The Sponsorship Report is "paying it forward" five times over through its bursary partnership with Hilborn, publishers of Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy. Five charity professionals from organizations in the early stages of sponsorship development have just won the Pay It Forward bursary competition announced in CF&P in May.

They'll all receive complimentary registration for The Sponsorship Report's annual Strategic Sponsorship Marketing: The Canadian Summit, set for Toronto this October. Winners from beyond Toronto will receive transportation as well.

The five winners are

• Susan Morling, Peace Ranch, Caledon, Ontario. Corporations have approached her looking for volunteer opportunities for their staff. She hopes to learn how to create meaningful projects that will lead sponsorships including to financial support as well as volunteer involvement.
• Terri Leroux of Credit Valley Conservation Foundation, Mississauga, Ontario. She wants to move her sponsorship program from events and logos to engaged, sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Wendy Fiske, Christmas Bureau of Edmonton.  Her programs have corporate donors but no sponsors. She's looking for strategies to move those participating companies towards sponsorships.
• Izabela Krekora, Women Against Violence Against Women Rape Crisis Centre, Vancouver. Her organization wants to replace declining government funding with corporate sponsorships. She needs tactics to get beyond her prospects' reluctance to discuss rape, sexual assault and violence against women.
• Kristine Betker, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg. "Three words: the Winnipeg Jets." She anticipates that sponsorships including box seats at a Jets game will be a much hotter ticket than sponsorships including seats at plays. With the Jets comes a team charitable foundation, which she foresees will command great visibility and support, siphoning funds and attention away from her theatre. She's looking for ways to stay competitive as powerful new players enter her market.

For more information on Strategic Sponsorship Marketing: The Canadian Summit, http://www.sponsorship.ca/summit.html; on The Sponsorship Report, http://www.sponsorship.ca/; on Hilborn, www.charityinfo.ca.