Financial targets for the sponsee and the sponsor in the restoration/recovery of the historical and architectural heritage

The paper explores the theme of sponsorship for the restoration/recovery of the historical-architectural heritage. The goal is to propose a model that allows both the sponsee (often public institution) and the sponsor company (mainly private) to maximize the monetary return generated by the investment. The model is tested through the following case study: the sponsorship of the restoration works of the Don Tullio’s Fountain located in the Villa Comunale of Salerno (Italy). In the logic of the model, the funding requested by the sponsee is necessarily inclusive of the amount equal to the cost of the restoration work but should also consider the financial advantage deriving from the advertising return to the sponsor company. These targets are estimated through the direct audience critical variable connected with the number of visitors of the location of interest. For the sponsor, on the other hand, assuming a Cobb-Douglas production function, it’s possible to quantify under static conditions the optimal percentage of turnover to invest in sponsorship to maximize profits. Assuming, therefore, that several companies are interested in sponsoring the restoration of the monument, the application of the model makes it possible to determine which company would be most suitable to sign the sponsorship contract.