More than a logo: how Action for Children creates purpose-driven sponsorships
Jessica Lloyd
Sponsorship Lead
What’s your name and position within the organisation?
Jessica Lloyd, Sponsorship Lead at Action for Children. I work with organisations to build partnerships that deliver both business value and social impact.
In brief, what does Action for Children do and what is your approach to sponsorship and partnerships?
Driven by love, we take action so children don’t miss out on a safe and happy childhood. We have thousands of people on the ground, all across the UK, giving children and young people the protection and practical help they urgently need.
Our strategy focuses on four core areas: family support, children in care, children with disabilities, and mental health and wellbeing. And with over 4million children living in poverty in the UK, we see that need cutting across all our services.
Action for Children’s story I Driven by love, we take action for children
At Action for Children, partnerships are not just about visibility, they’re about creating real, lasting change for children, young people and families who need support to thrive.
What approach differentiates Action for Children and makes your sponsorship strategy unique?
Sponsorship at Action for Children goes beyond traditional brand placement. We design partnerships that help organisations demonstrate their values, engage audiences meaningfully, and contribute to real-world outcomes.
While we offer structured packages as a starting point, every partnership is shaped collaboratively to align with the sponsor’s strategy, audience and objective.
Our work ensures that children, young people and families remain at the heart of every partnership, creating opportunities for sponsors to deliver genuine social impact.
Partners are given opportunities to engage beyond the event itself, from attending flagship events and collaborative campaigns to connecting directly with frontline services and seeing the impact of their support first-hand.
We can offer more than exposure: We actively seek organisations looking for more than a logo on a screen. We work with partners who want to contribute value and create meaningful change.
Flexible across budgets and objectives: With a diverse portfolio of B2B and B2C events and campaigns, we work with organisations across different budgets and strategic priorities.
Built around impact: Our partnerships are designed to elevate campaigns and events, while helping sponsors clearly demonstrate purpose and social value.
For brands, we deliver:
- Demonstrable social impact and ESG value
- Meaningful audience engagement (B2B and B2C)
- Authentic storytelling opportunities
- Alignment with a trusted charity brand.
Ultimately, our partnerships enable organisations to connect their brand with purpose – creating value for both their business and the communities we serve.
By working together, we can not only elevate events and campaigns, but also help transform the lives of children and families across the UK, ensuring every child has the foundation they need to thrive.
We’re always looking to collaborate with organisations who want to make a difference. If you’re exploring how sponsorship can deliver more impact, more engagement, more meaning… we’d love to start a conversation.
John Lewis Christmas Advert ‘The Beginner’
What do you see as current trends in sponsorship, and how are they affecting how you work and how you deliver on strategy?
Sponsorship is increasingly being driven by purpose and authenticity, with brands looking for partnerships that deliver real social impact, not just visibility. Cause-led activity is now a major trend, as organisations recognise it builds stronger audience trust and engagement.
We’re also seeing a shift from transactional deals to strategic partnerships, where sponsors want deeper involvement through storytelling, employee engagement and immersive experiences.
In response, we’ve adapted our approach to be more collaborative and tailored, co-creating opportunities that align with each partner’s goals, while clearly demonstrating both commercial and social return. Ultimately, these trends are pushing sponsorship to be more meaningful, measurable and value-driven, and that’s central to how we deliver our strategy.
How has sponsorship changed for Action for Children over the past five years, and what predictions can you make about how it’s going to change in the next five years?
Over the past five years, sponsorship at Action for Children has evolved from a more transactional, event-led model into a strategic, purpose-driven proposition. While brand visibility and income remain important, there is now a much stronger focus on aligning with partners’ values, ESG priorities and long-term objectives. This reflects a wider shift in the market, where cause-led partnerships are increasingly seen as a driver of brand trust and engagement.
We’ve also seen growing demand for tailored, integrated partnerships, moving beyond standard packages to more collaborative, co-created opportunities that include storytelling, employee engagement and meaningful impact. As a result, our approach has become more flexible, with a greater emphasis on demonstrating value.
Looking ahead, this will accelerate further. Sponsorship is likely to become even more data-driven and impact-led, with partners expecting clearer ROI, deeper audience insights and stronger evidence of tangible outcomes. We also expect continued growth in long-term, strategic partnerships, where organisations invest in causes that align closely with their purpose and brand. For Action for Children, this means continuing to evolve – building partnerships that are not only commercially effective, but also deliver genuine, measurable impact for children and young people.
Who does Action for Children reach and why does it matter?
Our propositions are built around clearly defined, high-value audiences. For brands, this creates an opportunity to connect with audiences when they are most receptive and when competition for attention is highest.
- Mass consumer audiences: UK-wide reach, engaging families and parents (35–54) at peak Christmas trading.
- Corporate and professional audiences: Business leaders and employees across tech, finance and consulting. Strong for B2B visibility, employee engagement and peer influence.
- Affluent, lifestyle-led audiences : High-net-worth individuals and corporate hosts, ideal for hospitality, brand positioning and relationship-building.
- Media and influencer audiences : Access to media, broadcast and cultural networks, offering visibility within influential industries.
- Wider Action for Children audience: National supporter base reached through PR, storytelling and digital channels, extending visibility beyond a single event or campaign.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Ultimately, what we’re most excited about is the opportunity to work more collaboratively with partners who want to create something meaningful. It’s no longer just supporting an event, but helping shape campaigns and initiatives that deliver real impact.
We’re proud of the breadth of what we can offer, from flagship events like Boycott Your Bed, through to large-scale campaigns like Secret Santa, which brings together powerful storytelling, national reach and meaningful audience engagement at a key cultural moment. It’s a great example of how sponsorship can go beyond visibility to create a deeper emotional connection with audiences.
As we continue to evolve, we’re always keen to connect with organisations who are looking for more creativity, more engagement, and more impact.
