The headlines of the last six months reveal another ugly underbelly of the economic downtown: major school budget cuts in the hundreds of millions of dollars. To combat this, a growing number of schools are turning to money rich corporate sponsors, a practice typically reserved for events and sports team, but now a welcome outlet for increasingly essential school fundraising.School budgets are supplied by: local taxes (44%), state governments (47%) and the federal government (7%). Half of the states are facing budget shortfalls due to factors such as the housing downturn which diminishes sales tax revenue and property taxes and job losses which result in reduced income tax collections. Very heavily reliant on decent economic conditions, its easy to see why schools are taking a hit in this financial downturn.Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty views corporate sponsorship as an opportunity to procure much-needed funds: “I think it’s a good thing. I think there should be public-private partnerships in schools,” says Fenty. “I don’t think the government should just try and do everything themselves.”Schools sell naming rights to corporate sponsors. Texas and California have raised millions of dollars by selling naming rights to football games and allowing sponsors such as Pepsi and Nike brand high school sporting events.Even smaller cities are selling naming rights to gyms, locker rooms, cafeterias, school kitchens and even the principal’s office. For instance, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Acuity Insurance bought the naming rights to field houses for $650,000. Aurora Health Care sponsored the workout equipment for $400,000. And Associated Bank branded in-school stores for $60,000. Total naming rights have garnered over $1.5 million to schools in Sheboygan, a city of 51,000.Mayor Juan Perez says it’s a painless way to increase revenue, because the economic situation is “very bleak.” A city council Alderman, Mark Hanna from Sheboygan says, “Like so many cities, we’re struggling with an ever-shrinking budget and with the fact that our taxpayers are just tapped out.”But is allowing corporate sponsorship into schools widely attainable or appropriate? CEO Dean Bonham of the Bonham Group, a sports marketing company that negotiates naming indicates that the sponsor relationship works for schools and cities because “it costs them nothing to create this revenue.” For companies, he says sponsorship is “the best marketing platform available.”

In cities that have embraced sponsorships, little controversy from residents or school employees has been heard. The importance of maintaining school programs and staff trumps the curiosity of corporate branding.

From the playing field to the search field: sponsors go online

With this kind of out-of-the-box thinking, some schools are taking the tread even further. With the explosion in Internet and mobile usage and broadband penetration, educators have come to rely on the Internet as an essential tool for students to perform research and complete assignments. The next step is to transform portions of their websites into fundraising mechanisms.

Educated Search is a company whose mission is to create custom-designed, child-safe search engines for the benefit of schools, students, parents and the local community. The Educated Search engine creates a platform for more relevant, education-specific and local information. The search box is placed on the school’s home page and every page of the website, helping students and site visitors find what they need more quickly.

Businesses can gain focused brand exposure by sponsoring categories and subcategories in the education component of the ES search engine. Examples of categories include, “Solar Power” and “Shakespeare.” Local categories range the gamut, from travel to pet supplies to financial services and restaurants. As students and parents visit the school website, they will type in keywords specific to the categories and subcategories. The business will be recognized as the “Official Sponsor of the Category” when the search result is displayed. This will be an unobtrusive display, such as a small business logo next to the keyword category displayed on the search result page.

Companies already acquainted with youth charities easily transition to online sponsors

Speedy Cash, a Wichita-based financial services company, is in the oft-maligned but actually quite helpful industry of payday loans and cash advances. When used properly, people who find themselves in emergency financial situations can save money compared to late fees on bills. A single late payment fee per month could be the equivalent of a child’s education fund over the course of 20 years. A key to managing short-term expenses in tough times can include services such as payday loans. Speedy Cash regularly sponsors charities and youth organizations and schools in the communities it serves. Speedy Cash and corporations like them make excellent candidates for school sponsorships through the school’s search engine on its website.

With the inclusion of local and topic-specific sponsorships and advertising, the school search engine also becomes a revenue-generating resource for the school, allowing for investment in other beneficial student educational programs.