[Mark Sheridan]

We bust out a phonebook or via Google and start contacting everyone. We tried every water jet, laser cutter and machine shop local to us. I think we contacted something like 30 companies and grants and maybe got 5 this year (not counting carry over from last year).

We came up with a standard letter to ask people. Though we usually are only successful if we get a phone call or a meeting. The other is to ask the mentors, parents and alumni if they know anyone who can help. That is how we found our machine shop and welder this year.

this summer we will expand our efforts to contact companies. We also want to find a few more non-profits to support us. We also have not yet really tapped our schools alumni network. We are being cautioned this can be either a dead end or a complete flood of help. So we want to be prepared to make a good impression.

PM me if you want more details. I think our business plan if floating around somewhere with sample letters.