Chief Delphi - Money, Money, Money

Chief Delphi (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/index.php)

- General Forum (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16)

- - Money, Money, Money (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63288)

Re: Money, Money, Money

I have to say that it is a good question for CD. Athough I do not have specifics for your questions, our team tends to raise about $75,000 per season. This is to ensure that each of our team members get to go to all of the regionals, also this assures us paying for our mentors to go. We are a team of 23 students and about 10 mentors and it costs us a lot of money to go to 2 regional and nationals.

Re: Money, Money, Money

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy L (Post 692355)

A few questions

1. How much money does your team usually spend on a robot??
this includes tools you break or need new ones of, replacement parts, metal, practice robots, field, bolts, rivets, etc. etc.
NOT including shipping, competition entry fees, flying to comps

2. How much money does your team get from sponsors??

3. How much money do your team members donate to your team??

4. How many different services do you get from sponsors??

I can't speak for this year, but last years numbers should be good for 1369:

1) $2000-2500

2-3) We normally go to two competitions (three last year) and normally because of our $$ situation the students have to pay about $100-150. It is difficult to say unfortunately because several of our sponsors have been parents themselves so there is a fine line on who is a teammate and who is a sponsor. Anywhere from $8000 to maximum one year was over $20,000

4) Tons, this is really where #1 fluctuates....we normally nickeled and dime that figured down depending on who was giving what that year. We have had: waterjet cutting, CNC/manual machining, laser cutting....depends on the year

Unfortunately for the low budget team that doesn't not have great finances every year is a brand new situation (kinda adds to the challenge). For some reason though the better we perform on the field the more money that pops up, and fast. I wish the two weren't linked, but that seems to be the case.

Personally I would think teams would like to be transparent about their accounting especially if they are some sort of registered organization at the state or federal level.

Re: Money, Money, Money

Thank you for this thread.

I am a mentor and inherited the running / setup of the team. I've been running finances for them and trying to bridge the gaps are hard. We'll have some goals based upon the information I see here.

Our team budget this year was 11k for everything- food, robot, transportation, 1 regional, NO nationals, the KOP, and all PR material. I'm down to my last 400$ right now... and I still need to pay for another set of bearings ;)

edit: err, I'm amending my post to include a few other factoids: Metal prices are up 30%; we've had to reuse last years scrap pieces and cut them. We gutted a robot from a number of years ago for parts- all included in the BOM- to get us where we are now while we search out cheaper suppliers. This year the Parents have stepped in to help defer the costs of food, saving the team about 500$ worth of expenses.

I provide this information in hops that it helps a new team, and also in hope that, if there's an easier/better way of doing something I'll be told about it.

Re: Money, Money, Money

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery (Post 692623)

As just mentioned, this is a perfectly reasonable question for Chief Delphi. By asking a question on Chief Delphi, you are not forcing teams to answer it. During more than one Chairman's interview, I have been asked about how sponsors contribute to a team, and I've seen more than one technical award given for creative and innovative ways to solve problems with low-budget parts. These are valid concerns in the world of FIRST. Teams that are intrigued have every right to ask, and teams that are willing to share have every right to share.
As for my team(s), I'm not quite sure about 1712, but we try to produce very low-cost robots. 116 has a larger budget, but I will allow current members to share it if they wish.

Sean's on the money about 1712's robot expenses. We do our best to find the simplest, low cost solution we can. Last year our machine was a row one hanger only and we could park one robot - total BOM cost above the KOP was $1,695.71. We spent in the neighborhood of $700 more on prototypes and spares, bringing our 2007 robot cost total to around $2,200. If you factor in what we spent on tools and field components in 07, add another $700-$800, briniging the total FRC 1712 2007 expenses for "robot creation and game play" to $3,000 at the most.

It'll be awhile before I can fully figure out what we spent in 08, but it is significantly more. Mainly because we decided to hurdle a 40-inch ball (it takes a few iterations to get a roller claw this size "right") and because our fundraising and sponsorship numbers are far better than last year. Our 08 BOM will be done in a few days, so I will share that then, but our additional prototyping/spares costs are likely double of what they were last year and our tools/field component total is more like $1,200 this year. So, including field component and tools, My early 2008 estimate is about $4,800-$5,000.

As for the other questions:
1. We have one sponsor that provides some limited machine shop work
2. In 2008 our "sponsors" donated anywhere from safety glasses, to club t-shirts, to a few hundred dollars, with one sponsor at $1000 and two sponsors somewhat higher than that.
3. Team members typically pitch in for thier own food during build and events and pay about 50% of their travel expenses.

While money is certainly a factor, the more I do this the more I understand that people and time are far bigger constraints than anything. If my team budget were to take a huge hit for any reason and the school district were to say to me "you need to make it work with the kit" then that's what we'd do.