Potential Fund Raising Opportunity
 

I came across something interesting today which I believe will be valuable to many FIRST teams and wanted to share it before the Championship, while CD activity is high. It is a potential fund raising opportunity.

A long-time FIRST volunteer is part of the leadership of a new company that has been in “stealth mode” for several months, and is planning to emerge around the 1st of May. He has asked me not to post details about the new company right now, but the interesting thing is their plan for a community support program. While there is no financial commitment required from teams, the program can function as an easy-to-use fund raising tool.

The company has put up a page where teams can express an interest in participating in their community support program. If your team might be interested, you can go to the link below and fill out the form so you will be notified when details about the new company become public. It just asks for an email address, contact name and a little about the team. And they will make the program a little more attractive for your team if you help other teams out by referring them as well.

The link to the interest form is: http://69.163.34.40:3001/interested

This company has not publicly announced itself yet, so the page has no branding or identification now. But I have personally known this volunteer for several years – he wants to help FIRST teams.

Re: Potential Fund Raising Opportunity
 

OK, I submitted my team''s e-mail address. We'll see what happens.

Richard, I noticed in your CD profile that you're looking for a team. I hear there are some pretty good teams in Michigan...;)

Re: Potential Fund Raising Opportunity
 

Thanks, Dave. I can confirm you heard right about the teams here in Michigan. In the relatively short time I've been here, I have met several very impressive teams and many committed FIRST people. Keep watching the new ideas that come from Michigan.

Developing support for FIRST from my new employer is a high priority for me right now. Finding ways to help all teams raise their game remains my FIRST priority. :)

Re: Potential Fund Raising Opportunity
 

Richard,
I continue to be involved in all 4 FIRST programs in Maryland. They are all my teams.
The form would not accept my information because I did not designate a team name, a particular program, a team number.
Let me know if there are any other ways I can get on the mailing list.

Re: Potential Fund Raising Opportunity
 

Hi Jenny,

I'm not directly connected with the new company, but I'll tell you what they told me: their planned community support program is aimed at supporting teams directly. They will support all the teams that participate in the program. They will increase support to teams that refer other teams to the program -- think of it as a referral bonus.

So I think you might consider signing up as many Maryland teams as you can, one at a time, using the referral field to give credit for each new team to the previous one. That way you'll maximize the combined potential referral bonus. Since you are well-known as a mentor for all of these teams, I think that method would be consistent with the new company's intent. You could list yourself as the contact for every team, or provide separate contacts for each.

Re: Potential Fund Raising Opportunity
 

I will direct teams towards this thread. Thanks.