[jonathan lall]

I just finished answering a similar question on Woburn's Ask188 system a couple hours ago for another team, and we've gotten a few sponsorship questions before through Ask188. Here's the text of that response; I hope it's helpful. If anyone has further questions about our team, ask away. Sorry, I won't (and can't) give any more info about our sponsors' contributions than i have in this quote, because money issues are really between them and us. Also, note that all figures are $CDN, and that I am addressing someone from a Canadian team.

Originally Posted by Ask188 Response: Jonathan Lall

Well, there are a few approaches that can be taken. The first step would probably be to ascertain whether any team members (or even friends of team members) have connections. If you look at our website's Sponsors section, you will see that we have a large number of sponsors. The truth is, that only four give more than $1000 to us. Still, little community businesses will offer up some money if you have connections, and it adds up. Sometimes if you pester one company a lot, they will give you some relatively small sum, though one must be careful and civil about that. I cannot stress how important it is to let them see what FIRST is all about, and how it can benefit the kids and even benefit their company. Here's an excerpt from our website:

We're glad you've shown interest in sponsoring our team; thank you for that! Now let me take a moment to explain what is involved and why your company's support is so worthwhile. What we have found when speaking to corporations and businesses, is that they are led to believe all we need is funding, or that when we ask for their support we are always looking for a monetary donation. This could not be farther from the truth. While monetary sponsorship is always appreciated and is the largest and most important part of our sponsorship program, our team can also benefit from materials, facilities, or mentorship from a company engineer; if your company for whatever reason cannot provide monetary support to our team, please consider helping us in other ways. The possibilities are nothing short of endless.

And that's the thing about this program. FIRST is the epitome of applied education theories. Not only does it involve building a 130-pound $3000 robot, travelling the continent, and competing in the name of our sponsors, but it teaches students programming, business, and leadership skills like nothing else offered at the high school level. These are skills that invariably prove valuable after high school, and in the workplace. Worldwide, there are nearly 1000 teams in the program, and Dean Kamen's resolve to "change the culture" of America is only becoming stronger.

Businesses are recognizing that FIRST students are intelligent and resourceful, which is why many put so much time, funds, and effort into cultivating them into the leaders of tomorrow. Woburn Robotics can benefit from your support. I implore you to invest in the future.


-Jonathan Lall, President

When contacting prospective sponsors, try to get a face to face meeting. Show them [your] website, and show how prominently you feature their names. Maybe give them a token to remember you by. If you're presenting to big corporate fish that might give you a load of money, consider a robot demonstration or a video! We invested this year in having our sponsors' names printed on our jerseys. Name placement is often important to businesses if the "helping kids" card doesn't completely win them over. You can also introduce a hierarchy (i.e. "Gold" and "Silver" level sponsors) with increased rewards, but that is your decision; it works for some and the advantage to that is that it intices sponsors to donate more money to get to the next level. The disadvantage is that it can reduce the status of sponsor from 'valued supporter' to 'money granter'.

Finding big sponsors is not easy. This year, because we could find none, we ended up going for a lot of small ones. It worked. If you cannot find large corporations or related businesses in your area, consider going to small places, even franchises. Also consider in-school sales and events such as carwashes (though I personally would not go that way). Most importantly, have one or two people senior or soon to be senior on the team in charge of this. They are responsible and accountable. Throughout build season, consider a thank-you letter or two with a progress report. Invite them to see what's going on. The end result of a good sponsorship campaign is money left over from the last season and no stinginess during the season (and also a renewed commitment from that year's sponsors for the next year). In all honesty, we have not done this perfectly (Woburn Robotics is stingy), but we are still in good shape.

If you have any more questions, you can email me or post in our forum. Good luck!

Oh, one more thing: here's our Sponsors page.