[MysterE]

I would take a few steps:

First, I would go ahead and start the process of getting an extension. This will take a bit of the pressure off of you and make it easier to see past the deadline.

Secondly, I'd get the students to help approach smaller sponsoring groups. Heck - we had a Taco Bell offer to donate to us because the manager thought what we did was cool. The trick to this, though, is to have the students approach the smaller company directly. Have them go to insurance companies, lawyers, small tech firms. . . you never know when you will meet someone that robotics will just 'click' for.

Hope this helps. Also, if you need help developing a sponsor packet, I can send you what we use for ours and even help in the formatting if needed.