these partnerships beyond self-interest, Rayne said.

“Sports teams are community organisations – so I would argue that they don’t do it just to get more memberships, they do it because their entire existence is about involving themselves in their communities,” he said.

“A partnership that works well, for example, is between the Richmond Football Club and the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, which has been developed over a long period of time and really comes across as genuine.

“Carlton and Geelong are examples of clubs which have taken a more deliberate approach to their partnerships with not-for-profits in recent years too.”

Rayne said sports teams that had too many partnerships ran the risk of leading to poor outcomes.

“In some sports, there are professional clubs that have up to 12 charitable partners. That’s where it can become a bit convoluted, as fans often get confused by these partnerships,” he said.

“Sports teams and not-for-profits overseas could benefit from the findings of this research, where a more strategic approach is advocated.”

As a follow up to this study, Rayne and his colleagues at RMIT are investigating sports fans’ confusion with social-cause messaging in the English Premier League.

“Understanding approaches to social partnerships – investigation target audience reactions and non-profit managers’ business practice: a mixed-methods study” is published in the Journal of Marketing Management (DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2023.2247418).

Story: Will Wright

Society and Environment

30 July 2024

Return to RMIT News

Society and Environment

30 July 2024

CoBL
Research
Social services
Society

Engage

Contact RMIT News

Find an expert

Study with us

Research at RMIT

Related News

Creative Antarctica: artists transport audiences to the edge of the world

RMIT Galleries' latest - and one of its largest ever - exhibitions, Creative Antarctica: Australian Artists and Writers in the Far South, brings audiences on a journey to the Far South, offering new perspectives, encounters and understandings of one of the world’s most remote and fragile landscapes.

‘Incredibly resilient’ nylon device creates electricity under tonnes of pressure

RMIT University researchers have developed a flexible nylon-film device that generates electricity from compression and keeps working even after being run over by a car multiple times, opening the door to self-powered sensors on our roads and other electronic devices.

One hundred years on, RMIT and industry experts consider what Australian culture might look like without broadcast TV

RMIT University convened Media & Communication luminaries for a ‘100 Years of Broadcast TV’ symposium to reflect on the impact of the broadcast signal in Australia and speculate about its future in the wake of major industry disruption.

Electricity bill with light bulb, several coins, calculator and pen on the desk. Concept of electricity prices and tax payments.

Banning energy disconnections shouldn’t destabilise markets, study finds

Approaches by some European countries and Australia to protect energy consumers could help countries worldwide phase out harmful electricity disconnections without destabilising power markets, new research has found.

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

More information

Sports partnerships with not-for-profits show lacklustre results, study finds