[Chief Hedgehog]

As a coach of a rookie team that never gained funding from our local district, I can only offer a limited view.

The task to secure funding seemed daunting at first, but after we started the process, it became obvious that our local industry and organizations were more than willing to help in our funding. In our initial push we were able to gain support from our local Lions Clubs, Rotories, etc. We found niches in local events that would pay for our services (such as parking duties, etc).

We also requested a meeting from our local industries and showcased what FIRST can do for it's local school district and the graduates from the FIRST Robotics team.

We wrote grants for NASA, and a few local enterprises, and before long we had enough funding To fund our first two years. Once the local industries understood the scope and sequence, they were hooked. Not only did they invest in the program, they invested personel. In a short time we had the backing of our industry in terms of money and mentors.

Case in point, if our district supported us, we would have been able to fund a robotics team - with limitations of a $6500 fee and the obligatory coaching salary.

But since we had to go out on our own, we gained support from our local base - and every time we were mentioned in our local paper, so were our sponsors. By the time we reached regionals, we had over 15 sponsors that dedicated $500 or more, and that netted over $21,000 for our first year.