CEBUG Sponsorship

Computer Erie Bay Users Group (CEBUG) uses the term Sponsorship in defining the role of businesspersons or firms within the confines of our organization, meetings, website, etc. One of the most critical factors that must be emphasized first is that CEBUG exists as an independent organization. While recognition of sponsors of various types is ongoing, CEBUG will never become an overt forum to promote anyone's products and/or services, except on an as-asked-for basis by individual members.

Organizational Demographics

Backgrounds for CEBUG members and visitors vary between ordinary home users to IT professionals and programmers. Although CEBUG lacks any formal special interest groups dedicated to the use of particular software, the formation of such SIGs is encouraged. All members are using some version of Microsoft™ Windows™ operating system, although some also use versions of Linux or UNIX.

• Active membership in CEBUG (May 2008) is 26.
• Average meeting attendance of 5 to 100 persons.
• Registered persons on CEBUG’s site (September 2008) is 45.
• The number of unique visitors to the site is shown in the Site Counter shown in the right-most column, as well as other basic statistics.

Sponsorship Categories

CEBUG would like to recognize the following categories of sponsors: Gold, Silver, and Bronze Sponsors (long-term support) and Meeting Sponsors (temporary support). A sponsor can range in type from an international corporation on through locally based persons and businesses. CEBUG does not limit the number of sponsors, although all are expected to follow our stated Conditions (see below). All are welcome to aid in building a strong foundation for a vibrant local community.

The level of sponsorship assigned is reviewed annually each January by elected Officers within the Executive Committee. If there is a potential conflict of interest involving an Officer, they are expected to recuse themselves from such discussions and voting. Factors that influence the level assigned can include: the amount of support that has been pledged or provided to CEBUG, membership within the organization, and volunteer time. Sponsorship criteria may change at any time without notice. Companies may withdraw their sponsorship at any time; however, the return of any funds or goods already donated will be at the sole discretion of the user group board.

Conditions for All Sponsors

1. The company must abide by the Computer Erie Bay User Group Mission and adhere to all the Computer Erie Bay User Group policies governing sponsor behavior (see below).
2. The company must not engage in illegal or unethical behavior.

Benefits of Sponsorship

There are many benefits to sponsoring CEBUG, including:

• Participation in CEBUG provides exposure for sponsors to buyers of computer related goods, services, and a local IT audience.
• Long-term sponsorship of CEBUG creates a strong awareness and loyalty for a company amongst CEBUG members.
• Each Sponsor is mentioned on the categorized Sponsor Directory page, grouped according to their sponsorship level (Gold is listed first, then Silver, then Bronze), and the size of the typeface may vary as well (Gold larger than Silver, etc.). (Note that differences in typeface may not be distinguishable in all Internet browsers.)
• Each Sponsor providing a long-term offer will have their own dedicated page within this section of our site that would include whatever ad copy they wish, specialized links, etc. (Such as, the who, how, and what of placing orders in connection with whatever offer is being made.) Due to the nature of the content within these pages, under most circumstances only CEBUG members may see them.
• Each Sponsor may submit a JPG or PNG image file, no larger than 128x128 in size for use within an ad block on our site. This image file must reside on our server, so we can review it for suitability. The link attached to the image file, however, and point to whatever URL the Sponsor wishes.
• Press-release notices from Sponsors will be published within private sections of this site so that interested members may read them.
• Sponsors may receive mention in user group communications (meeting announcements, newsletters, etc.). Although the format of communications may vary, in general the following rules apply:
  • Sponsors are mentioned in a footer at the end of e-mail messages, and are grouped according to their sponsorship level.
  • The typeface size may vary according to sponsorship level. (This difference will not be noticeable to those who receive email as plain text.)
  • Besides the name of the company, the user group board may choose to allow sponsor logos, and/or website addresses to appear. Gold Sponsors will get any of these benefits that are applicable; the benefits may decrease at lower sponsorship levels.

Steps to becoming a CEBUG Sponsor

1. Registration on this site is a must, as this allows us to gather various facts about someone that can be used as part of our authentication process.
2. When completing the registration form, indicate you wish to obtain CEBUG Sponsorship status.
3. Complete the CEBUG Sponsorship Application form providing facts about your company.

Thank you for your interest in sponsoring our organization!