Quote:
Originally Posted by synth3tk
While I'm at the conclusion that FIRST probably won't be losing any (or much) funding, I have to agree with Lil' Lavery. Let's say that they were to actually cut their FIRST support. That's a crapton of money, countless mentors, and significant funding for some regionals. It would cripple much of the program, and definitely stunt growth.
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While we can't argue how much NASA does for us, we do have to face the reality of what would happen if NASA did cut funding for FIRST. While I'm sure it would have an impact teams and FIRST as a whole should have a plan for if NASA (or any of their sponsors) decides to part ways or is forced to make budget cuts.
While we don't lose NASA everyday their are teams who see 50% to 100% of their sponsors move on or valued mentors move to a different stage in their life and have to make sacrifices and find new support. If NASA cut funding to teams its not the first time a team(s) have a lost that level of support. Its another challenge to face but its not an impossible challenge.
I hope the above article doesn't have an impact on FIRST but with this economy every team should look at their sponsor list and ask themselves, "What would we do if we lost one or several on this list?" "Have we put too many eggs in one basket?" "Can we raise funds on our own through sales in the school/community?" "Do we have extra funds on hand to meet unexpected expenses?"
Most FRC teams run as a small business and losing partners and resources is something every team should consider like every small and large business owner.