Sponsorship and Partnership Guidelines
Work in Progress
This documentation is still being expanded and refined. Features, screenshots, and descriptions may change until Talescape's public release. If something is unclear or you need help, please ask on the official Talescape Discord. We're happy to clarify or update pages as needed.
Overview
Talescape occasionally offers grants and sponsored contests in partnership with cultural institutions, foundations, organizations, and brands that support creativity, empathy, and independent storytelling.
This document outlines how sponsorships and grants work, how topics are selected, and how Talescape maintains full editorial independence.
Grants and sponsorships may support:
- Contest prize pools and awards
- Outreach programs and community events
- Creator grants for selected Bards or projects
Talescape may also display clearly labeled sponsorship messages or advertisements in designated areas of the platform. These placements must follow the neutrality and transparency standards described below.
All partnerships follow the same principles of independence, transparency, and respect for the creative community.
1. Purpose
Talescape welcomes collaboration with cultural, educational, and artistic sponsors who share its mission of supporting creativity, empathy, and independent storytelling.
Sponsors may contribute to contest prize pools, outreach efforts, or event organization. In some cases, Talescape may also display clearly labeled sponsored messages or advertisements that help support the platform and its community.
Regardless of the form of collaboration, Talescape remains fully independent in its editorial and creative decisions.
This policy defines the boundaries for sponsorships, advertising, and sponsored contest topics to ensure that Talescape stays neutral, transparent, and inclusive.
Talescape prioritizes partnerships that respect the creative and cultural character of the platform and its community.
2. Eligibility and Independence
Talescape will not accept sponsorships or advertising from:
- Political parties or campaign organizations
- Companies, media outlets, or foundations with clear or declared party affiliations
- Organizations primarily engaged in political campaigning, lobbying, or ideological advocacy
- Illegal or fraudulent services
We welcome support from organizations such as:
- Cultural foundations and public arts programs
- Educational institutions, museums, and libraries
- Companies and brands that respect the creative and community focused nature of the platform
All sponsorships are reviewed individually to ensure they uphold Talescape’s neutrality and integrity.
3. Contest Topic Guidelines for Sponsors
Sponsors may propose contest themes under the following conditions.
3.1 Creative Freedom
Topics must remain broad, interpretive, and open to different artistic perspectives.
They should invite exploration, not promotion or persuasion.
3.2 Neutrality
Contest topics may not favor or criticize any political party, ideology, religion, or commercial brand.
No slogans, products, or campaigns may appear in the contest title or description.
3.3 Cultural Relevance
Themes should reflect universal human ideas such as empathy, resilience, imagination, or moral complexity.
Social issues may be explored, but always through an inclusive and nonpartisan lens.
3.4 Transparency
All sponsors are listed publicly on the contest page.
Each listing includes a note clarifying Talescape’s editorial independence, for example:
“This contest is supported by [Sponsor Name]. The theme was approved by Talescape to ensure neutrality and creative freedom.”
3.5 Editorial Control
Talescape reserves the right to edit, rephrase, or reject proposed topics.
Final approval always rests with Talescape’s internal review team.
4. Talescape’s Own Topic Selection
When Talescape defines a contest theme internally, the same standards of neutrality and openness apply. Each topic is chosen to inspire creativity, reflection, and emotional depth, not to promote specific ideologies or current events.
4.1 Guiding Principles
- Universality: Topics should speak to timeless human experiences such as love, loss, resilience, curiosity, identity, or change.
- Interpretive Space: Authors should be able to approach the theme from multiple directions such as comedic, tragic, philosophical, or abstract.
- Cultural Sensitivity: Themes must avoid bias toward specific nations, religions, or political movements.
- Constructive Relevance: Real-world issues may inspire a topic, but they are always framed broadly (for example “Displacement and Belonging” instead of “The Refugee Crisis”).
- Positive Challenge: Contests should invite reflection and empathy, not outrage or division.
4.2 Review and Approval
Each proposed topic goes through an internal review process that considers:
- Ethical neutrality and inclusivity
- Artistic potential and creative diversity
- Fit with Talescape’s mission and yearly focus
Final approval lies with the Talescape team to ensure alignment with the platform’s core values.
5. Sponsored Messages and Advertising
Talescape may display clearly labeled sponsorship messages or advertisements in designated areas of the website, community pages, or other non-story sections of the platform.
Advertising must follow these principles.
5.1 Transparency
All advertisements must be clearly labeled as Sponsored or Advertisement.
Sponsored content must never be presented as editorial recommendations or disguised as platform content.
5.2 Non-Intrusive Placement
Advertisements must not interrupt or interfere with the storytelling experience.
Stories themselves may not contain forced advertising placements or sponsor-controlled product integrations.
5.3 Independence
Advertising does not influence:
- story rankings
- editorial selections
- contest results
- moderation decisions
- platform governance or product decisions
Sponsors cannot purchase story visibility, editorial promotion, or preferential treatment within the platform.
5.4 Platform Integrity
Advertising must respect the integrity of the platform and the experience of its community.
Talescape reserves the right to reject advertisements that conflict with the platform’s mission, community standards, or legal obligations.
6. Use of Funds
Sponsorship and grant funds are used primarily for:
- Contest prize pools and awards
- Promotion of contests and winning stories
- Moderation, community management, and technical costs directly related to contests
- Direct Bard grants or project stipends
Advertising and sponsorship revenue may also help support platform infrastructure and community initiatives.
7. Commitment to Independence
Every sponsorship is an act of trust.
Talescape will always prioritize creative freedom, transparency, and the independence of its authors.
Sponsors support the community; they do not shape its opinions, editorial direction, or creative output.