[ebarker]

Okay let's try this. I'll explain some finance by analogy.

Our team has THREE conduits of money flow, a conduit being exactly that. The pathway that the money moves through from the donor to our benefit.

1) Some sponsors will only give money for FRC programs to a 501c3 non-profit corporation called the "United States Foundation for the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology", aka USFIRST, aka FIRST. Funding that they receive on behalf of your team is applied to program registration fees, etc. If there is any balance remaining (money left over after paying your bills to FIRST) then your organization can request the balance be sent directly to your team school or equivalent account.

2) Some people contribute directly to your team by writing a check to the school and have it designated for your team. Some districts call this "designated local school funds".

3) Some teams have access to a local 501c3 non-profit corporation that exists to support the local school. If you do not have access to one then you may have to create your own. Before creating your own 501c3 you need to do a careful analysis to determine if there is advantage in doing so. It will take some time and money to setup the foundation.

Summarizing:
1) USFIRST - for certain donors and expenses
2) local school accounts - typically local sponsors write a check for the team
3) a local 501c3 - existing or newly created, to handle other donors or to disconnect team accounts from the school.

There is a lot of advantage and convenience to having access to or your own 501c3. There is much more flexibility in how you can spend funds and how it gets accessed. It also opens you up to a lot more potential donors if you want to apply for grants and do things beyond FIRST.

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