[JaneYoung]

There are a lot of threads in CD that talk about/address fundraising. If you are interested, you can do a search. There is also information in the FIRST website and NEMO as good sources for ideas.

Our team fundraises year round and we continue to work on/adjust/tweak our efforts. We have a Parents' Association which acts like a booster club. It is also a non-profit organization which helps when soliciting/asking for donations. To raise funds to support the team and help it develop into one of consistency and sustainability - takes a lot of work, effort, commitment, and thought. How much time do you want to give to make a little money vs. how much time do you want to give to develop a plan to make a larger amount of money that has potential for positive impact? Those are questions that the team/leaders need to be asking. What resources are there in your community? What preparations has your team made towards identifying and accessing those resources/tapping into them? How is your team presenting itself and its program, showing the need for funding in order to support the team commitment to the competition year and beyond? How is the team branding/marketing itself and its robotics program?

Looking into and finding/developing answers to these questions are part of the best way to fundraise. Without that effort, there is no power behind the machine that is the team and the team's program.

Jane