Guardian News & Media produces a variety of content with funding from outside parties.
These sources of revenue allow us to explore, in more depth than editorial budgets would otherwise allow, topics that we hope are of interest to Guardian and Observer readers. The presentation of the content makes clear how the content has been commissioned and produced, and who has funded it.
One of three labels will appear on this content: 'Sponsored by'; 'Brought to you by'; or 'Supported by'.
1) Sponsored by
'Sponsored by' is used to describe editorially independent content. We accept funding from sponsors both for content we are already producing, where using funds from a sponsor allows us to provide more in depth coverage, and for new projects.
Before sponsorship is agreed with a client, relevant senior editors are consulted about its suitability and the editor-in-chief has the final say on whether a sponsorship deal is accepted.
A sponsor whose branding appears on editorial content may have a role in suggesting what kind of topics are covered, but the commissioning editor is not obliged to accept ideas from the sponsor. The content is written and edited by Guardian and Observer journalists, or those approved by GNM, to the same standards expected in all of our journalism. GNM will not show copy to sponsors for approval.
2) Brought to you by
'Brought to you by' is used to describe advertisement features that are paid for and controlled by the advertiser rather than the publisher and are subject to regulation by the Advertising Standards Authority. This content is produced by commercial departments and does not involve GNM staff journalists.
3) Supported by
'Supported by' is used to describe editorially independent content that the Guardian has produced with funding from foundations around the world who support specific projects.
Examples of foundation funding include:
- A grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help support the Guardian's Global Development site
- The Joseph Rowntree and the Open Society Foundations supported the award-winning Reading the Riots series
• This article was updated on 24 September 2014