Policy approved October 2, 2023
As the world’s largest professional organization for business journalists, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing places a premium on adhering to rigorous ethical standards in its dealings with outside parties. This means avoiding real and perceived conflicts of interest, and the appearance of inappropriate influence, by following clearly delineated guidelines related to sources of funding and outside partnerships.
- We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. We make public through our IRS Form 990 Schedule B all revenue sources and donors who give more than $1,000 per year. The information is posted on the SABEW website.
- We are primarily funded by membership dues and event revenues (including the Best in Business awards and conferences), but we also welcome financial partnerships that serve the professional interests of our members. To that end, we accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations and special projects and events. We also accept anonymous donations without restrictions if they adhere to our guidelines.
- Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.
- We will not accept donations from sources who present a conflict of interest with our mission, or compromise our independence. We expect donors to have created a respectful environment for people of all races and genders.
To assist those interested in donating to SABEW or otherwise entering into a financial relationship with our organization, we have broken our sponsorship guidelines into four categories as follows.
Questions should be directed to the SABEW executive director.
These guidelines were approved by the SABEW Board of Directors on October 2, 2023.
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Category A
Who: Groups with an interest in improving the quality of business journalism, such as media companies; media foundations; trade publications and academic journals; nonprofit, nonpartisan foundations not controlled by commercial firms; nonpartisan research organizations; publicly funded agencies, universities and hospitals; nonprofit colleges/universities.
Nature of support: Broad
- Sponsorship of events, educational programming and other fund-raising activities
- Grants for events, publications or educational programming
- Advertising and exhibits
- Free or discounted services/products for SABEW members
- Gifts (cash or in-kind)
Examples may include: Medill School of Journalism, Poynter Institute, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Pew Research Center, Brookings Institution.
Category B
Who: Companies, government entities or groups that sell or supply products, services or digital tools that journalists may consider useful in their work. Examples include hardware and software for digital, video and photojournalists; datasets; sourcing services; transcription services/apps; financial calculators. Sites and tools that may run afoul of newsroom standards, such as some artificial intelligence applications, may not be considered.
Nature of support: Limited, and assessed on a case-by-case basis. Sponsored efforts must reflect the tool or service relevant to journalism. Opportunities may include:
- Advertising and exhibits
- Sponsorship of educational programming
- Free or discounted services/products for SABEW members
- In-kind donations for fund-raising activities, i.e. raffle, silent auction
- Educational programming focused on use of the tool or service
Examples may include: Zoom; Google Trends or Analytics; LinkedIn for Journalists or LinkedIn Premium; Edmunds (auto sales/trends data); Fidelity (retirement data and calculators/tools); Bankrate and HARO.
Category C
Who: Not-for-profit associations or societies or nonprofit, nonpartisan foundations controlled by commercial firms or their representatives.
Nature of support: Limited. Generally, no support is sought in this category, however, a very limited number of organizations in this category will be allowed to exhibit at the annual conference but not provide conference facilities or space or be provided with an opportunity to address the attendees.
Examples may include: chambers of commerce, lobbying organizations and industry interest groups
Category D
Who: Private or public corporations or not-for-profit entities that sell products or services unrelated to journalism in the general consumer and business-to-business markets.
Nature of support: Contingent on approval by the SABEW board of directors.
Examples may include: banks, financial institutions, manufacturers, insurers, energy companies, private hospitals, marketing or public relations companies and other entities with a commercial interest, whether for-profit or not-for-profit.
Following are the kinds of questions we will ask in considering potential financial partners:
- Does the proposed activity and/or relationship support our organization’s values and mission?
- Does the activity/relationship uphold our organization’s objectivity, independence, integrity and credibility?
- Does the activity/relationship compromise the image or reputation of our organization or its members?
