[Rion Atkinson]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

I would suggest approaching a sponsor through mail, or a PR representative. Our main sponsor is Motorola, and we created a presentation, and one of the team parents just passed it onto a PR rep.

They want to hear that they're making a difference. They want to hear that their money is going towards good use for the team and that the company will get good exposure. Last year, I talked to a Motorola Rep. and he was just so ecstatic to hear how we did things, and how we about robotics. Don't give them BS, if they're truly interested, you'll pull them in right away.

Team T-shirts are helpful, but look nice. Don't come in with torn up jeans and a dirty shirt. If you have a capturing presentation, then a robot might not be necessary, but it always helps your case if you can show your sponsors that you've done something.

And we generally bring roughly 5-6 students to presentations. Any larger than that, and you get people who are disruptive and bored.



I would say base yourself out of a nice school. Generally the students live around it, and people often show up. I've found that major sponsors are often content with donating some shop space for teams to work out of. It really depends on your goals and what you want.

Plus, you can get funding from the school/county.



Email List/Forums. You want to be conservative with the emails on the email list, because if you send out too many, people tend to gauge all of their importance the same and then some truly important emails get overlooked. That's why a forum is used for general discussion.



I answered this question in that base yourself out of a nice school. Recruiting is as easy as hanging banners and whatnot. If you choose not to base yourself out of a school, then recruiting can involve posters in various places like schools, libraries, etc. My team is based in a school, so we've never done recruiting like this.

You want to show fun. You want your recruitment showcase to *spew* with fun. So wear team t-shirts, once again, take 5-6 students, and have a fun robot. I find that having a shooting robot, like this year's robot or even last year's robot, really helps attract attention.

I don't have to tell you how hard it is, so many people have already done it. Just don't get overwhelmed. I found out that running/managing something can be a lot more involved than simply "doing" something.

Thank you VERY much! I will definitely be taking all of this into account!

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

You asked how to approach a company for funds, what would they like to hear?

My recommendation is to pick two or three companies in the area - one large (nationally known), and one or two smaller ones. Ask if you can speak to their PR department or corporate giving department, and make it clear that you are NOT asking them for money. Instead, ask them those questions about approaching other companies.

It's not a sneaky way to get funding; it's an excellent way to get professional advice on a topic you need to learn about. Most company people will be happy to share their expertise.

One of our early sponsors had to drop out for financial reasons; we invited their corporate giving officer to meet with five students, to get advice on approaching other companies. We made it clear we weren't looking for funding, but advice. They were tickled pink to help, their advice was VERY valuable to us, and that company has remained peripherally involved with us four more years.

It takes some 'guts' to ask, but do it anyway.

I never would have thought of that. That's a great idea! Four years... wow... I'll have to definitely take notes!

Thank you everyone for the great advice. Everything that has been shared here will make this that much easier.