Familiar Fixture’ Broker Proves Win-Win Benefits of Sporting Sponsorships

Award-winning insurance brokerage, Ascend Broking, has demonstrated the many benefits of supporting local community causes, having become a familiar fixture in the local Chelmsford community, thanks to a series of ongoing sponsorships.

The Ascend Broking name has now become intrinsically linked with three sports organisations active in and around Chelmsford and which together provide the local community with sporting entertainment, hobbies and a means to stay fit and healthy.

The insurance brokerage, headquartered at the Chelmsford Business Park, has ongoing sponsorship agreements with Chelmsford City FC, Springfield Cricket Club and Broomfield FC and is continuing to support these teams by providing both financial and practical support.

All three teams cannot speak highly enough of the support Ascend Broking has provided, which all view as critical to the survival of clubs at their respective levels.  For Ascend Broking’s part, the involvement with what is lower league or grass roots sport has provided it with a greater connectivity with members of the local community.  It has broken down barriers between what could be viewed as an insurance broker in an ivory tower and the many people that Ascend Broking can assist, day to day.

Trust is crucial within business and these very local sponsorships have built trust in the Ascend Broking team, as not just informed and astute insurance brokers but real people who share the same values as supporters of the clubs they are sponsoring.

What has helped is the genuine connection that already existed or has been forged.  Ascend Broking’s managing director, Matthew Collins, played for Broomfield FC as a youngster, so has fond memories of the club.  At Chelmsford City, the stands are frequented by various Ascend Broking employees, who had never been to the team’s games before but who are now avid fans.  The same is true on the boundary at Springfield CC.

This willingness to do more than expected of a sponsor and really get involved in things, offering support in other ways, has really shone through at Chelmsford City FC.  Ascend Broking has helped the club to create an impressive website and lottery and also improve communications with fans.  It has also opened up its network to the club, so the club can benefit from its contacts.  Various members of the Ascend team have engaged in volunteering activities for the club.

Speaking on behalf of Chelmsford City FC, General Manager, Phil Crowe, says, “Having introductions to other businesses has been a great advantage for us, as we rely on sponsorship to deliver all that we do.  What Ascend Broking has brought to Chelmsford FC has been far more than just money through a sponsorship deal.”

At Springfield CC, the sponsorship is seen as having been instrumental in enabling the cricket club to bring in its very first overseas player – a hugely popular young Australian, Jack Whisker, who has really connected with the younger players.  It has also enabled practical facilities to be financed, including roll-on covers. The team has moved up the leagues and has great hopes for next season.

Sponsorship and Grants Secretary, Jordan McManus says, “Ascend Broking has poured its heart into helping the club and we view the involvement as truly valuable for us.  It has enabled us to explore new avenues, bring in an overseas player and put plans for progression in place.”

Broomfield FC found themselves equipped with support deemed to be “massively important” by Stuart Paterson, the Club Secretary.  He says, “There is so much we need to do to keep the club running, whether that involves facilities, pitches, buying fertiliser or investing in verti-drainage.  Our club is thriving and we are having to hire additional pitches from local schools.  Sponsorship really matters to us, whether at a macro or micro level.”

This year, the provision of huge corporate sun umbrellas, sponsored by Ascend Broking, equipped the club with outdoor shade that was vital for a event, which graces the calendar annually.

Matthew Collins, managing director of Ascend Broking, says, “We embarked on our programme of local sponsorships wishing to give something back to the local community in which we operate as a business. It has become far more than that, however, and I now feel we have been knitted into that community, being instrinsically linked to the sporting occasions that matter to so many.

“I have seen the employees who have engaged with our sponsorships grow at a personal level and get huge enjoyment out of them.  We never see this as a ‘them and us’ arrangement consisting of sponsor and sponsee but as one team, pulling together to help the team on the pitch, field or children’s training pitches.  We love how much we are involved and look forward to achieving shared goals with all of our sponsored teams in the year ahead.”

More information about Ascend Broking and other local causes that it supports can be found at www.ascendbroking.co.uk

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Editors notes

Ascend Broking is a leading commercial insurance broker and thought leader in many aspects of insurance broking. It is headquartered in Chelmsford, Essex and is a strong supporter of its local community.