FIRST Half-Back Fundraising Concept

[MikeReilly]

We've all seen so many teams fall to the lack of support, especially the financial struggle. Since I've now had the chance to see a few of my former students move on to 6-figure salaries, I wonder why how many teams get $$ support from former FRC team members?

That led me to thinking that what would be a fair donation? 1/2 of a percent of their annual salary would mean someone making $100,000 would donate $500 to their old team.

Then I decided a catchy name could be "FIRST Half-Back". It's clear, simple, and never hurts to connect a sports theme.

I'm putting it out there in Delphi land, wondering if any alums surfing the forums had any input, opinions. My initial local response has been decent.

Thoughts are welcome!

[lpickett]

I have a jar in the house that I put $20 a week into. That will give me about $1000 a year to donate to the team. This should not be hard for anyone with a large salary to do. If not, do $10 a week for the $500. It is a simple way to help teams that can not fundraise easily.

[Squeakypig]

I feel as if teams that fund raise well can also benefit from this. These donations can be used for scholarships and such. Our team isn't the best at fundraising but we make it a point to have 1 or 2 scholarships for the graduating seniors.

[mcb]

I really like this idea! Something along the same lines is what my high school offers for its graduating seniors. As a college freshman, you donate $5; sophomore year, $10; junior, $15; and senior, $20. Low amounts but they really add up once you add them all together.

For a FIRST alum, though, I think I like the idea of paying a percentage once you're self-sufficient and making money. (After all, a lot of college freshmen live off of ramen and don't have loads of money to spend elsewhere... exhibit A right here)

[Donut]

Remember that for the majority of teams, this donation can be tax deductible for the donor as well.

We actually had a system similar to this on 498, though not of our own idea. Arizona has a school tax credit system where any individual who paid at least $200 in Arizona taxes for the year ($400 for a married couple) can get a tax credit for fees or donations for any school extracurricular activity. A family can make a $400 donation to the robotics team and then claim that as a $400 credit on their taxes at the end of the year through the school tax credit system. The big benefit of this system is that it's a dollar for dollar match because it is a credit, so it essentially costs the donor nothing (other than temporarily being out $400 which would have to be paid later anyway). A lot of organizations and clubs lobby people for this donation but it's fairly easy to get it from alums or families who have students on the team at the time. We regularly brought in at least $2000 from this and in a good year it could be as much as 40% of the team budget.

In a non-tax credit world (so probably the other 49 states and international teams) it will take a bit more convincing to get the donations but I think that if the amounts are reasonable it would not be hard. It does not have to be in the form of straight cash either. I don't make a cash donation to the team I currently mentor but I do buy some parts or spirit items that I don't ask for reimbursement for, so that acts as a donation effectively.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Donut

Remember that for the majority of teams, this donation can be tax deductible for the donor as well.

Trust me, you probably won't donate enough to go past the standard deduction (I am NOT an accountant though, please consult with one). Even with all my travel and stuff (5 events, 1 hour drive to robots every day) I didn't go past the standard deduction. Basically, unless you're paying entry fees it's not really cutting down what you pay in taxes.

[GearsOfFury]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Trust me, you probably won't donate enough to go past the standard deduction (I am NOT an accountant though, please consult with one). Even with all my travel and stuff (5 events, 1 hour drive to robots every day) I didn't go past the standard deduction. Basically, unless you're paying entry fees it's not really cutting down what you pay in taxes.

If you're already itemizing deductions, though, every bit can generally be deducted. Those six figure alumni may also have a mortgage and property taxes and be well into itemizing land...

Great idea, but I would also suggest that given the choice, I'd rather have that alumni's mentorship time helping my team, over his money...!