Sponsorship, Partnerships, and Conflicts of Interest Policy

Governing principles

• The interests of the collective and its members come before the interests of a sponsor, leader, or company.
• The supporter’s identity, the type of support, and the main benefits are disclosed clearly and without misleading claims.
• Sponsorship does not buy a leadership seat or a right to select members or control content or decisions.
• Member data is not sold, and contact lists or non-public profiles are not shared with sponsors.
• Recruitment and marketing opportunities are kept separate from membership data; direct contact occurs only by the member’s choice.
• Resources are managed through documented records, supporting evidence, and proportionate approvals, and an aggregated impact report is published.

Types of relationship

• Sponsor: provides support in exchange for defined and disclosed visibility benefits.
• Programme partner: helps deliver a programme or event under an agreed written scope, defined responsibilities, and performance measures.
• Donor or supporter: provides money or assets without a direct commercial benefit, subject to acceptance conditions.
• Service provider: supplies hosting, tools, a venue, or services under an operating or data-processing agreement where needed.

Acceptance criteria

A partner is assessed on the lawfulness of its funding source, reputation, alignment with the YTC mission, impact on safety and independence, financial and data-protection terms, and ability to deliver. Support is rejected or stopped if its source is unknown or involves bribery, fraud, exploitation, deception, serious rights violations, or obligations the collective cannot meet.

• Sponsorship is not accepted from a political party, political group, candidate, or any organisation that requires political campaigning or alignment.
• Sponsorship connected to weapons, unlawful surveillance, gambling, fraud, hate speech, or legally prohibited products and services is not accepted.
• Restrictions relating to international transfers, sanctions, and anti-money-laundering requirements are checked before external funding is accepted.
• Support may be refused where it creates a reputational risk, excessive dependency, or a conflict with member safety, even if it is lawful.

Permitted benefits and limits

• Displaying a logo and acknowledging support, providing a clearly labelled introductory segment, and offering disclosed tickets or seats within capacity limits.
• Sharing public opportunities, an optional invitation to apply, or a knowledge session that does not become misleading advertising.
• Aggregated and anonymised impact reports without individual data or contact lists.
• A sponsor may not review speakers’ opinions or determine collective outcomes, except to verify correct use of its brand and factual information.
• Paid or sponsored content is clearly labelled and is not presented as an independent editorial recommendation.

Conflicts of interest

A conflict arises when a financial, employment, family, or personal interest could affect, or appear to affect, the objectivity of a decision. Leaders and organisers must disclose conflicts when joining, annually, and as soon as a new conflict arises.

• The disclosure is recorded before the decision is discussed, describing the nature of the relationship without publishing unnecessary personal data.
• The conflicted person withdraws from negotiation, recommendation, and voting and leaves the relevant part of the meeting when necessary.
• Members without a conflict decide whether the arrangement is fair and serves YTC, and compare reasonable alternatives.
• The minutes record the name of the person who withdrew, the general nature of the conflict, how it was managed, and the voting outcome.
• An arrangement must not be divided or routed through an intermediary to conceal a conflict or bypass approvals.

Approval levels

• Routine operating support for one event: approval by the partnerships lead and operations lead, with the support recorded.
• Cash, multi-event, or exclusive support, or support involving substantial use of YTC data or branding: approval by two thirds of the interim leadership team.
• Any relationship involving a disclosed conflict or legal or international risk: a documented independent review before signature.
• No one may be the sole signatory to an agreement they negotiated if they benefit from it or are responsible for making the related payment.

Agreement, transparency, and termination

Every material partnership is documented in a contract or memorandum of understanding that defines contributions, benefits, duration, data, intellectual property, conduct, and termination. YTC publishes a list of sponsors and partners and the type of support they provide, while retaining financial amounts, approvals, and reports internally. A relationship may be terminated immediately for a breach involving data, conduct, independence, or law, with logos removed, access stopped, and data returned or destroyed under the agreement.

Conflict-of-interest declaration — short form

• Name, role, and the period covered by the declaration.
• Organisations for which I work or in which I hold an interest that may deal with YTC.
• Family or business relationships relevant to collective decisions.
• My commitment to disclose promptly, withdraw where required, and preserve confidentiality.
• Date, signature, and approval by the governance lead.