The latest example of the dreadful doublethink and gibberish with which I have to deal is so pernicious that it deserves a wider audience.
Situation: Company wants yer money
Strategy: Company writes “inviting” you to be a sponsor
Now, in the old days you’d just write and “ask” or “request” the company to help out. Not it sounds like they’re doing you a favour in begging for the dough.
Are you Yanks responsible for this? If so, own up. With a simple “yes”, thank you.
Wha-huh? 
If I got it right, you think it is wrong that company A, which needs money, is inviting company B to be a sponsor instead of just asking for a handout.
Why is this bad? Sponsorship is a marketing/advertising tool that does have benefits on both sides.
The difference between donation and sponsorship can have effects on a company’s accounting books- the difference between getting a donation and selling something (sponsorship) can be handled in different ways on the balance sheets and income statements of both companies. Sponsors can also request concessions from the receiving company like having their logo on their website or being invited to any and all events or ??? Simple donations rarely allow one to make demands of the receiver - it is a gift with no strings attached. Sponsorship can have strings. Asking for someone’s sponsorship is saying “I see that you could benefit from our working together. Give me money and I’ll work with you to make you happy.”
I see this all the time in education. A company can sponsor student studies, be it a specific student like a single mom, or in general by buying books for all. But a donation can be used in any way, like for the electricity bill for the school. This is of course in general, in reality we are talking a bunch of semantics here.
-Tcat
Some companies also budget money for sponsorships for various things. A utility company may budget sponsorship money for environmental causes, for example; or a women’s shoe store may sponsor a Relay for Life event to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.
Sponsorships also tend to be good public relations for the company. Some people choose to spend their money at firms that hold certain values, and one way to show these values is to support various community causes. In each of the above cases, the company hopes you’ll think favorably of them because of the causes they support.
Robin
Interesting - it still gets my goat. In fact, “donation” for my company is one type of sponsorship; souvenirs, table sponsorship, free transport, free advertising on our vehicles being some of the others.
Anyway weird usage is “We welcome you to call our Customer Service Hotline”, rather than, say, “You are welcome to call our Customer Service Hotline” (or if the first person pronoun is to be retained) “We encourage you to call our Customer Service Hotline” or “We would be glad if you call…”.