Re: Rookie Fundraising
 

Hello again!

Thanks for Sponsorship booklet, I'll probably start to gather information and pictures together soon to create a packet of our own. Thanks for your help on that!

It looks like my team is still having some issues though getting fundraisers off the ground. Apparently it is illegal in our school district to have raffles that last over several days, so a large scale raffle that I had planned was scrapped. This kinda put a dent in the profit we could have made by having raffles.

Another issue with our school district is sponsors... we aren't allowed to have any. We can have "Donors", but we can't put names and logos on our shirts, where they would get the most attention. While we are allowed to have names and logos on our site, our pit, and the robot, I'm not sure if we can mention our "donors" names along with our own.

Has any other teams faced these kind of restrictions? I know that there are many other types of fundraisers to do, but I would just like to know what other teams in the same situation have done. Thank you all again!

-Ira

Re: Rookie Fundraising
 

Wayne C has some good suggestions.

When approaching a larger company, ask to speak with their corporate giving office. These are the folks who deal with requests for money. The very first question should be "What are your company's corporate giving goals?".

If they give an answer like education, promoting technology, or something else FIRST has in loads, then continue by explaining FIRST and how your team fits into the company's charitable goals. Try to set up a meeting with them to explain it, rather than try it over the phone. Students should definitely be involved, not mentors or teachers, but the student should be extraordinarily neat, well-spoken, and professional. Gracious Professionalism. No company will donate to 'a bunch of ill-mannered kids'.

Above all, do not be afraid. Worst they can do is torture you... er, I mean they will just say NO (very politely, of course). Grow a thick skin and don't let the NOs discourage you. You only need one $10k YES, probably get a bunch of $500 Yesses instead, but hey, whatever...

If, OTOH, their goals differ wildly from FIRST - they focus exclusively on scholarships, or environmental causes - thank them for their time, and then ask if they might have any emplpyees who might like to get involved. Mentors are good to have, and might open other doors...

Also don't forget about asking for donations of services or materials. Again, worst they can say is no.

As for other ideas,

• A car wash with pre-sold tickets is great when the weather is warmer
• The Board of Ed and/or PTA is often generous, once you explain what the goals are (Gracious Professionalism...)
• Each team member's parents probably work somewhere, that might help open some doors.

Go to a local car dealer and see if they will participate in a car raffle. (They provide the car at cost, you sell something like 1000 tickets at $100 each (say it's a $50k car) and you might be able to turn some serious money there.

Kind of depends on the type of community you have. What works in a wealthy NJ suburb might not work in a rural district. But, here on Chief Delphi you have access to some of the best experts in the field, make good use of it and you might surprise yourself.

Good luck,
Don

Re: Rookie Fundraising
 

Wow, that is a serious restriction, and will not help your efforts. Perhaps you can find out more about this rule, specifically what the district's goal in having this rule is. By understanding why you are restricted, perhaps you can figure out a way to convince the powers that be to change the rule, or make an exception. Whomever make these decisions, the goal here is to educate them in a friendly and professional manner. Like I said before, the worst they can say is no.

Good Luck,
Don

Re: Rookie Fundraising
 

Does anybody have any resources for LAN Party fundraiser guide? With the approaching winter cold season, we're limited from doing things like car washes and such. As a member of our Board of Directors, part of my job is to find fundraising ideas, and I'd like to present the idea of a LAN Party to my team. The BPA (Business Professionals of America) hosted one last year at our school, even the techies played and it appeared that they had a good turn out. I unfortunately do not know who they talked to or where they got all the equipment. If anyone has any ideas on setup stuff, activites (games, etc), and where to start, it'd be appreciated.

Re: Rookie Fundraising
 

Speaking of LAN parties, what games did teams that have hosted LAN parties played? I know a lot of popular LAN games are FPSes, which are mostly rated M. Again, my school district has a policy that does not allow M rated games to be played in school or played in any school fundraisers.

Re: Rookie Fundraising
 

Hello,

On the Topic of a LAN Fundraiser it all depends on your school's network administrator and what he/she is willing to allow. Most schools do not permit LAN parties because it requires students to bring in their personal devices and plug them into the network, which is most times a security violation. As mentioned in the previous post other schools do not allow a game with a certain rating to be played. As for the school that I attend we are not allowed to play any games (that require installation) regardless of the rating nor are we allowed to bring in any personal devices (laptops, computers) and hook them up to the network. Before you offer your idea to the rest of your team, question your school, especially the network administrator to find out if it your idea is feasible.

As for indoor fundraisers, try a Basket Bingo. We have had great success with this event and have profited a great deal from it. At the event (and those similar) filled Longaberger Baskets are given away as prizes along with door prizes/raffles. Require each team member to sell x number of tickets (take maximum occupancy of facility and divide by number of members) to increase sales and attendance.

-Corey