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Unread 18-03-2015, 14:38
SousVide SousVide is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: CA
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Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game

ok, here's the thing - and it might be something that many numerous teams do not have problems with. Money and external interest. And I am going to stop beating this dead horse after this.

I want to keep doing FIRST. There are many many students that want to keep doing FIRST. and we will keep doing it no matter what the game is. We *do* appreciate all of the work GDC does, all of the work that FIRST volunteers and employees do that make all of this possible.

A lot of teams have a different level of struggle (on the higher end) as far as juggling sponsors and interests - perhaps there's a stable base and you are worried about a different aspect of fundraising and sponsor drives.

Here in California, the State Court recently in the last 2 years or so, made a ruling on a suit. The end result is that after-school extra-curricular activities can not require fundraising as a basis for participation/membership. We can ask people to help, but we can't require it. We can *not* charge a membership fee, equipment fee, or anything like it. As long as we are tied to a public school, our team has a very strict set of handcuffs regarding how to implement our schemes to generate cash inflow. The ideas behind it are great - making it a level playing field and provide a certain set of fairness for participation. However, it makes it extremely difficult to staff fundraiser events.

We enjoy building the robot and seeing the students overcome challenges. The problem is if I have a difficult time generating interest and sponsorships, we won't get a chance to make the robot. The "meh" faces I'm getting from this year - from sponsors and parents - are all that I want to bring attention to. I like promoting FIRST and the game, this year I just find myself trying to apologize instead of cheering alongside my excited visitors at the game.

I know it's a hard job putting together these games and the events. However, I do still want to bring to light some of the challenges that other teams face on the fundraising end - and the overall goal of bringing FIRST and STEM to the general public. I know that every team out there struggles with their budget every year - FRC is expensive. For some teams, maybe losing sponsorship mean having to look for another great shop that can powder-coat their robot. For us, it might mean "no money, no robot"

Last edited by SousVide : 18-03-2015 at 15:32. Reason: we can't charge fees or require fundraising.
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