Well, we're still putting together the details of our budget, but I'll tell you that BEFORE travel/hotel costs and competition costs, we've spent about $30,000. So I'm going to guess we've probably spent a total of $50,000 on this season.
• We were lucky enough to get $15,000 from Bristol-Myers Squibb this year, but the rest of our costs have come out of pocket or through fundraising. I know the team currently owes my advisor over $4000. My family is owed almost $1000, and I'm sure the other two major families of mentors are owed similarly so.
• One of our most successful fundraisers has been outreach in front of stores like WalMart & ShopRite. We let the kids in the community drive our 05 robot and win a prize for popping a balloon. It's definitely gotten the community inspired, and helped us out. We've made $400+ each time we've done this fundraiser both by donations & this robot game. The best part about fundraising with WalMart is their store will
match up to $1000 from your fundraiser!
• Also, we attend our local fairs/celebrations and do outreach & food sales. This typically brings in about $300 at each event.
• Like everyone, we do car washes - around $250 for each car wash. We do this by donation, only. People tend to give us $10-$15 a car. We've found we make more money than setting a certain price.
• Oh, and who can forget the infamous bake sales. Even if it means buying cookies from ShopRite and selling them with your team name on them, it's still a profit! Most of our parents are glad to bake for us, and Dhaval's brownies are always big sellers! We tend to bring in around $150 at each one.
• This year we have started doing dinners at Friday's. We get pick a date and advertise it around town and in the school. Then at the time & date we pick, anyone that comes to Friday's, says they're here for Robotics, ends up donating 20% of their check to the team. We made over $300 at our first one!
• We have also in the past done a leaf-raking fundraiser. Obviously, this one is seasonal. We spend the day wandering around Hightstown and asking people if we can rake their yards. We usually make about $200 this way.
• My favorite fundraiser that 1089 puts on is BLAH (Bowling Lock-In at Hightstown). We basically hold a bowling/sleepover at our local alley and invite other teams to participate. It became a great way to develop relationships with other FIRST students & mentors. We didn't make a lot of money last year (read: hardly any), but the community growth made it well worth it. Expect to see one again in the near future!
• Lastly, we're planning a spaghetti dinner for this year. Having a slideshow presentation and the robot being demoed or at least on display will be a big selling point at this dinner. Tell everyone in both the FIRST community and your local community about the dinner, sell tickets in advance and at the door! 56 did great with this last year, and I know Kathie K put out a great whitepaper about spaghetti dinners just recently.
So, even with a lack of "donated" funds, team 1089 has managed to cover the majority of our costs. Granted, we're still paying $400/person to go to Atlanta, but maybe that's just the cost of participation!
Sorry this post is so long, but I had to jam a lot of information in here!
Moral of the story: You can do anything as long as you set your mind to it!