About
Howard County Recreation & Parks has a wide variety of memorial and sponsorship opportunities that will help you get involved with the community.
Sponsorship Opportunities Request Form
For sponsorship information:
Please contact Anna Hunter at ahunter@howardcountymd.gov or Cara Marshall at cmarshall@howardcountymd.gov.
For memorial information:
Please contact Donna Szyman at 410-313-4647 or dszyman@howardcountymd.gov (or see below for fillable form).
Sponsorship Opportunities
Your company can enjoy exposure on our multi-purpose fields, pool, indoor gyms, fitness rooms, and sports equipment. Sponsors are very appreciated as this helps keep our program costs down.
Sponsor a field, court, pool, or indoor gymnasium by placing a mesh banner on the fence or indoors. Outdoor banners are put up by March 1 and taken down around December 1.
Information
- Prices include installation and take-down.
- Full color banners at multipurpose and baseball fields: 6’x4’ mesh banner, with at least 6 grommets.
- Full color banners at tennis and basketball courts: 3’x2’ mesh banner, with at least 4 grommets.
- Full color banners inside gymnasiums: 6’x4’ vinyl banner, with poll pocket or at least 3 grommets across the top.
- Sign space is on a first-come, first-served basis.
- If you cannot provide a banner, design & print services are an additional cost that starts at $250* per sign, paid in advance.
- Must pay in full prior to installation.
- Signs may include company name, logo, phone number, website or social media site location or social media icons.
- Signs may not include slogan, photos/pictures (head shots of realtors allowed on inside banners), alcohol, tobacco (including smokeless) products, firearms, pornography, profanity, or inappropriate content.
- Banners must be approved by Howard County Recreation & Parks prior to displaying.
- Recreation & Parks reserves the right to remove banners at any time.
- Banners that are damaged are replaced at the expense of the sponsor. The county is not responsible for lost, stollen or damaged banners.
*Prices subject to change.
For more information, please contact Anna Hunter at ahunter@howardcountymd.gov or Cara Marshall at cmarshall@howardcountymd.gov.
Recreation & Parks sponsors help us bring fabulous special events to the community to enjoy, including egg hunts for all ages, fishing tournaments, free summer concerts, a free fireworks event attended by an estimated 20,000 people, our two-day Wine in the Woods festival attended by an average of 25,000, a juried craft fair (Holiday Mart), Kid’s Fest (over 1,000 participants), and many more. Those that partner with Recreation & Parks benefit from name recognition during programs and events.
Tailored Sponsorship Packages Available!
For more information, please contact Danielle Bassett dbassett@howardcountymd.gov.
Caring for live animals is a big job and requires many resources. The animals at Robinson Nature Center serve as educational ambassadors, providing numerous learning opportunities for the public and helping us spread a message of awareness and conservation.
You can support the animals residing at Robinson Nature Center with an annual sponsorship. Each sponsorship comes with a package of benefits and make great gifts!
Naturesphere Film – $3,000-$10,000
Robinson Nature Center’s “NatureSphere” is the only planetarium in Howard County offering regular programs for the public. The Center partners with sponsors to acquire new, exciting, full-dome films for public viewing. Become a Tier 1 or Tier 2 sponsor by sponsoring the cost of a license agreement for one of these films.
Tier 1 – $5,001-$10,000
- Thank you screen at the beginning of public showings of the planetarium movie for the duration of the license agreement (between 5 and 20 years)
- Private showing of the film for employees prior to film “opening” to the public
- Recognition in the planetarium film brochure
Tier 2 – $3,000-$5,000
- Thank you screen at the beginning of public showings of the planetarium movie for the duration of the license agreement (between 5 and 20 years)
- 20 complimentary tickets for planetarium programming
- Recognition in the planetarium film brochure
School Field Trip – $3,500
The center is the host to many school field trips each year. Your sponsorship covers the cost of a field trip program and busing for a group of students from schools serving populations where 75% or more of the students are in the Free & Reduced Meal program (Title 1 schools). Choose a school close to your business or donate to support any of these schools. In return for your generosity, receive...
- Recognition through a thank you social media post
- Thank you screen on our lobby digital screen for a year
- Thank you slide for one month at the HCRP headquarters' digital screen
- Sponsor recognition in the Nature Center’s classroom spaces during the field trip
- Sponsor recognition on the Nature Center’s Field Trip webpage
Outdoor Structure or Play Elements – $2,000
The center includes a Children’s Garden, Nature Play Area and Trail system. Help us engage visitors through sponsoring new components for these areas (ex: sculptures, instruments, and planters). In return for your generosity, receive...
- Recognition on plaque for new element for the duration of the element’s lifetime
- Thank you post on social media
- Thank you post on our lobby digital screen for a year
The Nature Center – $1,500
Help support the nature center’s mission. Donations support tree and garden plantings, live animal care costs, educational programming and Discovery room games, books and toys. In return for your generosity, receive a...
- Thank you post on social media
- Thank you post on our lobby digital screen for a year
Animal Sponsorship – $50
- Receive a certificate of sponsorship and a fact sheet about the animal
- Select one Robinson animal vinyl sticker from the series unique to the nature center.
- Receive digital recognition of your sponsorship posted in the nature enter on request.
Animal Patron - $120
- Everything from the Sponsorship tier plus...
- A five-person behind-the-scenes tour and animal meet-and-greet
- Emailed photo from your meet-and-greet
- Option to have your meet-and-greet photo posted to our Facebook page
- Choice of one extra animal sponsor vinyl sticker (total of two stickers)
Contact the front desk at 410-313-0400 for details.
In-Kind Sponsorships And Tailor-Made Packages Are Welcome!
In addition to cash sponsors there are many in-kind services that you or your company may wish to consider. All services will receive sponsor recognition at cost value. The below are examples of opportunities; please contact us to discuss the right sponsorship for your business.
Printing | t-shirts, promotional materials, banners
Landscaping | Floral, plants, decorative arrangements
Entertainment | Title sponsorship for stage entertainment, band fees, movies
VIP & Sponsorship Tents | Food, beverages, decorations
Signage | Banners, signs or fliers on fields and indoors
Tents | For large and small events
Special Events | Sponsor a special event.
There are space limitations at events and locations. Preference is on a first-come, first-served within price brackets.
For youth-oriented and facility-based opportunities, HCRP shall exclude those establishments purveying goods and services for purchase only for customers 18 years and older. Additionally, ads promoting alcohol, tobacco, firearms, or pornography are prohibited from partnership opportunities with youth-oriented programs.
Political advertisements, defined as those partnerships promoting a particular candidate, political affiliation, or political position regardless of the timing of a ballot issue, shall be expressly prohibited. This restriction shall not prohibit a person appointed or elected to office from partnering with the department to promote a business they may own or operate.
Message Content: Sponsorships on Howard County property are maintained as a nonpublic forum.
The County intends to preserve its rights and discretion to exercise full editorial control over the placement, content, appearance, and wording of sponsorship affiliations and messages. The County may make distinctions on the appropriateness of sponsors on the basis of subject matter of a potential sponsorship recognition message.
The County will not deny sponsorship opportunities on the basis of the potential sponsor’s viewpoint.
Permissible Recognition Messages: Sponsorship recognition messages placed on County property or in County media may identify the sponsor but should not promote or endorse the organization or its products or services.
Statements that advocate, request a response, or contain comparative or qualitative descriptions, products, services, or organizations will not be accepted.
All sponsorships must be paid in full prior to starting the sponsorship. For example, a banner will not be displayed until the payment has cleared.
Please fill out the below writable PDF with your payment.
For more information, please contact Anna Hunter at ahunter@howardcountymd.gov or Cara Marshall at cmarshall@howardcountymd.gov.
Memorial & Gifts Program
The cost of the tree program is $500 per tree. (Fee is subject to change.)
The tree species, location, and planting date are at the discretion of the Recreation & Parks Department. Trees are planted during the fall and spring planting seasons, but they may be ordered at any time.
Howard County Recreation & Parks guarantee the health and vigor of trees for a period not to exceed three years from the date of planting. The Department replaces any damaged memorial tree within a one-year period.
Tree memorial plaques are available at certain park locations upon request and at an additional cost. The type of plaque available depends on the site and is at the discretion of the park staff. Please discuss your preference with the park staff in which you will work with.
Note: Centennial Park has reached its maximum capacity for memorial tree and bench donations.
Memorial Tree List
Flowering Trees
- Redbud
- Flowering Dogwood (Appalachian Series)
- Sweetbay magnolia
- Cucumbertree (magnolia)
- Umbrella magnolia
- Sourwood
- Juneberry (fruit bearing)
Shade Trees
- Post oak
- Red oak
- Scarlet oak
- Shingle oak
- Southern red oak
- Swamp white oak
- White oak
- Black gum
- Red maple
- Sugar maple
- Sassafras (colonizer)
- Baldcypress (prefers wet areas)
- American beech
- River birch
- American elm (resistant cultivars only – Jefferson, New Harmony, Valley Forge)
- Honeylocust (thornless cultivars only)
- Kentucky Coffeetree
- American Basswood
Fruit Bearing
- Pawpaw
- Persimmon
Evergreen
- American holly (prefer cultivars Miss Helen or Satyr Hill)
- Red cedar (there are some nice cultivars available)
The cost for each bench is $3,000. (Fee is subject to change.) This includes the bench, installation and a commemorative plaque.
The Recreation & Parks Park Manager assists in choosing the location of the bench. The park benches are of a predetermined style and cannot vary. A standard plaque is placed on memorial benches and the name of the loved one will be inscribed on the plaque. The cost of the plaque is included in the bench program fee.
The plaque allows for forty (40) characters (including spaces). However, for an additional fee, twenty (20) characters can be added to the plaque.
Bench installation depends on the time of year received and the number of preceding orders. The Department makes every effort to install benches within three to six months of your order, however we encourage time sensitive requests be submitted early. Once a bench is installed, the donor receives notification.
Note: Centennial Park has reached its maximum capacity for memorial tree and bench donations.
Parks
- Alpha Ridge Park
- Atholton Park
- Cedar Lane Park
- Cedar Villa Heights Park
- Dayton Oaks Park
- Dickinson Park
- Guilford Park
- Hammond Park
- Harwood Park
- High Ridge Park
- Huntington Park
- Martin Road Park
- North Laurel Park
- Rockburn Branch Park
- Savage Park
- Sewells Orchard Park
- Tiber Park
- Troy Park at Elkridge
- Waterloo Park
- Western Regional Park
- Wincopin Trail
- Worthington Dog Park
Facilities
- North Laurel Community Center
- Roger Carter Community Center
- Timbers at Troy Golf Course
If the donor wishes, a card of acknowledgement is sent to the recipient’s family advising that their loved one has been memorialized or honored in a special way.
Donna Szyman
410-313-4647
dszyman@howardcountymd.gov