Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon_L
We had the NASA grant for 3 years, and no longer do. We are having SO much trouble getting just the 5,000 and whenever I read something like "Oh, our team just fell short of our $30,000 goal  " I'm not gonna lie, it somewhat angers me.
I don't blame anyone specifically. I think the cause is being babied by NASA for all three years, then just being dumped on our own. I think the NASA grant is great in the short run, but ruins a team in the long run.
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Brandon-
The problems you are having are not isolated to your team, I'm sure you are aware of that. This thread started because there are obviously issues with sustaining FRC teams, which is something your team is encountering as we speak.
I know you mentioned you're not mad at the teams that raise $30K+, but you have to understand what many of those teams do in this offseason. These teams work constantly to go after businesses, grants, the government and achieve their goal for each year. Use it as inspiration, and keep pushing forward with the ideal goal being to become a sustainable team that can reach its financial goals year after year.
The NASA grant is a blessing, it does not hurt a team in the long run. The problem is, teams don't anticipate the drop off in funding and then are left high and dry with no plan. That is entirely the fault of the team who received the grant, not NASA for trying to get a team up and running.
In Boston, there are many teams who started from a very large donation from a foundation (~$300K) which my team helped secure. The teams that started on this grant had their registration fee paid for their first 3 years of existence. After that, the teams were on their own. The first teams in this program were started around 5 years ago and their stories are mixed. Some have thrived and developed into self-sustaining FRC teams that we are all proud of. Others have shriveled and died as soon as the funding was cut. Some still live on, but struggle to stay afloat year after year.
It's the responsibility of the teams to keep themselves going after they lose funding. I know many 10+ year veteran teams who have lost their sponsor that was with them on day 1. Some of these sponsors provided $10K+ to the veteran teams. My home team (11) lost our sponsor my senior year of high school. Our team was left with no funding, but it inadvertently started a fire under our you-know-whats. We blanketed the area with letters and demos, and before we knew it we were bringing in 3X the amount of money we did when we had our one big sponsor.
The point is, every team has to face the same challenge. For some teams its easier than others, definitely. However, it doesn't mean your situation is impossible, or that it hasn't been conquered before. Reaching out to the FIRST community is a great start to get tips on how to not only stay afloat, but thrive in your current situation.
I wish you the best of luck, and keep up the hard work.
-Brando