Last season was our rookie season. We became an FRC team because our 4-H club was offered & turned down for a JC Penney grant because we were told we live too far from a regular store. We do have a catalog store affiliate in our local hardware store just 5 miles away.
In the process of getting that grant proposal prepared, we found out that a 4-H club member has a relative who works with NASA. He advised us to apply for the NASA grant & proofread our application. We never figured out who at NASA was responsible for administering our grant and it was (and still is) kinda nerve-wracking. We didn't know for sure if they would pay our entry fee until the very last minute. They paid directly to FIRST financial so we never had to cut a check.
We were obligated to have the kids fill-out an entry survey and an exit survey as well as create a Chairman's Award entry. It really wasn't too bad. Especially considering that we only had 400 bucks in the club account last fall and wouldn't have had such a wonderful time this year without their support.
RE: 4-H & JCPenney....my understanding is that JCPenney has provided funding for the state of Missouri to start 10 FRC teams. There is a grant associated with the entry fee and another one of $3000 per team to help get started. Apparently JCP sent the money to the state 4-H office to administer & distribute.
RE: state 4-H...the Missouri 4-H Foundation (a private group, separate from 4-H administration) came through for our team when we couldn't find funds to go to the championship. It would be worth it to find out if your state has a similar foundation.
Although I love the 4-H Learn by Doing philosophy, being an FRC Team that has to report to two government agencies and FIRST makes for an awful lot of paperwork to administer this program.
RE: community foundations...several of the towns in our region have community foundations and there is a regional foundation. We contacted a local person who has a personal foundation and asked for help and they sent us the amount we asked for....$1200. Ooops!will know how much to ask for next time. Call your local chamber of commerce for leads on this type of funding for your team.
RE: Local Kiwanis, Masons, Shrine, VFW, etc.....figure out what other organizations your team members also belong to and ask if the kids can give a presentation at a meeting.
My goal this year is to find corporate sponsorship for our team. We live in a rural area so this has been tough finding community resources but all those little donations add up. At our last meeting, I asked the parents to list at least 25 people or businesses they would personally commit to asking for sponsorship. If every adult & youth member of our team does that we will eventually find what we need.
If I could just win the lottery...I could support this crazy robot addiction.
Good Luck,
Peggy Painter
Robotics Program Director for Bit by Bt 4-H Club/FRC Team 3784
2011 High Seed Rookies at GKC Regional
2011 winners of "Gracious Professionalism" Award
2011 final alliance partners at GKC Regional
"Do or do not. There is no try."----Yoda