QotW [5-25-03] Sponsorship
 

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone. I hope your weather is nicer than mine. :)

FIRST is growing. There's no doubt about it, and we've discussed it before. As FIRST continues to grow larger and larger, it's going to require more funding to maintain the same level of quality we've grown used to.

One effort to bring more funding to FIRST can be found here .

Question of the Week 5-25-03: What other major sources of funding are still available for FIRST to tap? What major corporations, nationally- or internationally-based, have no hand in FIRST already? Where are the undiscovered Daimler-Chryslers, GMs, or NASAs?

While I'm sure that FIRST is aware of other corporations, maybe some teams local to a division of these giants may not be aware of their existence. Maybe this can serve as a unique repository of the names and information for untapped resources for the FIRST community.

I think the most obvious answer is any of the major computer hardware companies. There are so many tech-related business that have no connection to FIRST. There are software companies, like Microsoft and Autodesk, that have given major donations to FIRST, but what about hardware companies, like IBM, Dell, Intel, and all the myriad others?

Jeff pointed out a good source but what about companies like AMD and Intel. Or you could even go the rout of '.com' companies. Yahoo for example could give some money, or maybe Amazon, since Dean is distributing the segway through them.

What about going outside the 'hi-tech' market and looking to a company like Pepsi (Huge conglomerant of all sorts of stuff) or even the evil and dreaded Viacom. AOL-Time Warner. Any of the major media giants have money to burn and would make great sponsors, as well as being able to help make FIRST a household name.

This is something I have been thinking about alot, I think a good sponsor would be NASCAR, they have millions of fans and millions of dollars, the NASCAR teams also have to deal with the same things FIRST teams do, time limits, weight, height, size and spending limits. they also have engineers and pit crews, drive teams and also there are very large sponsor's involved with the car teams such as Time Warner DuPont etc...

Walmart and Garden Ridge...
huge untapped money makers...

I say get a copy of Fortune Magazine Top 500 Edition and look through the top companies, find the ones that aren't sponsors and hit them up. Exxon-Mobile is a top 5 company each year and I don't think they have any involvement with FIRST

Exxon
 

Team #57 from Houston, TX is sponsored by Exxon. However, I do not know how much funding or support Exxon is giving them.

One source of funding that is sometimes overlooked are grants. There are many foundations and organizations that award large amounts of money if you put in the time to write an application.

Re: Exxon
 

You're right, I stand corrected and we were even next to 57 in the pits in Houston....


Also with grants that is very true. If I am not mistaken the State of Indiana gave all the teams some kind of grant this year. Hit up your state for an education grant. It might cover the cost of a regional, or at least building fees.

I agree with DJ. Grants are a very good way for teams to receive funding. We applied for grants from Electronic Arts, and Oracle redently. Both of them have the possiblility of getting us anything from nothing to $20,000 each. It is really not that hard to create a grant proposal. My mother and I made one in a matter of hours.

To answer the question, I think that Electronic Arts would make a good sponsor. They have been making profits even though the economy has been bad, and they are a very prominent company.

Since I am really bored I think I'll go find some other companies too :D

Cory

what about adobe? sun? quark? apple?

Here is a list that I came uo with quickly:


hmmm.... thats an interesting name for that file... too tired... *falls alseep*

Cory i have also made a list for my team, because we are looking for new sponsors. Just to correct you boeing already sponsors one team that i know, team 21

Many companies forbid funding to school based organizations. Apple and NVidia are good examples. In order for FIRST to expand, companies need to expand funding, and teams can't do that. Dean, Woodie, Lavery, and others will open funding for FIRST, not teams.

Plus, in VA, we have had a surge of growth to the point of breaking. Every school wants a team now, yet, companies are cutting costs and we are loosing sponsors. We might loose one sponsor this year, and I know that 422 has already lost a few.

Many companies forbid funding to school based organizations.

Our Georgia Tech team is continually working with new companies in Georgia to help fund teams. When a company cannot fund a school directly they funnel the money through our Tech account and then from us to the schools. Some companies have even managed to use their college recruitment funds to aid teams since they can justify it by aiding college FIRSTers who in turn mentor the high schools.

This may be an idea for the other college based teams out there if you have not done so already.

Thats not true....Hammond was (I dont know if thats true anymore) sponsored by NVidia. At the 2002 Midwest Regional, they had a putting mat set up on one of the upper levels and if you made the putt you could win some NVidia stuff. Since I missed, I got a NVidia temporary tatoo or maybe it was a sticker... :p

I haven't once received a phone call from anyone at FIRST telling me they have people waiting in the wings to sponsor my team.

I think we should all look to past precedents... when the Russian space agency was short of funds, what did they do? They let a billionaire pay them in return for taking him up into space! Now all we gotta do is figure out a way to launch someone into space cheaply enough to still break even with the profits earned from selling the tickets.... X-prize anyone?

I thought of another prospect for teams is lawfirms, they are everywhere and have money, im not sure if they will give the out any money but its worth a try.

1086, Deep Run High tried, but they got the reason I gave you.

And then they can interpret competition rules. :D

More seriously, on the subject of companies that don't sponsor school-related organizations directly... teams can still try to find a way, maybe through indirect sponsorship (already been mentioned). Maybe these companies will have to be targeted by FIRST itself. Or (wacky idea) maybe set up a local organization of robotics teams (WRRF, SCRRF, etc.) and have the company sponsor the organization, then having the organization then distribute money to the individual teams.... then again, I have little experience with this, so I don't know if it is even practical.

While some people have thrown out off-the-wall ideas here about fundraisng, most teams here (and ours too) are strictly watched by our school. We can't even do a fundraiser that's even similar to one being done by another organization in our school! Our school system is so anail, what makes you think they'll like the idea of us getting moeny from an open pool for all teams?

I wouldn't consider these major donations to FIRST or the operation of FIRST. While the software they donate is 'expensive' for someone to buy themself it is cheap to give away. This software has little to do with the competition as well (except for autodesk, which is debateable as well if you account the ammount of emphasis that they but on the animation during the competition). Visual Studio is great to have, but doesn't help you to program a robot in pbasic. File maker pro is cool.....thats about it. You need financial support. Microsoft is worth trillions. They can spare some money to FIRST opperations. I also agree that hardware companies should now start sponsoring FIRST or at least give discounts. Since we are now allowed to use seperate computers on the bot (ala WildStangs stang sense) a low end laptop could be a feasable donation or very low priced for purchase. The possibilities are endless (hrm.. isn't that phrase coyrighted by someone?)

The open pool would be like a grant warehouse. The organization receives the money, hence it's doing the "fundraising." The organization is independent, so schools can't control how it fundraises. Teams getting money from the organization would then be getting a direct donation or something like a grant. No trudging on other fundraisers within the school. And grants seem to work, or else there wouldn't be NASA teams and KPCB teams and the likes. I think the distribution part is something that can actually work. What I'm more doubtful about is the actual setup, becoming a non-profit so sponsors can get a tax write off, directing funds that may be team specific, etc... this is where it can head into the realm of impracticality.

im sorry i know this is a little off topic, but will kpcb be continuing the $2000 per team mentored??? does anybody know?

Tomarro i Will have a meeting with a tv station, so even if i dont get any $ Then mabie we can get our car wash this weekend advirtised

I am focusing on researching for the little technology companies that may be willing to sponsor a robotics team. Generally there are always new technologies being developed and new companies popping up all over the place. These companies also tend to produce a lot of press so just pick up your science and technology magazine and read.