It would be helpful to hear their story from them either in this thread or a new one. There is no mention of having money issues on their website. There are a lot of sponsors on their website. Did they all go away?
There is plenty of time to raise the funds for next year if the students want to. There is money out there. It has to be a group effort. Here are some ideas that needs the entire team involved.
- We held multiple cans shakes showing off the robot and the program. A four hour can shake netted us up to $1000.00.
- Car washes are 100% profit. Do one at Halloween with the students dressed in costumes.
- Sell "Shares" in the team. For $306 (nice reason for a low team number) someone get a "share". The shares get your name on the robot.
- Reach out to alumni. The team has been in business for 15 seasons. Ask the alumni to give something back.
The team needs a realistic budget goal. Get together and decide how much money you really need. Be realistic when it comes to next years robot. Don't build what you can't afford.