It’s never easy to put up prices, but after keeping the cost of sponsorship stable for most of the last fifteen years, the time has come for me to bite the bullet. Our sponsorship tiers will now begin at £10,000 per year.
Like many small businesses, I have been significantly affected by the ongoing economic crises caused by the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, and Brexit. Over the last few years, everyone’s costs have gone up, including ours. Many companies are looking to cut budgets, and particularly the kind of discretionary spending that turns into sponsorships. Indeed, my contacts in the third sector have all told me that fundraising has become incredibly challenging. So it’s not a great environment to put prices up.
Yet if Ada Lovelace Day is to continue and flourish, then I need to put prices up not just so that I can cover my (rising) costs, but also so that I can grow the business. My goal for 2024 is to have enough multi-year sponsorship agreements in place that I can hire that all important second employee to help me run the event and expand our activities.
As part of these changes, I’m offering much more of my time and expertise to our sponsors. Over the last 15 years, I’ve built up a lot of experience and knowledge of gender equity, including a deep understanding of the business policies that attract women, equitable recruitment processes, and how to mentor, retain and promote women. Sharing that knowledge with my sponsors is right at the top of my agenda.
ALD is a small and nimble organisation, with one full time employee – me! – and two freelances that I can call on when I have enough budget. I have a great venue partner in the Royal Institution and some wonderful pro bono partners in Synergy and, last year, Stylist. Despite ALD’s diminutive size, it regularly punches above its weight. I mean, how many one-person businesses do you know that have created a day that’s celebrated globally? I often can’t believe that this is a thing I did!
Ada Lovelace Day is unique in the calendar. We remain not just the first but the only day devoted to women in science, technology, engineering and maths around the world. Ada Lovelace Day has been celebrated by global brands worth hundreds of billions of pounds. And the value we bring to women around the world and to the sponsors that support us is incalculable. So please consider becoming a sponsor and making sure that Ada Lovelace Day continues to thrive!