Corporate and NGO partners co-hosting a fundraiser

A fundraiser with a corporate partner is a common arrangement. The company brings funds, staff and visibility. The NGO brings the cause, the relationships with beneficiaries and a duty of care. Photography sits between them, and it needs a clear set of instructions.

This page is part of our guide to fundraising and NGO-event photography. If the company is paying for the photography itself, read a sponsor paying for an NGO's photography commission.

Where do the priorities differ?

Both partners usually want a good event. Their reasons for wanting images are different.

Question	Company often wants	NGO often needs
Why the images?	Show involvement and staff participation	Show the cause and thank supporters
Who is featured?	Executives, staff, branding	Volunteers, partners, programme people
How are people shown?	Positively and visibly	With dignity and consent
Who approves?	Communications or CSR team	Fundraising or programme lead

None of these needs is wrong. The difficulty comes when no one decides which rules lead. Our guide to one event with several commissioning organisations shows how to agree this.

Who decides when partners disagree?

Name one person on each side with authority to approve images, and one person who settles disagreements. Put this in a short note before the event. For example, imagine a company and an NGO hosting a run and dinner. The note says the NGO's approver decides whether any beneficiary appears, the company's approver decides which staff images are published by the company, and the event chair resolves any conflict.

Our photography responsibility planner turns this into a clear list of who handles what.

Sponsor visibility without staging

A sponsor expects to be seen. This is reasonable and can be planned. Make a list of the moments:

• the logo on the stage backdrop or banner;
• the company's representative speaking or presenting;
• staff volunteers working at the event;
• a donation presentation, if one is planned.

Our sponsor photography checklist works well for this list. Ask the sponsor to name the three most important moments, so coverage is not diluted by a long wish list. For a ceremonial presentation, see donation presentations and ceremonial cheque photographs.

The nonprofit's limits come first

The NGO holds the relationship with the people it serves. If it has a consent process, a policy about children or a rule about naming beneficiaries, these apply to the whole event, including the sponsor's photographs. A company's request for a human-interest image does not override them.

The Personal Data Protection Act 2010 regulates personal data in commercial transactions, and whether and how it applies to your event is for your own adviser. Contracts between the partners may also say who can use images. Our guide on sharing event images with sponsors, venues and other suppliers covers the main points.

Different image packs

A company often needs a short selection for its own channels, while the NGO keeps a fuller gallery. Decide who receives what and when. Our guide on different image packs for media, sponsors and internal teams shows how to set this out.

If the sponsor's deadline is tight

Sponsors sometimes need images the next morning. If the event is sensitive, a quick selection can still be reviewed by the nonprofit before release. Read sponsor publicity deadlines at sensitive NGO events for ways to plan a review step.

What we confirm in writing

The quotation names the client, the approvers, the delivery timeline and the image sets each partner receives. If the arrangement between the two organisations changes, tell us, and we update the brief before the event.

Questions to ask both partners

• Who has the final word on images that include beneficiaries?
• Which images can the company post on its own channels, and after whose approval?
• Who pays for photography, and does the quotation name the right organisation?
• What happens if a guest asks for an image to be removed?