iF's $1 Plan
 

Over the past several years, FIRST has been growing at and increasingly rapid rate. While this growth is great in advancing the mission of FIRST, it makes the fundraising process more and more difficult each year as more and more teams are fighting for the same limited resources. In iF’s newest program, tentatively titled “One dollar”, we seek to use FIRST’s continuing growth as a tool to help teams with money problems raise the necessary funds to participate.

Here’s the basic idea:
Each team asks each of their members, teachers, parents, etc. to donate $1 (or more if they can/want to). The team then assembles all the money into one check and sends it to iF. All teams that collect money will be recognized, while students who donate more will be given further recognition. We then use this money to support teams and put it towards iF projects.

As many people realize, we are working on project like the ‘Traveling Toolbox’ and the free/low cost web server for all teams to use. At this point, we will implement the 80-20 system, in which 80% of the money goes to teams in grants and 20% goes back to iF for further projects, etc. Any questions or comments about this, please reply to this post or email Leon Machado at lmachadoiv@inspirationinc.org.

Checks can be made out to: The Inspiration Foundation Inc.
The checks can be mailed to:
1168 Pleasant St.
Bridgewater, MA 02324


Please feel free to pass the news around to as many other teams as possible. The more teams we get into this, the more money we can accumulate, which means we can give more to those teams who really need it.

I like your idea of setting up a fund to support new teams and I think it would be even better if we can get money from outside FIRST teams themselves.

For FIRST to grow we need corporate sponsors. Collecting money from one FIRST team to support another one might help get a team through in a pinch, but its only redistributing funds within FIRST (as a whole).

For there to be real growth (to get a team at every HS in the country) we need to think big, and bring in outside money - more than what existing teams have now.

question-

how will the grants to new teams be awarded? who decides where the money eventually goes?

WC

We're planning on awarding the grants based on need. We're still in the processing of designing the application, because we want the process to be as fair as possible. Right now we have about 30 or so people that work with us. Some work with teams and some are exclusively iF people. I would actually like to make a system that if a team donates, they get a say in who gets the money, but that may be a little down the road. Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments are very welcome at this point. We're still trying to get all the glitches out of the system ourselves.

If you read carefully, we’re not taking money from the teams, we’re taking money from the students/faculty/engineers/etc. on the teams. This money wouldn’t normally go into FIRST because the ~$25 a single team might raise from collecting $1 from each person wouldn’t do anything so they don’t bother. The thing that makes it work is the fact that we’re doing it on such a large scale. While $25 doesn’t do much, $25000(slightly optimistic, but still) can do a whole lot.

On the subject of corporate sponsorship, one of the things we would use the money for is to gain non-profit organization status for iF. With this, companies will be a lot more likely to donate because they get lots of nice tax breaks and such. Also, many companies out there can not donate to teams because they aren’t allowed to donate to school groups. iF, however, is not a school group and thus they can donate to us and we can distribute the money to the teams.

New program $
 

Has or will a licenced organization be formed to handle the $$$$.

What is the structure of the organization, officers, sponsors, leaders?

Will the $$ be held in a bonded escrow account, aside from other funds?

Has FIRST or will FIRST be needed to approve this activity?

Is there a structure for a decision making process regarding the awarding of the $$ to teams?

Many thoughts I have in regards to the process.

Many fears I have to possible problems.

Side Note: many of the students, parents, teachers, engineers already give many unreimbursed $$$ to their team as it is. Its only a dollar but it is a dollar none the less.

I have to agree with Mike (post above)

If FIRST wanted established teams to contribute money to new teams, they would ask us to do so, and there would be little concern over sending money to them

since many corporate sponsors already send millions of dollars a year directly to FIRST to fund their organizational needs.

Maybe you would be better off making iF a part of FIRST itself. If the services you are providing a genuinely beneficial to the teams (im not imply they arnt) then Im sure FIRST would stand behind you.

or maybe you can create a relationship like Innovation FIRST has with FIRST?

BTW, I understood from your 1st post about the money coming from parents and teachers - those people already are a part of their own FIRST team - and we tap them out as much as they can stand to support their own teams - thats what I mean, that the money your are asking for is already coming from FIRST teams, not from outside.

This is good, we all need money

Re: New program $
 

iF is a legal organization to handle the money.

Currently the organization is not very large, consisting only of a handful of alumni and students preparing to work on various projects. We have not been able to execute any of our projects due lack of getting our server up and running (we're hoping sometime in the next couple of weeks to have it up and going).

The money for the time will most likely be held in our general account for the ease of getting to it so that if the decisions are made last minute the money can be quickly given to teams. We are going to keep 2 (two) databases of the incoming monies. One will be kept in excel stating the teams and how much they donate and the second will be kept in quicken so that we know how much money is being donated under this fundraiser.

FIRST is not needed to approve this activity as iF is it's own company and has it's own legality (similar to those friends of a football, baseball, soccer team that many high schools have). Basically the organization does not have to obtain permission from the organization it donates too. I have talked to FIRST at times and continue to talk to them so there is no legality. That and iF would prefer to link any major potential sponsors directly to team(s) if possible, however sometimes it is difficult.

Again I understand the fears and I'm working constantly trying to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible.

Thanks again for your time and concern Mike.

FIRST would probably not ask for teams to send them money as they already ask for $5,000 a year minimum to participate. They also do not have the people to support such a fundraiser. I understand a great many inner workings of FIRST and they simply do not have the time to concern themselves with actually such a 'small' fundraiser.

We are hoping that as we become truly established that we can make a working relationship with FIRST as Innovation FIRST has. However we want to be established (have business plan, actual well oiled and well working structure, etc.) before we attempt to strike a relationship with FIRST. We don't want to let FIRST down by saying we'll do something and then we don't carry through.

Hoping this helps to answer more of your questions. Thanks again for the concern.

I'd like to add another concern to the pile started by others. As an organization or an incorporated organization, it's my understanding that iF would be responsible for paying taxes on this money. I would suggest that iF obtain tax exempt status (501c[insert number here]) before attempting to deal with amounts of money on the order of thousands or more.

The Western Region Robotics Forum, Inc. has obtained their 501c3 tax exempt status, and is now in the process of courting many high dollar sponsors (in addition to a good relationship with NASA Ames Research Center). Also, for a little perspective, this is the 4th year of existence for the WRRF. I commend iF's goal of helping teams in need, but (without meaning to sound negative) I would suggest that you exercise caution in your endeavors.

Thank you for the excellent advice. We are working (in all our spare time that we have) in obtaining the 501(c) non-profit status. It is our understanding that we could work with some money without having to pay any serious taxes on it. We are going to be working over the next couple of months of finalizing our 501 paperwork and hoping to submit it very soon to the IRS.

Thanks again for the advice.

I also forgot to mention that in the past 4 years the WRRF has held an offseason event, sent volunteers to other nearby FIRST regionals (Sacramento & LA), and organized multiple workshop days (an average of 4 full days in the fall) in each offseason since its formation. There's lots of good that can be done for FIRST teams without monetary support.

I do understand that. It's that we're trying to help 4 teams (as I remember at the moment) and 3 of which I know could probably benefit greatly of having at least a couple of bucks thrown at them. I'm not sure how things are in other parts of the country (well I do, but I'm just too tired to think at the moment) but I know that it's particularly trying to get a sponsor with a lot of money, so ever dollar counts.

Thanks again.